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POWERnews—May 13, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store May 13, 2021 ERCOT Program Cut Natural Gas Supply During Winter Storm A program designed to save power during periods of high electricity demand actually cut off some of Texas’ natural gas supply to customers during the severe winter storm that caused… […]
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Cybersecurity
Biden Takes Executive Action to Strengthen National Cybersecurity, Secure Supply Chains
The Biden administration this week issued a new spate of actions to bolster the nation’s cybersecurity, though details of its 100-day plan issued last month to address risks to the U.S. bulk power system (BPS) remain scant. In a May 11 notice, the president said his administration would continue, for one year, a national emergency declared […]
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Climate change
Germany Shifts Net-Zero Target to 2045, Sets Tougher Limits for Energy Industry
Germany has moved its climate neutrality target up from 2050 to 2045 and adopted new interim binding targets that will require greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions of 65% by 2030 and 88% by 2040, compared to 1990 levels. After 2050, notably, the country—which is Europe’s biggest economy—envisions it will achieve negative GHG emissions. Germany’s federal […]
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Cybersecurity
Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Attack Rattles Power Industry, Renews Vulnerability Concerns
A ransomware incident on May 7 that prompted Colonial Pipeline Co., owner of the nation’s largest refined products pipeline, to proactively shut it down underscores the punch cyberthreats can pose to organizations, “regardless of size or sector,” the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has warned. Five days after Colonial Pipeline first learned it was the […]
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POWERnews—May 6, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store May 6, 2021 TVA, Kairos Partner to Deploy Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor Demonstration In a notable, dedicated effort by a major U.S. utility to boost the development of an advanced reactor technology, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Kairos Power, developer of […]
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Nuclear
TVA, Kairos Partner to Deploy Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor Demonstration
In a notable, dedicated effort by a major U.S. utility to boost the development of an advanced reactor technology, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Kairos Power, developer of a novel fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature nuclear reactor, on May 6 said they will team to demonstrate Kairos’ Hermes test reactor at the East Tennessee Technology Park […]
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Nuclear
Surry Nuclear Plant Gets 20-Year Extension as Indian Point Goes Dark
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved 20-year subsequent renewed licenses (SRLs) for Dominion Energy Virginia’s Surry Power Station Units 1 and 2 near Newport News, Virginia, making them only the fifth and sixth reactors in the U.S. cleared to operate for 60 to 80 years. But the number of operating U.S. nuclear reactors fell […]
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Coal
TVA, Eyeing Coal Phaseout by 2035, Will Rely on Nuclear
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) expects to phase out its coal generation by 2035, but achieving net-zero carbon emissions without raising power prices or adversely affecting reliability will require substantial investments in energy storage and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). TVA also will need to extend the lifetime of its nuclear power, and adopt the […]
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Technology
Rediscovering Fire: Advancements in Gas Turbine Combustion
Gas power market drivers and a quest for relevance in future decarbonized systems are driving fundamental shifts in gas turbine combustion design approaches. Combustion lies at the heart of gas turbine
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Fuel
Renewable Natural Gas Emerging as Serious Decarbonized Gas Contender
Last December, two giant Virginia-headquartered firms—energy company Dominion Energy and food manufacturer Smithfield Foods—announced completion of a novel renewable natural gas (RNG) facility in Milford
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POWERnews—April 29, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store April 29, 2021 Vogtle Unit 3 Starts Hot Functional Testing Georgia Power announced two more milestones for its Vogtle nuclear power plant expansion project, including the start of hot functional testing for Unit 3 at the facility in Waynesboro, Georgia.… Heavy Push […]
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Energy Storage
Large-Volume, Long-Duration Power and Water Storage Project Taking Shape in Idaho
Cat Creek Energy, developer of a 1.1-GW “tribrid” renewable power and water storage project planned near Mountain Home, Idaho, has picked Voith Hydro to design and manufacture equipment for the project’s 720-MW ternary pumped storage component. The development announced on April 29 marks a major milestone for the Cat Creek Energy and Water (CCEW) project. […]
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T&D
Heavy Push by Industry, Biden Administration to Jumpstart Transmission Expansion, Grid Modernization
Bolstering the Biden administration’s recently announced initiatives to modernize the nation’s grid and improve its resilience, the Department of Energy (DOE) on April 27 made up to $8.25 billion in loans available to expand transmission capacity nationwide, while the Department of Transportation (DOT) offered new guidance to help speed the siting and permitting of transmission […]
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News
Engineering on Flexible Green Hydrogen Generation Facility Design Complete
Engineering and construction firm McDermott International and pipeline technology developer New Energy Development Co. have wrapped up engineering for two modular 50-MW hydrogen energy projects that they said could enable “grid-scale” hydrogen blending with natural gas pipelines as well as potentially integrate existing or new power plants with energy storage. The “Green Hydrogen” facilities, which […]
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POWERnews—April 8, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store April 8, 2021 UAE's First Nuclear Unit Enters Commercial Operation Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. (ENEC) said Unit 1 of the Barakah nuclear facility has entered commercial operation, nine years after construction of the Arab world's first nuclear power plant began.… Vistra Backs […]
