Sonal Patel is a national award-winning multimedia journalist and senior editor at POWER magazine with nearly two decades of experience delivering technically rigorous reporting across power generation, transmission, distribution, policy, and infrastructure worldwide.
San Antonio-based Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) said on Aug. 12 it will get $3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and another $760,658 from an assortment of industry giants to design a large-scale flameless pressurized oxy-fuel combustion pilot plant. The announcement is a major boost for the promising, but yet unproven technology, that […]
A coalition of 22 states and seven local governments on Aug. 13 filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which the Trump administration finalized in June to replace the Obama administration’s legacy Clean Power Plan (CPP). Separately, 10 public interest groups filed a petition on Aug. […]
August 8, 2019 DOE Speeds Up Development of Experimental Fast Reactor, Sustain Flagging U.S. Nuclear Sector The Department of Energy (DOE) officially launched development of its Versatile Test Reactor (VTR), an experimental fast reactor that will foster experiments with much higher neutron energy and flux compared… Read More Sponsored Content Timken Power Systems: The Complete […]
The Department of Energy (DOE) officially launched development of its Versatile Test Reactor (VTR), a fast reactor that will foster experiments with much higher neutron energy and flux compared to the nation’s existing 35 research reactors to develop advanced nuclear fuel for future nuclear power plants in the U.S. The facility, it says, is necessary […]
Discussions about fossil-fueled power capacity are typically centered on coal and natural gas. The former is seeing a marked decline amid climate concerns, and the latter is seeing unprecedented growth, owing to relatively low prices. Seemingly forgotten, but still a major source of power, are plants fired with petroleum liquids. In 2017, according to the […]
On July 29, 1949, at 2:15 p.m., General Electric’s (GE’s) first gas turbine at the Belle Isle Station in Oklahoma City began delivering power to Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co.’s distribution system. The 3.5-MW GE Frame 3 machine reportedly had an efficiency of about 17%. Since the Belle Isle machine (Figure 1) started up seventy […]
Ohio’s Gov. Mike DeWine (R) on July 23 quickly signed a controversial nuclear subsidy bill that narrowly passed the state’s House of Representatives on Tuesday, making Ohio the fifth state in the nation to prop up nuclear power. Lawmakers passed H.B. 6 with a 51–38 vote Tuesday. The bill passed the state Senate on July […]
GE Renewable Energy’s mammoth offshore wind 12-MW Haliade-X turbine is on track for an accelerated commercial launch in 2021, the company said as it unveiled the turbine’s first manufactured components on July 22. Haliade-X features a 220-meter (m) rotor and a 107-m blade designed by GE subsidiary LM Wind Power. The turbine design also includes […]
New York on July 18 enacted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), law that requires the state to produce 100% of its power from renewables and nuclear by 2040. The legislation includes agreements to build two offshore wind projects worth a combined 1.7 GW by 2025, the single largest renewable energy procurement in […]
In a bid to enhance the reactor oversight process (ROP), staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recommended the commission change qualitative descriptions for some color labels that signify risk, scale back on the time and scope of some annual inspections at the nation’s nuclear power fleet, as well as increase intervals between inspections. […]
July 11, 2019 A Brief History of GE Gas Turbines July marks two important milestones that set gas-fired generation on its course to becoming a dominant form of power generation: commercial operation of the world’s first industrial gas turbine in… Read More Sponsored Content Timken Power Systems: The Complete Drivetrain Solution What happens when six […]
A fully digital nuclear reactor instrumentation and control system (I&C)—the first of its kind in the U.S.—at a Purdue University research reactor in West Lafayette, Indiana, has been licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Upgrades to digitalize Purdue University Reactor Number 1 (PUR 1)—a pool-type12-kWt reactor (that runs at 1 kW) originally built in […]
In a recent interview, Raul Pereda, president and CEO of PW Power Systems (PWPS), talked to POWER about the company’s long legacy as a gas turbine manufacturer, advancements in technology it has achieved over the past 60 years, and new applications for its turbines within a transitioning energy system. No one can read a history […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is behind on its proposed revisions to the Obama administration’s effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) for steam electric power plants. In an e-mail to POWER on July 9, the EPA confirmed that the agency was still “working expeditiously” to complete the proposed rule, and it has yet to submit it to […]
July marks two important milestones that set gas-fired generation on its course to becoming a dominant form of power generation: commercial operation of the world’s first industrial gas turbine in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in 1939, and commercial operation of the first gas turbine in the U.S. used to generate electric power—a 3.5-MW General Electric (GE) unit […]
