Malaysia, one of the Tiger Club Economies, is dissociating from fossil energies and has put its Ulu Jelai Power Station into operation. The hydroelectric power station successfully contributes to peak load coverage and power supply stabilisation. With its high-performance compressors, Sauer Compressors is part of this sustainable showcase project. The machines generate the compressed air […]

  COMMENTARY Supply chain security is top of mind these days for policymakers and regulators focused on protecting the utility industry and other critical infrastructure. A cyber vulnerability with a single supplier can take down an entire supply chain network and the entities that use its products. The organizations that support and supply products and […]

With record high temperatures and wildfires gripping the West, utilities have asked residents to cut down on power usage to reduce the strain on overburdened systems. As we’ve seen following countless crises, the U.S. energy grid is being pushed to its limits. Fortunately, a $1 trillion infrastructure bill is on the horizon, and with it, a significant opportunity […]

Declarations of climate emergencies in many countries around the world have created awareness for the need to switch to clean energy sources, which in turn has prompted the power industry and governments to take action or set definite goals. Many governments around the world now provide incentives to individuals, industries, and communities who are interested […]

Unlike backwash systems, scraper strainers reliably resist clogging and fouling when faced with micron-sized particles, oversized solids, and high solids concentration. The power generation industry often prefilters raw water from rivers, lakes, gulfs, and coastlines to remove organic, aquatic, and other solids for use as cooling water. Typically, with once-through systems, water circulates through pipes, […]

The extreme freeze in Texas and ensuing power outages in February were the latest reminders that energy is the backbone of our society. From wildfires in the west to hurricanes on the Atlantic seaboard, climate related events are increasing in severity and frequency, illuminating the vulnerability of our power grid across the nation. COMMENTARY Nationwide, […]

How do you protect yourselves from cybercriminals that plan to hold your organization for ransom? These criminals are intelligent, extremely computer literate, and know that production facilities, the utility sector, and mainly the power sector are ripe for ransom threats. The criminal hack organization known as DarkSide created a malicious computer code that resulted in […]

Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) is a combined electric/water/wastewater/gas municipal utility serving 600,000 customers in the Pikes Peak area in Colorado. The company was founded in 1922 and takes sustainability seriously. Water is especially important, and CSU operates a state-certified lab that analyzes more than 12,000 samples per year from CSU plants and another 4,800 from […]

For a century our country has relied on fossil fuels to power our economy. But that is beginning to change with wind, solar, renewable fuels, hydrogen, advanced nuclear options, and more. The effort to decarbonize our economy and protect the planet from greenhouse gas emissions is now aggressively underway in the U.S. and other parts […]

The solar power industry continues to see growth in distributed generation installations from residential to commercial projects, particularly as people take more control of powering their properties to increase their electricity reliability, and to control their energy costs. An important part of that process involves a rooftop solar installation’s onsite survey. There is currently a […]

Commentary by Jay Zoellner, CEO Kiwi Power.   The ransomware attack that forced one of the nation’s largest fuel arteries to halt operations earlier this month exposed critical vulnerabilities in the American energy system, and as the largest such attack in history, it raised serious concerns for the security of our energy infrastructure. Supplying nearly half […]

Large-Scale Mapping in Plains of Nebraska Kevin Kenna has lots of experience with GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and major projects for utilities, government agencies, and large-area mapping. He’s used GPS (Global Positioning System) and GNSS for more than two decades and estimates that he has worked on mapping/surveying more than 20,000 miles of power […]

Extreme weather patterns, net zero acceleration, and shifting regulatory regimes demand a new methodology to assess and mitigate network challenges across both the immediate and long term. The integrity, performance, and flexibility of energy networks have become progressively more important in the face of rapid technological, economic, and environmental change. And the challenges in maintaining […]

Utilities represent one of the least diverse industries in the U.S. today, being 85% white and 80% male, according to a 2020 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey. The clarion call from policymakers, shareholders, and communities for significant social change has driven many U.S. utilities to create diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals in response. […]

