Aaron Larson
Articles By

Aaron Larson

Aaron Larson is the Executive Editor of POWER, where he has covered the global power generation industry since joining the editorial team in 2013. He oversees editorial operations and budget, and serves as content director for the Experience POWER Conference, where he frequently moderates sessions.

Aaron is the host of The POWER Podcast, with more than 200 episodes featuring in-depth conversations with energy industry leaders, technologists, and policymakers. His work has earned regional and national editorial awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) and the Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA), including recognition for best interview, best editorial, and best podcast.

Before entering trade journalism, Aaron spent 13 years in the U.S. Navy nuclear power program, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. He has also worked at commercial nuclear, biomass, and coal-fired power plants in operations, maintenance, safety, financial, and management roles. He holds a Chief A Engineer boiler operator license in Minnesota, a bachelor's degree in nuclear engineering technology, and a master's degree with a specialization in finance.

  • Conco Services Corporation Surpasses One Million Man-Hours Free of OSHA Lost-Time Safety Incidents

    Conco Services Corporation announces that it has not encountered an OSHA Lost-Time safety incident in more than one million man-hours. This achievement took two-and-a-half years and has positioned Conco to provide services to companies with stringent safety standards. “We are doing our due diligence,” says Craig Lawther, CSP, Conco’s Corporate Director of Safety. “We have […]

  • Vaisala Launches Online Monitor for Transformer Dissolved Gas Analysis

    Vaisala presents a new online measurement device for transformer dissolved gas analysis. Building on unique technology, the Vaisala Optimus(TM) DGA Monitor for Transformers solves many current problems in transformer maintenance. Power transformers are critical in the energy generation and transmission, but also one of the key vulnerabilities. This is because any transformer downtime will lead […]

  • ABB FACTS solution to help maintain grid stability for TVA as power generation mix changes

    Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the largest public utility in the US, is installing ABB’s static var compensator (SVC) technology to help ensure system reliability as fossil fuel component of total energy mix declines. SVC’s enhance grid stabilization and at the same time enable a smarter grid. The ongoing quest to deliver power with a lower […]

  • Amec Foster Wheeler joint venture breaks ground as prime contractor on Port Granby environmental remediation

    Safe-storage of historic low-level radioactive waste Amec Foster Wheeler announces today the start of work on the Port Granby low level radioactive waste management facility in Southeast Clarington, Ontario. Following a shovel turning ceremony on Friday 29 April, Amec Foster Wheeler and its joint venture partner CB&I joined the Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI) and […]

  • EthosEnergy completes $4M generator rewinds in Indonesia

    EthosEnergy successfully completed the on-time delivery of two 223MVA, 200MW Generator rewinds worth $4m for two steam turbines owned by Indonesia Power. The Generators are located at Tanjung Priok power plant site, Jakarta. EthosEnergy reverse engineered, manufactured, installed and commissioned the generator stators within the 140 day window required by Indonesia Power. The shop work […]

  • Senate Votes to Restore Funding for Wind Energy Research and Development

    The U.S. Senate passed an amendment on April 26 that would restore funding for wind energy research and development (R&D) in fiscal year 2017 to $96.4 million—the same amount funded this fiscal year. The amendment passed by a vote of 54–42 as part of Senate consideration of the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies […]

  • Studsvik sells its Waste Treatment operations to EDF

    Studsvik AB (publ) has today signed an agreement to divest its Waste Treatment business and facilities in Sweden and the UK to EDF Développement Environnement SA, a 100% subsidiary of EDF SA. The purchase price on a debt free basis is SEK 355 million, subject to certain closing adjustments. The transaction will generate a positive […]

  • Mergers and Acquisitions in the Power Sector Soar in 1Q 2016

    The volume and value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the first quarter of this year have soared, according to the accounting and financial consulting firm PwC. According to PwC’s quarterly snapshot, American Power & Utilities Deals: Q1 2016, “The first quarter was the most active for power and utilities in recent history, with 22 […]

  • Valmet to supply a wood pellet heating plant to the Helen Salmisaari power plant in Helsinki, Finland