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POWERnews—April 22, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store April 22, 2021 Biden Sets New Paris Agreement GHG Target: 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030 President Biden has set a new nationally determined contribution (NDC) for the U.S. to achieve a 50% to 52% reduction in economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions […]
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News
Reprieve for Nuclear, Gas in EU’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Rules
The European Union’s (EU’s) much-watched Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act—the world’s first “green list”—unveiled by the European Commission (EC) on April 21 qualifies several power-producing sectors in its technical screening criteria for sustainable investment decisions. However, it delays controversial decisions on gas and nuclear. The EC adopted the Delegated Act as part of an ambitious package […]
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News
Biden Sets New Paris Agreement GHG Target: 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030
President Biden has set a new nationally determined contribution (NDC) for the U.S. to achieve a 50% to 52% reduction in economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2030 compared to 2005 levels. The White House said on Thursday the NDC, which was determined after a “a whole-of-government process” organized through the Biden administration’s National Climate […]
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Gas
8 Rivers Unveils 560 MW of Allam Cycle Gas-Fired Projects for Colorado, Illinois
8 Rivers Capital, inventor of a novel supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle, plans to begin operating a 280-MW NET Power natural gas–fired plant within the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in southwest Colorado by 2025. The company on April 15 also said it will team with agricultural and processing firm Archer-Daniels-Midlands Co. (ADM) to locate a […]
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POWERnews—April 15, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store April 15, 2021 8 Rivers Unveils 560 MW of Allam Cycle Gas-Fired Projects for Colorado, Illinois 8 Rivers Capital, inventor of a novel supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle, plans to begin operating a 280-MW NET Power natural gas-fired plant within the Southern […]
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News
ERCOT Conditions Tighten Again as Outages Mount to 32 GW
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on April 13 urged Texans to conserve power as grid conditions tightened owing to a “a combination of high generation outages typical in April and higher-than-forecasted demand from a stalled cold front over Texas.” The Texas grid operator, which in February narrowly avoided system collapse as Winter Storm […]
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Research and Development
ARPA-E Launches Program to Abate, Prevent Methane Emissions
The Department of Energy (DOE) on April 8 launched a new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program that will initially focus on reducing methane emissions from oil, gas, and coal industries. The agency announced up to $35 million for the new “Reducing Emissions of Methane Every Day of the Year” (REMEDY) program, a three-year research […]
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Coal
Vistra Backs Illinois Transition Measure to Keep At-Risk Coal Plants Online Through 2025
Bleeding financially from underperforming and legally burdened coal generation in downstate Illinois and elsewhere, Vistra, the nation’s largest competitive generator, has renewed its call for passage of the Illinois Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Act, a bill that could help keep 2.2 GW of existing at-risk capacity online through 2025 while the state expands […]
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POWERnews—April 1, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store April 1, 2021 Power Infrastructure Prominent in Biden’s $2.25 Trillion Blueprint A major chunk of President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion transformational plan to overhaul the nation’s infrastructure is dedicated to re-energizing America’s power infrastructure. The initiatives garnered the industry’s approval—with notable… Compact […]
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News
Power Infrastructure Prominent in Biden’s $2.25 Trillion Blueprint
A major chunk of President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion transformational plan to overhaul the nation’s infrastructure is dedicated to re-energizing America’s power infrastructure. The initiatives garnered the industry’s approval—with notable exceptions. The “American Jobs Plan,” released on March 31, strives to jumpstart the U.S. economy, which drooped under burdens posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. But […]
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Fuel
First Commercial Deployment of Supercritical CO2 Power Cycle Taking Shape in Alberta
Siemens Energy and Canadian pipeline company TC Energy in February agreed to commission a novel waste-heat-to-power facility in Alberta by 2022 that captures waste heat from a gas-fired turbine operating a
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News
Ocean Power Developers Made Crucial Progress in 2020
Tidal and wave energy installations in 2020 brought global cumulative installations for ocean energy to almost 60 MW. Another 6 MW of wave and tidal energy is slated for deployment this year, suggesting marked
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Wind
GE Snags Historic 1.48-GW Agreement for Oklahoma Wind Turbines
GE Renewable Energy has bagged what it says is the “largest combined onshore wind project” in its history to provide wind turbines for a set of three wind farms privately held sustainable energy firm Invenergy is developing in north-central Oklahoma. Invenergy’s 1.48-GW North Central Wind Energy Facilities include the 999-MW Traverse Wind Energy Center, the […]
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Nuclear
New Mexico Sues NRC to Halt Consolidated Interim Nuclear Waste Storage Facilities
New Mexico has sued the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), challenging the legality of the agency’s proceedings involving separate proposals to build and operate two consolidated interim storage facilities (CISFs) for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in New Mexico and Texas. In a complaint filed on March 29 against the NRC and the U.S. government, New Mexico […]
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Offshore Wind
Biden Administration Sets National 30-GW Offshore Wind Target
The Biden administration on March 29 laid out a spate of measures to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind in the U.S. by 2030, an ambitious target that will require a vast scale-up in investment and build-out of the still latent power subsector. But if achieved, the target would unlock “a pathway” to 110 GW […]