Underscoring energy storage’s new vital role in power company operations, Siemens and AES Corp. have launched a joint company, Fluence Energy, that provides technology solutions paired with engineering and services capabilities. AES and Siemens on January 11 announced that Fluence, which merges AES Energy Storage and Siemens’ energy storage team, received all government approvals for the […]

In a press briefing held with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg on January 10, President Donald Trump said that U.S. could “conceivably” re-enter into global climate change mitigation efforts under the Paris accord. While he has “no problem” with the accord itself, he felt the agreement negotiated by the Obama administration treated the U.S. unfairly, […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has rejected the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) controversial proposed rule on grid reliability and resilience pricing, initiating instead a new proceeding that will examine the resilience of the bulk power system. The DOE’s “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule” proposed on Sept. 29 directed FERC—an independent regulatory government agency that is […]

 IRVING, Texas (January 8, 2018) – Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) confirmed today that the company, working under its contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in support of a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mission to help repair and restore the power grid in Puerto Rico, has completed work on two 115kv transmission […]

Wärtsilä Corporation, Press release, 8 January 2018 at 3 p.m. EET The technology group Wärtsilä will deliver a 22.7 MW Smart Power Generation plant under a full Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) contract to Cooperative Energy, a member-owned electric cooperative based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The project will consist of two gas-fired Wärtsilä 31SG engines, the […]

January 4, 2018 Brookfield Business Partners to Acquire Westinghouse from Toshiba Corp. Westinghouse Electric Co., a company that is emerging from a bankruptcy stemming from the half-built AP1000 reactor projects in Georgia and South Carolina, is to be acquired from Toshiba Corp.… Read More Despite New Jersey Senate Vote on Nuclear Subsidies, Bill May Not […]

Westinghouse Electric Co., a company that is emerging from a bankruptcy stemming from the half-built AP1000 reactor projects in Georgia and South Carolina, is to be acquired from Toshiba Corp. by business services and industrials company Brookfield Business Partners. Brookfield, a company of Toronto-headquartered Brookfield Asset Management, announced on January 4 that it entered into […]

 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has proposed a revision of the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards to enhance awareness of existing or developing cybersecurity threats to the nation’s energy infrastructure. FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) on December 21 that directs the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) to broaden CIP-008-5 […]

New Jersey’s full Senate is scheduled on January 4 to vote on a bill to subsidize two of the state’s nuclear power plants. However, industry observers posit that the measure won’t clear the full Assembly before the state legislature’s lame-duck session ends on January 9. S.3560 was introduced on December 14 after a preliminary hearing earlier […]

SCANA Corp., a company reeling from a decision to abandon two half-built nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer project in South Carolina, is getting a lifeline from Dominion Energy, one of the nation’s largest utilities. The two companies on January 3 announced an agreement to combine in a stock-for-stock merger. The proposed deal is valued […]

Despite recent regulatory reforms relieving the oil industry of certain federal requirements, many oil and gas companies, refineries, and pipeline facilities operating in California are not immune from state regulatory requirements, including some new regulations that become effective August 30, 2018. Even if companies think they are in compliance, they should check again to make […]

An energy transition is underway across the world. Market upheaval, defining events, and recent policy changes have accelerated a shift away from coal toward renewables. Here is how this transformation played out for some of the world’s major economies over the past decade. Graphs show percent of each fuel source of total generation for that […]

December 28, 2017 Eight States Sue EPA, Arguing Ozone Transport Region Decision Is “Unlawful” Eight northeastern states are again suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force the agency to slash emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) blowing in from… Read More Siemens Reaches for Higher Efficiency with Its HL-Class Gas […]

Eight northeastern states are again suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force the agency to slash emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) blowing in from power plants and other sources in nine “upwind” Midwestern and southern states. The Ozone Transport Region, which was established by Congress under Section 184 of […]

Olkiluoto 3, a much delayed first-of-its-kind EPR nuclear plant project under construction in Finland, has begun hot functional tests and should begin generating electricity in May 2019, according to Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO). TVO on December 19 said hot functional tests underway at the reactor, which are part of commissioning, are expected to […]