    Valmet will supply a wood pellet heating plant to Helen Oy’s Salmisaari power plant. The wood pellet plant will enable Helen to increase the use of bio fuels in district heat production in Helsinki. The new plant helps the city of Helsinki to meet its aim of increasing its production of renewable energy. The start-up […]

  • NEC Supplies 1.2MWh, Large-Scale Energy Storage System to COLON Company Limited Mega Solar Power Plant

    NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) and NEC Energy Solutions (NEC Energy) today announced that they have supplied and completed the installation of a GSS® large-scale energy storage system, with a capacity of 1.2MWh and output of 500kW, to operate in conjunction with a large PV solar power plant established by COLON Company Limited (Kagoshima Prefecture, […]

  • Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas Awarded 42nd and 43rd Orders for Industry’s Best Selling Advanced Class Gas Turbine from Tenaska

    M501J turbine’s technological advancements continue to reshape the power sector’s expectations for efficiency and reliability Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MHPSA) has been awarded a contract by Omaha, NE based Tenaska to provide two M501J gas turbines, each rated at 327 megawatts (MW), and generators for the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station, located in South Huntingdon Township, […]

  • MidAmerican Energy announces $3.6 billion investment in renewable energy

    Project will increase company’s wind energy equal to 85 percent of annual customer use Today, MidAmerican Energy Company announced a major project that will provide a cleaner energy future for Iowa. The announcement is a giant step toward realizing the company’s vision of 100 percent renewable energy for customers in the state. MidAmerican Energy is […]

  • Work Suspended on Coal Power Plant Following Protests, Nuclear Plant Moves Forward

    S. Alam Group has suspended work at the site of a proposed 1,224-MW coal-fired power station in Chittagong, Bangladesh, due to safety concerns following a rally that ended with four protesters dead on April 4. According to multiple sources, groups opposing construction of the plant agreed on April 10 to halt their activities for 15 […]

  • New Vogtle timeline video showcases first-quarter progress at nuclear expansion

    Georgia Power has released the latest timeline video from the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion showcasing construction progress in the first quarter of 2016. Now more than 60 percent complete based on contractual milestones, progress is visible every day. The Vogtle project is the state’s largest job-producing construction project with more than 5,000 construction workers onsite and […]

  • APS First U.S. Utility to Use Advanced Technology to Help Manage Solar Generation

    Through a first-of-its-kind program, inverters improve overall reliability for customers This week, hundreds of APS Solar Partner Program customers will help their utility make history. Advanced technology installed along with participants’ solar panels is beginning to collect data that will help APS better understand and manage the energy flowing into neighborhoods across the state. APS […]

  • Amec Foster Wheeler signs wide-ranging agreement with Chinese nuclear firm

    Collaboration with China Nuclear Engineering & Construction (Group) Corporation on next generation of reactors Amec Foster Wheeler announces today that it has signed a wide-ranging agreement with nuclear power plant constructor China Nuclear Engineering & Construction (Group) Corporation (CNEC). The two companies have confirmed a memorandum of understanding covering potential collaboration in the nuclear industry. […]

  • Siemens selected as technology partner for natural gas-fueled power plant in Ohio

    $800 million-plus order to supply and service H-class gas power plant technology for the Lordstown Energy Center Efficient, modern facility will have capacity to power approximately 800,000 homes Gas turbines and steam turbine to be produced at Siemens’ Charlotte Energy Hub Siemens provided an early-stage development loan to develop the project and its Financial Services […]

  • Four Killed While Protesting Coal Power Plant Construction Project

    Multiple international news organizations have reported that at least four people were killed, and as many as 100 more were injured, when police opened fire on an estimated 1,500 villagers who were protesting the construction of two coal-fired power plants in Chittagong, in southeastern Bangladesh, on April 4. Discord Over Power Plant According to reports […]

  • Duke Energy Renewables acquires two North Carolina solar projects from ET Capital

    First NC solar farms announced by Duke Energy Renewables in 2016 Duke Energy Renewables now owns 27 solar facilities in North Carolina, representing 280 MW and an investment of about $725 million since 2011 Duke Energy Renewables today announced it has acquired two 5-megawatt (MW) solar projects in Eastern North Carolina from ET Capital, a […]

  • COAL POWER Direct—Apr. 6, 2016

    Coal Power   Current Issue | Find a Job | Post a Job Is a New Hybrid System the Cure for Coal Power’s Ills? Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have combined two proven technologies to create a new hybrid system that could produce electricity, using coal as a fuel source, at nearly […]

  • Is a New Hybrid System the Cure for Coal Power’s Ills?

    Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have combined two proven technologies to create a new hybrid system that could produce electricity, using coal as a fuel source, at nearly double the efficiency of conventional coal-fired power plants. The concept—proposed by MIT doctoral student Katherine Ong and Ronald C. Crane (1972) Professor Ahmed Ghoniem—combines […]

  • GE announces the completion of efficiency upgrades to Banha Power Plant to increase output up to 7%

    GE supports the Ministry of Electricity’s efforts to complete the maintenance and upgrade power plants before the summer of 2016 GE completes the upgrades at the Banha power plant, increasing output up to 7% GE (NYSE: GE) today announced that it has completed the upgrade of the Banha power plant, located at the Qalyubia Governorate, […]

  • Air Emissions Tampering Leads to Felony Charges at Power Plant

    The owner and management company of the Berkshire Power Plant—a 252-MW natural gas–fired combined cycle plant located in Agawam, Mass.—agreed to plead guilty on March 30 to felony charges that the companies violated and conspired to violate the federal Clean Air Act. The indictments against Berkshire Power Co. (BPC), the owner of the plant, and […]

  • AREVA Inc., NuScale Power Unveil NuFuel HTP2 Name for Small Modular Reactor Fuel Design

    AREVA Inc. and NuScale Power announced today that the modified AREVA HTP-2 fuel design for NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) technology will be named NuFuel HTP2™. The announcement was made this week during NuScale’s tri-annual Advisory Board meeting (NuAB) in Corvallis, OR, and follows an agreement signed by the companies in December 2015 for AREVA […]

  • Wärtsilä Supplies 70 MW Power Plant to State Utility in India

    Wärtsilä will supply a 70 MW Smart Power Generation plant to Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd. (APGCL) in north-eastern India. The order includes seven Wärtsilä 34SG engines running on natural gas. The letter of award was issued in December 2015, and the power plant, delivered on a turn-key basis, is expected to be operational by […]

  • MAN Modernizes Energy Supply for Worldwide Leading Producer of Acrylic Fibers

    Steam turbine Genset will produce electricity and process steam for AKSA plant in the Turkish city of Yalova. Turkish company Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii A.Ş. (AKSA), the worlds biggest manufacturer of acrylic fibers, has placed an order with MAN Diesel & Turbo for the supply of a 99 MW steam turbine generator set. At the […]

  • Inspections at Indian Point Nuclear Plant Identify Missing Bolts in Reactor

    While conducting a comprehensive inspection on more than 2,000 of the reactor’s removable insert liner bolts during a Unit 2 planned outage at the Indian Point nuclear power plant, engineers identified issues with approximately 11% of them, requiring further analysis. Some of the bolts—and the bars meant to hold them in place—were missing, while others […]

  • Clean Power Plan Backers Petition Court in Support of EPA

    A diverse coalition of major investor-owned utilities, public power authorities, and one of the largest independent power producers, as well as a combination of cities and states, clean energy groups, and environmental groups, filed briefs with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan. The involved […]

  • Is Nuclear Energy “Toast”?

    “My sense as I speak to you here today is that nuclear energy is toast,” said New York Times Reporter Eduardo Porter, as he opened a panel discussion titled “Nuclear Energy and the Clean Energy Future” held at the New York University School of Law on March 23. “Despite the challenge from climate change that […]

  • South Africa’s Eskom Applies for Nuclear Site Licenses in Eastern and Western Capes

    South Africa’s National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) announced on March 15 that it has received two nuclear installation site license applications from Eskom Holdings, the only designated, cabinet-confirmed majority owner and operator of nuclear power plants in the country. The applications were for Thyspunt in the Eastern Cape and Duynefontein in the Western Cape. The Thyspunt […]