Sonal Patel
Articles By

Sonal Patel

  • RWE’s 300-MW ‘Grid Stability’ Gas Plant Will Debut GE LM2500XPRESS Technology

    RWE Generation will install 11 units of GE Gas Power’s freshly launched LM2500XPRESS power plant technology to provide a critical gas-power reserve in Germany’s reliability-challenged southern region.  The project will debut GE’s LM2500XPRESS, a “plug-and-play” power plant model it launched in January 2020 that features pre-packaged LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines. Delivered in a simplified set […]

  • NAESB’s First Move to Set Energy Digitalization Standards Heavily Focused on Blockchain, Cybersecurity

    The North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB), a wholesale and retail natural gas and power industry forum comprising 300 corporate members, will initially focus its standards development to support cybersecurity and blockchain out of 11 digital technologies it identified that are quickly transforming the energy space.  The board’s April 2019–formed Digital Committee, which comprises 16 […]

  • Bipartisan Bill to Preserve Existing Nuclear Plants Clears Senate Committee

    The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) has approved the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020 (ANIA), just two weeks after it was introduced. Among the bill’s major provisions are that it will seek to  strengthen the nuclear fuel supply chain, help incentivize commercial deployment of new reactor designs, and create a credit […]

  • FERC Regains Full Five Members as Regulatory Fights Loom

    The U.S. Senate on Nov. 30 confirmed Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) nominees Allison Clements and Mark Christie, filling out all five seats at the helm of the federal energy regulator with a bipartisan panel for the first time in nearly two years.  Clements, a Democrat, replaces former Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur for a term that […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: EPA Regulatory Roundup

    Over its 50-year history, several rules issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reshaped the power sector. But for at least a few modern rules, the road has been full of turns. Notes: CAA = Clean Air Act; BSER = best system of emission reduction; CO2 = carbon dioxide; GHG = greenhouse gases; […]

  • The Bittersweet Power of Hybrids

    A quest for reliability and flexibility is driving significant interest in hybrid and co-located resources, but their widespread integration could hinge on how they are defined and valued in wholesale

  • Five Emerging Risks That Could Hamper Energy Transitions

    At the virtual 2nd Global Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renewables on Oct. 27, several high-ranking policymakers pointed to a number of localized challenges affecting their countries’

  • South Korea Joins Japan and China with Carbon-Neutral Pledge

    South Korea, Japan, and China, countries that rely heavily on coal power generation to fuel their economies, separately announced ambitious goals to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the

  • BWXT: 3D Printing Breakthrough Could Speed Advanced Nuclear Reactor Development

    BWX Technologies (BWXT) on Nov. 23 said it has demonstrated the ability to additively manufacture nickel-based super alloys and refractory-metal-based alloys for use in nuclear components. The company also said it has “accomplished component-level qualification, leading to a more efficient certification of nuclear materials configured in complex geometries.”  The 3D printing breakthroughs achieved through a […]

  • POWERnews—Nov. 19, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   November 19, 2020 Could Geothermal Energy Become the ‘Sexy’ Renewable? Geothermal is an often-overlooked and even disregarded renewable energy resource. While new wind and solar energy projects garner headlines nearly every day, geothermal is rarely sighted in news feeds. That… Battle Brewing […]

  • Battle Brewing About California’s Role in Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Retirement

    An assortment of entities have sought to intervene in a complaint alleging that the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and California state agencies violated bulk power system reliability standards when they approved retirement of the 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) by 2025.  Before the comment deadline on Nov. 16, at least 15 entities sought intervention […]

  • Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Boost Advanced Nuclear, Preserve Existing Nuclear

    Legislation introduced on Nov. 17 by a bipartisan group of senators on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) will seek to strengthen the nuclear fuel supply chain, help incentivize commercial deployment of new reactor designs, and create a credit program to preserve existing nuclear reactors at risk of premature shutdown.  The American […]

  • POWERnews—Nov. 12, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   November 12, 2020 Siemens, Toshiba Pulling Out of Coal-Fired Generation Toshiba Corp. and Siemens Energy are the latest major power industry companies to move away from coal. Toshiba on Nov. 11 announced it will stop taking new construction orders for… How Biden’s […]

  • NuScale Boosts SMR Module Capacity; UAMPS Mulls Downsizing Nuclear Project

    In a breakthrough that could improve the economics of NuScale Power’s small modular reactor (SMR) technology—and reshape a project under development by its first potential customer, the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS)—the Portland, Oregon-based company on Nov. 10 said it has determined its NuScale Power Module (NPM) can generate 25% more power per module.  […]

  • AEP Will Shutter Nearly Half its Giant Coal Power Fleet—5.6 GW—by 2030

    American Electric Power (AEP) will shut down or refuel 5.6 GW of its 2020 coal-fired power fleet by 2030 to comply with environmental rules—including recent revisions governing federal coal ash and effluent limitations—and rebalance its portfolio in a bid to meet ambitious climate goals.  The move is bold for the Columbus, Ohio-based generating giant, which […]