December 14, 2017 Georgia PSC Will Decide Vogtle's Fate on December 21 The Georgia Public Service Commission on December 11 said it will decide December 21 whether to allow construction of two new nuclear reactors at the Plant Vogtle site to move… Read More Game-Changing Supercritical CO2 Cycles Are Closer to Commercialization Supercritical carbon dioxide […]

Supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) cycles—which are inching closer to commercial applications for waste heat recovery, concentrating solar power, nuclear, and fossil energy—offer higher thermal efficiencies and power density than conventional steam Rankine and Air Brayton cycles in use today for power generation. But to realize these potentially game-changing cycles, common challenges associated with turbomachinery must […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry has granted a 30-day extension sought by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Kevin McIntyre last week to give the regulatory agency more time before it acts on the controversial proposed Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule. In a strongly worded letter, however, he told FERC to act expeditiously to allay reliability threats to […]

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt told House lawmakers on December 7 that the agency will introduce a rule to replace the Obama administration’s legacy Clean Power Plan. Pruitt told Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) in a brief exchange, during a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Environment held on Thursday […]

Kevin McIntyre, freshly sworn in as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), has asked the Department of Energy (DOE) for a 30-day extension for the commission to act on the proposed Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule. FERC is required to take final action on Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s September 28-issued notice of proposed rulemaking […]

December 7, 2017 GE Cutting 12,000 Jobs in Power Division General Electric (GE) said December 7 it will cut 12,000 jobs in its power unit as the company continues to struggle with changes in the global power market. The company… Read More Submit your nomination for Connected Plant Conference Game Changers Award Deadline Extended to […]

New Jersey lawmakers are exploring whether to legislatively prop up future operation of two nuclear power plants in the state, holding a hearing on December 4 in which key stakeholders sounded off on how nuclear subsidies could affect the environment, the economy, and the power market. The hearing, jointly held by the state Senate Environment […]

 The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week reportedly closed an investigation concerning costs and delays at Mississippi Power’s now-abandoned Kemper integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project without recommending an enforcement action. Mississippi Power on December 1 also reached an amended settlement agreement with key stakeholders on the remaining costs associated with the $7.5 billion […]

November 22, 2017 Exelon's Digital Transformation [PODCAST] GE and Exelon announced a multi-year agreement to deploy GE’s portfolio of Predix software solutions across the energy company’s six electric utilities to further enhance reliability and efficient service to… Read More GE Power Falters on Underperformance of Alstom Investment Weak earnings associated with General Electric’s (GE’s) underperforming […]

Weak earnings associated with General Electric’s (GE’s) underperforming $10.1 billion investment in Alstom have prompted the giant conglomerate to rejigger its power business and lean more heavily on other segments. GE Power, the company’s long-standing and lucrative business unit that has installed 1.6 GW of the world’s installed capacity over its 125-year history, has also […]

November 16, 2017 Siemens Will Consolidate Power Divisions, Cut 6,900 Jobs Siemens has announced it will cut 6,900 jobs, about half of them in Germany, over the next “several years” as the company consolidates its three power-related divisions. The November 16… Read More Take power quality analysis and system planning to the next level with […]

Dominion Energy will formally ask the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to relicense its two reactors at the North Anna Power Station for 20 more years—effectively extending their operating lives up to 80 years. Dominion Energy Virginia notified the federal regulatory body of its intent to relicense the two reactors in Louisa County, Virginia, which it […]

November 2, 2017 Death Toll at 26 After Explosion at India Thermal Plant An explosion at a coal-fired power plant in India has killed as many as 26 people and injured more than 100, according to officials in Lucknow, India. The blast, which… Read More Death Toll at 26 After Explosion at India Thermal Plant […]

Global technology and engineering giant Emerson renewed its bid for a $29 billion takeover of Rockwell Automation, the world’s largest dedicated industrial automation firm, saying it remained “convinced” a merger of the companies offered “compelling strategic, operational, and financial merit.” Emerson Chairman and CEO David Farr on November 16 sent Rockwell’s president and CEO, Blake […]

Siemens in November introduced the SGT-A45 TR, a mobile 44-MW aeroderivative gas turbine designed for the world’s booming fast power market. While the product’s launch is pivotal for the giant technology conglomerate—which has suffered flagging orders for large gas turbines—Siemens’ interest in distributed generation also points to a prominent direction in which the future of […]