July 3, 2019 A Fine Couple They Are (Wind and Solar Power) The pairing of wind and solar is emerging as a smart strategy to implement renewable energy sources with better economic feasibility. The pairing of wind and solar power is an… Read More Sponsored Content How Utilities Can Lead The Energy Revolution As industry […]
Adding carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to two Xcel coal units in Colorado that are slated to be retired by 2025 would push up the cost of power if compared with replacement with wind/storage hybrids. But CCUS, which generates revenues, would still work out to be cheaper than other alternatives mandated under the company’s […]
Coal power, which has seen a marked decline in the U.S., is necessary for reliability and energy affordability, and sustaining it could boost pollution technology exports and “improve lives while driving down emissions worldwide,” said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler in a speech last week. Wheeler made the remarks at a 90-minute event […]
June 27, 2019 As Renewables Surge Ahead of Coal, Lawmakers Introduce National Renewable Standard A bill introduced by Senate Democrats on June 26 establishes a national electricity standard that would require large retail suppliers to source at least 1.5% of their power from renewables… Read More Sponsored Content Piping Solutions Using Non-Welded Connections For hydropower […]
A bill introduced by Senate Democrats on June 26 establishes a national electricity standard that would require large retail suppliers to source at least 1.5% of their power from renewables by 2020 and gradually grow that share through 2035. The measure comes a day after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed monthly generation from renewable […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 24 proposed to partially approve Georgia’s permit program for the disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR). As it did so, it gave other states some advice: Follow Georgia’s lead and assume oversight of coal ash that power plants dispose within your borders. The preliminary approval marks another important […]
Danish renewables firm Ørsted’s 1.1-GW Ocean Wind project is the winner of New Jersey’s first award for offshore wind, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) said on June 21. Ørsted, with support from Public Service Enterprise Group’s (PSEG’s) non-utility affiliate, vied for the award with two other offshore wind developers that submitted bids […]
June 20, 2019 EPA Finalizes ACE Rule, Replaces Clean Power Plan The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule to formally replace the Obama administration’s controversial Clean Power Plan (CPP). Like the CPP, the June 19–issued… Read More Siemens Will Cut Another 2,700 Jobs; GE Announces Cuts in Switzerland Siemens […]
Authorities have initiated a far-reaching investigation into an unprecedented blackout that on June 16 hit a wide swath of South America—most of Argentina and Uruguay, and parts of Paraguay—affecting tens of millions of people. The massive blackout—apagón—is thought to have originated in a disturbance that affected two high-voltage lines, Colonia Elia Y Mercedes and Colonia […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule to formally replace the Obama administration’s controversial Clean Power Plan (CPP). Like the CPP, the June 19–issued final ACE rule will regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs), and it will be founded firmly on the agency’s 2009 Endangerment Finding. However, the ACE rule focuses […]
XENOTIME, a cyberthreat activity group thought responsible for TRISIS/TRITON malware attacks on safety instrumented systems (SIS) at an oil and gas Middle Eastern facility in 2017, has been probing power company networks in the U.S. and elsewhere, new intelligence from industrial control systems (ICS) security firm Dragos shows. “In February 2019, Dragos identified a change in […]
June 13, 2019 In a Surprise Announcement, Colstrip Units 1 and 2 to Close by Year-End Talen Montana—part-owner and operator of the Colstrip Steam Electric Station—announced that Units 1 and 2 at the coal-fired power plant will be retired by year-end, well ahead of a previously… Read More DOE’s Perry: Coal, Nuclear Must Be Saved […]
Through a series of incentives and mandates, New Jersey is planning to produce 100% of its power from carbon-neutral sources, electrify its vehicle fleet and building sectors, and set mandatory efficiency standards for electric utilities by 2050, an energy blueprint released by the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) suggests. The June 10-released “Draft 2019 Energy […]
General Electric (GE) has rolled out a new portfolio of predictive analytics that could allow utilities to use data from transmission and distribution networks to achieve better operational efficiency as more distributed assets are introduced to the grid. The company on June 11 unveiled three new grid analytics—for storm readiness, network connectivity, and effective inertia—that […]
India is striving to conserve coal and slash its carbon emissions. The country which depended on coal for 56% of its total capacity of 356 GW as of May 2019, wants to reduce coal’s share to 45% of a planned capacity expansion to 480 GW by the end of 2022. During that period, it will […]