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 […]

November 9, 2017 Exelon Subsidiary Files Bankruptcy; Lenders Would Take Over Four Plants ExGen Texas Power (EGTP) Holdings LLC and ExGen Texas Power LLC, a subsidiary of Exelon Corp., on November 7 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court… Read More Successful Global Multiyear Major Outages, Demonstrating MD&A’s One-Stop Solution Mechanical […]

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc. (B&W), which is already in the midst of a restructuring plan and ongoing cost controls, will slash 30% of its renewable energy workforce and implement cost-saving measures across the company to combat falling revenues. The global energy and environmental technology and services provider said as it announced its 2017 third […]

POWER magazine has been the voice of the industry for 135 years—and its rich archive is a rare chronicle of the uncertainties that the power sector has always faced. In September 1939, two months before this piece was published, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, prompting the UK—and within hours—Australia, India, New Zealand, and France to declare […]

A bitter dispute concerning subsidies for nuclear generation that has divided the power sector grew more intense over the past week as Connecticut, Ohio, and Pennsylvania advanced efforts to keep nuclear plants operating. At the same time, legal challenges to existing measures in Illinois and New York continued in two federal courts. In Connecticut, Gov. […]

Dynegy Inc.’s pending merger with Vistra Energy will create a company of a significant diversification and scale designed to weather volatile markets. Over the past year, at least eight other major power companies have embarked on various strategies to guard against distress in unregulated markets. Duke Energy. Three years ago, Duke Energy announced it would move away from organized […]

To strengthen balance sheets and thwart market woes afflicting generators in competitive markets, Dynegy Inc. and Vistra Energy will merge, creating a company that is projected to have a value greater than $20 billion. Dynegy, which operates a power plant fleet of 27 GW, will merge into Vistra Energy, the parent company of TXU Energy […]

October 26, 2017 What States Told FERC About the DOE’s Grid Resiliency Rule [INFOGRAPHIC] Comments on the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) proposed grid resiliency rule from an assortment of state agencies, trade groups, environmental organizations, and organized market entities flooded the Federal Energy Regulatory… Read More Advanced power quality analysis – Fast, easy setup. One-touch […]

Comments on the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) proposed grid resiliency rule from an assortment of state agencies, trade groups, environmental organizations, and organized market entities flooded the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) docket before the tight three-week timeframe expired Oct. 23. The DOE’s “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule” proposed on Sept. 29 directs FERC—an independent regulatory […]

A report released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) outlines a number of solutions and general best practices to thwart infiltration by the ongoing Dragonfly cyberattack campaign, which it says is targeting operational technology personnel. (For an in-depth story on that report, see: “DHS, FBI Identify Tactics in Cyberattack […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned in an e-mail on October 20 that an ongoing cyberattack campaign is targeting the nuclear, energy, and other critical infrastructure sectors since at least May 2017—with results ranging from cyber espionage to the ability to disrupt energy systems in the event of […]

Construction of two nuclear plants in South Korea, halted this July by President Moon Jae-in’s announced policy to phase out nuclear power, will continue after a citizens’ jury voted to resume the projects. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) was building Shin Kori 5 and 6, two AP1400 units, but the company decided to suspend […]

October 19, 2017 Siemens Reportedly Downsizing Power and Gas Business  Stricken by falling orders for large gas turbines, global technology conglomerate Siemens AG is reportedly moving to downsize its Power and Gas segment. The changes may include closure or sale… Read More NRG Stops Plan for California Gas Plant NRG Energy has stopped development of […]

Stricken by falling orders for large gas turbines, global technology conglomerate Siemens AG is reportedly moving to downsize its Power and Gas segment. The changes may include closure or sale of major sites globally and result in thousands of job cuts. The company will likely embark on a reorganization plan this November that could result […]

More than 300 solar employees laid off this summer following a recent surge of U.S. photovoltaic (PV) panel imports may be eligible for federal entitlement, including income support and allowances, the Department of Labor (DOL) has determined. In petitions for Trade Adjustment Assistance filed with the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration by laid-off solar workers […]

SCANA Corp., already under federal and state scrutiny for how it handled the now-abandoned V.C. Summer nuclear expansion, has been served with a document subpoena by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SCANA said in a news release that it intends to fully cooperate with the investigation of the nuclear project. The development follows […]

Vistra Energy moved to halt a financial hemorrhage stemming from unprofitable conditions in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), announcing plans to shutter two more coal-fired power plants—the 1.1-GW Sandow Power Plant (which includes a 2009-built unit) and the 1.2-GW Big Brown plant—in early 2018. The company’s decision made public on October 13 comes on […]