  • How Biden’s Presidency Could (Further) Transform the Power Sector

    Joe Biden on Nov. 7 clinched the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, barring Donald Trump’s prospects for a second-term. Almost immediately, reactions from various parts of the power sector streamed in, highlighting possibilities and pitfalls of Biden’s wide-ranging energy and environment agenda.  Energy, and its implications on the environment, figured prominently as […]

  • POWERnews—Nov. 5, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   November 5, 2020 Black & Veatch: No More Coal Construction Black & Veatch is ending the company’s participation in coal-based power market design and construction, saying it will allow the company to focus on clean energy technologies. The engineering and…   2020 […]

  • 2020 Voters Cement Nevada’s 50% RPS, Shakeup of Energy Oversight in New Mexico

    Though vote-counting continued in the tight presidential race on Nov. 5, voters in Nevada and New Mexico appear to have made headway on crucial energy initiatives on the ballot.  Nevada Approves a 50% by 2030 RPS  In Nevada, the presidential race remained closely contested on Thursday morning with pundits predicting that a victory there for […]

  • Renewables Group Lambasts Labor Department’s ‘Anti-ESG’ Rule

    A pan-renewables organization has chastised the Department of Labor (DOL) for fast-tracking a new rule it has said is a “transparent attempt to slow the growth” of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing.  According to the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE)—a group that represents a wide range of renewables stakeholders including some of the […]

  • Darlington’s First Refurbishment: A Model for Nuclear Construction

    The successful refurbishment of Unit 2 at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station marked a pivotal milestone for Ontario Power Generation’s 10-year, C$12.8 billion overhaul of the plant’s four CANDU

  • How the Clean Energy Transition Is Intensifying the Energy-Water Nexus

    Decarbonization is posing a fundamental dilemma that could have widespread serious implications for the power sector: the clean energy transition, if not properly managed, could increase water stress, or be

  • Australia Launches Gas Strategy to Revitalize Power Sector

    In a bid to spur economic activity and thwart a COVID-19–related downturn, Australia’s government in September set out a strategy to reset domestic power and gas priorities to tamp down power prices and

  • JERA Planning to Shift Coal Power Fleet to 100% Ammonia

    Japanese firm JERA, a joint venture between TEPCO and Chubu Electric, on Oct. 13 issued a roadmap to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. The move is notable for the company whose business includes a sizable

  • POWERnews—Oct. 29, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   October 29, 2020 Shakeup for 720-MW Nuclear SMR Project as More Cities Withdraw Participation At least eight cities have now dropped shares in the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), a 720-MWe NuScale Power small modular reactor (SMR) project proposed by Utah Associated […]

  • Shakeup for 720-MW Nuclear SMR Project as More Cities Withdraw Participation

    At least eight cities have now dropped shares in the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), a 720-MWe NuScale Power small modular reactor (SMR) project proposed by Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS). Despite the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oct.16–announced $1.4 billion, 10-year award to fund one-time costs for the first-of-a-kind project, four Utah cities withdrew […]

  • Japan’s Carbon-Neutrality Pledge a Fundamental Shift on Coal Power

    Japan, an island nation that is currently heavily reliant on coal and gas power, will be carbon neutral in 2050, the country’s newly appointed prime minister Yoshihide Suga pledged in an Oct. 26 speech.   The announcement by Suga in his first major policy speech to the national Diet was not unexpected for the nation […]

  • POWERnews—Oct. 22, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   October 22, 2020 AECOM Sells Power Business as Part of Restructuring AECOM has announced the closing of the sale of its Power construction business to affiliates of CriticalPoint Capital LLC. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Los Angeles, California-based… Commercial […]

  • New York Reforms Clean Energy Standard

    An expansion of New York’s Clean Energy Standard (CES) approved by the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) adopts several measures that will help the state meet its new, more ambitious 70%-by-2030 renewable power target. In an Oct. 15 order, the PSC adopted several changes proposed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority […]

  • Commercial NuScale SMR in Sight as UAMPS Secures $1.4B for Plant

    Buoyed by two major developments last week for prospective customers, NuScale Power is maintaining “strong program momentum” toward commercialization of its small modular reactor (SMR) technology, the company told POWER.  On Oct. 16, the Department of Energy (DOE) approved a $1.355 billion award to fund the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), a potential 720-MWe NuScale […]

  • POWERnews—Oct. 15, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   October 15, 2020 Natrium, Xe-100 Are DOE's Picks for Advanced Nuclear Reactor Demonstrations TerraPower and X-energy will each receive $80 million in initial federal funding under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) to build their two distinct advanced […]