The New Madrid Power Plant is an important facility in the Associated Electric Cooperative’s portfolio of assets and is fundamentally important to the company’s mission to provide affordable and reliable power to member systems. The plant and grounds cover about 3,900 acres on the Mississippi River, where approximately 175 people are employed. Originally built in […]

ERCOT market participants are grappling with the resulting financial fallout from winter storm Uri, which devastated Texas in February. Many are now familiar with actions the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUCT) took during the weather event, moves made with the intent to bring and maintain as much generation online as possible. Most notable, the commission […]

As consumer preferences continue to shift toward purchasing locally sourced and organic produce, demand is growing for commercial greenhouses, or controlled environment agriculture (CEA), as the industry is labeled. This shift in preference to locally grown food is changing the way supermarkets and restaurants source their fruits and vegetables. COMMENTARY Many restaurants throughout the country […]

Blue, green, turquoise, yellow, pink, blue, grey and brown/black. Hydrogen is currently beset by a host of colorful adjectives, but what part of the hydrogen rainbow is most likely to lead to a pot of gold (and environmental benefits)?  Elected officials across the country are more and more focused on promoting green hydrogen, which is […]

Following a 2020 summer of blackouts, the darkest since early this century, California is hoping that it can avoid replays in the future by investing in batteries. Big batteries. That are expensive. And come with significant energy storage limitations. Bloomberg News is reporting that by August, there will be 1,700 megawatts of new battery capacity […]

Concrete is an integral part of any construction project, whether you are building roads, a a ground floor in your private home, or a power plant. This is because concrete is very durable, but it can be susceptible to fractures as subsoil frosts and thaws, if it shifts, or if tree roots press upward on […]

Flexible plant operations are highly desirable in today’s power generation industry. Every plant owner desires increased ramp rates and the ability to operate at lower loads so their plants will remain “in the money” longer in today’s competitive power markets. This goal, while laudable, remains elusive. The ADEX self-tuning artificial intelligence (AI) system allows plants […]

With a global pandemic and unprecedented extreme weather, we have seen how essential our energy delivery system is to our way of life. Through collaboration and innovation, we will make the system more resilient and fulfill our commitment to reducing emissions. American Gas Association members are already leading in these areas—providing customers with reliable and […]

Two recent incidents have made the cost of not protecting our infrastructure and natural resources abundantly clear. First, there was the widely publicized SolarWinds attack that infected more than a dozen utility companies, and oil and gas manufacturing entities. Then, there was a dangerous incident in Florida, where a hacker gained access to a water […]

The utility industry has undergone a remarkable shift over the past 10 years. What was traditionally a one-way commodity electron-flow to customers has now become bidirectional traffic of both electrons and bytes. With the rise of distributed energy resources (DERs) and customer demands for improved energy efficiency, utilities are handling an increasing amount of useful […]

The severe winter storm that knocked out Texas’ electricity grid in February, plunging millions of people into a cold, dark ordeal, has led to a number of takes about what went wrong. The state’s deregulated energy market has been frequently singled out as the root cause. But, while a contributing factor, it wasn’t the only […]

As society contends with the impacts of climate change, we need to aggressively pursue strategies for reducing carbon emissions. Although states in the U.S. are taking a variety of approaches to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, and following an equally diverse set of timelines, most state-level GHG emission goals announced so far are fairly consistent—to reduce […]

An oscillating control valve may appear to be the source of control instability and repair efforts are usually focused only there. When this fails to solve the issue, further investigation often proves the

When distributed generation causes net reverse power flow on a distribution feeder, several voltage-related issues can occur. According to studies published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Reliability performance is core to the utility industry. Utilities strategically design and invest in their system to maximize reliability performance—traditionally measured by System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI), System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), and/or Consumer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI). These quantitative metrics largely drive utility investment decisions, shape strategic priorities, dictate regulatory approvals, […]

As the existing electric generation infrastructure matures, electric generation system owners are looking to the future for newer and greener technologies to meet the demands of electric consumption. An important part of this future perspective may include the demolition and removal of older generation plants and facilities to free up land resources for new development.  Prior […]