Sonal Patel
Articles By

Sonal Patel

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.

  • California’s PG&E Installs Innovative Methane Detection Technology

    New technology developed for EDF’s Methane Detectors Challenge will continuously detect methane leaks, reducing harmful emissions and minimizing waste December 07, 2016 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) became the first energy company in the U.S. to pilot an innovative methane detection device developed for the Methane Detectors Challenge (MDC), a […]

  • California Merchant Gas Generator, Lamenting Market Forces, Files for Bankruptcy

    The owner of a merchant 1,022-MW combined cycle natural gas–fired power plant in California has filed for bankruptcy protection, citing regulatory policies and market forces that have depressed revenues. La Paloma Generating Co. on December 6 filed for U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy, blaming a debt of $524 million that it racked up even though its four-unit […]

  • POWERnews—Dec. 1, 2016

    Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Coal-Fired Generation Projected to Surpass Natural Gas This Winter Coal, the unchallenged leader in U.S. power generation for most of the past century, may regain its place at the top of the energy mix hierarchy this winter, according to […]

  • Canada to Allow Saskatchewan to Keep Coal Plants Running Beyond 2030

    An agreement between Canada’s federal government and Saskatchewan will allow the province to continue operating its coal-fired power plants beyond 2030 as long as it achieves equivalent emission-reduction outcomes. The Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Office of the Minister of Environment for Saskatchewan reached a deal to finalize an […]

  • Reactor Vessel Placed Inside Vogtle Unit 3

    The first nuclear reactor vessel at the Plant Vogtle expansion near Augusta, Ga., has been placed inside Unit 3, marking another major milestone for the much-watched project. Construction contractors Westinghouse and Fluor Corp. lifted the 306-ton reactor vessel into its permanent location inside the AP1000 unit’s nuclear island on November 23. The vessel, fabricated by […]

  • Amec Foster Wheeler to lead study into dismantling of ITER fusion machine

    Amec Foster Wheeler to lead study into dismantling of ITER fusion machine ·             Key role in end-of-life planning for the world’s largest energy experiment ·             One of five new awards at ITER covering concept design, engineering and technical specifications     Amec Foster Wheeler announces today that it has been awarded a contract by the ITER organisation […]

  • Long-Stalled New York Repowering Project Is Revived

    Plans to repower NRG Energy’s coal-fired 435-MW Dunkirk power plant near Buffalo, N.Y., to natural gas that have been stalled for years owing to a legal challenge may finally be revived. NRG Energy mothballed the four-unit plant in January 2016. The company had filed to mothball the facility nearly four years earlier, in March 2012, […]

  • Canada to Phase Out Coal Generation by 2030, Stricter Power Plant Rules on Horizon

    Canada’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change on November 21 announced regulatory actions to accelerate the phase-out of coal generation that lacks carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) across the country within the next few decades. The measures announced by Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna are part of a larger transition from “traditional” […]

  • Paducah Laser Nuclear Enrichment Facility Gets Fuel but Not Formal Construction Decision

    While GE-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) confirmed it hasn’t made a formal decision to proceed with licensing or construction of a laser enrichment facility at Paducah, Ky., the Department of Energy (DOE) announced it has agreed to sell depleted uranium to the company over a 40-year period to help produce nuclear power plant fuel. The […]

  • POWERnews—Nov. 10, 2016

    Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Election Roundup: What Trump's Win Means for Energy and Environment Donald Trump’s stunning victory in the U.S. presidential election portends enormous changes in U.S. energy and environmental policy, and a nearly complete turnover of the men and women who […]

  • Lithium Ion Batteries Account for 83 Percent of Newly Announced Energy Storage System Capacity, According to Navigant Research

    Adoption of distributed energy storage systems, flow batteries, and hybrid battery systems is also growing, report finds November 09, 2016 05:15 AM Eastern Standard Time BOULDER, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A new report from Navigant Research examines global energy storage projects, providing a database of more than 1,200 projects encompassing more than 43,000 individual systems, with an analysis of regional […]

  • UPDATED: Unexpected Outcomes for Energy Measures on State Ballots

    The November 8 election yielded surprising results for controversial energy-related measures in three states. In Florida, voters rejected Amendment 1, a measure backed by utilities to curb the expansion of resident-owned solar rooftop installations. In Washington, the nation’s first state attempt to impose a carbon tax on fossil fuels and power generated from fossil fuels fell […]

  • POWERnews—Nov. 3, 2016

    Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide France’s Nuclear Storm: Many Power Plants Down Due to Quality Concerns The discovery of widespread carbon segregation problems in critical nuclear plant components has crippled the French power industry—20 of the country’s 58 reactors are currently offline and under […]

  • GE-Hitachi and Southern Nuclear to Pair on Fast Reactor Design Advancement 

    GE-HItachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Southern Nuclear Energy will collaborate to study the development and licensing of GEH’s PRISM sodium-cooled fast reactor design. Southern Nuclear Development, a subsidiary of Southern Co. company Southern Nuclear Operating Co. signed a memorandum of understanding to study the high-energy neutron reactor design, as well as to work together toward […]

  • Wärtsilä to supply a 135 MW Flexicycle power plant to Lombok, Indonesia

        Wärtsilä Corporation, Press release, 3 November 2016 at 10:00 am EET A consortium consisting of Wärtsilä and an Indonesian construction company PT PP (Persero) Tbk has been selected to supply a 135 MW Flexicycle (combined cycle) power plant to PT PLN, the Indonesian state utility. The consortium will deliver a full EPC (Engineering, […]

  • Massive Scottish Tidal Stream Project’s First 1.5-MW Turbines Are Unveiled

    Four 1.5-MW tidal stream turbines that will make up the first phase of the massive MeyGen project proposed for installation in the Pentland Firth, have been fully assembled. Three of the turbines were built by Andritz Hydro Hammerfest. Tidal power generation firm Atlantis Resources, which owns 85% of the MeyGen project, built the remaining one, […]

  • Schneider Electric Acquires MaxEAM to Strengthen Enterprise Asset Performance Management (APM) Portfolio

    Acquisition enhances user experience for work scheduling, task execution and data conversion LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Oct. 31, 2016 – Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, today announced the acquisition of MaxEAM, a software company with complementary applications that extend Avantis.PRO Enterprise Asset Management. The acquisition further solidifies the portfolio and […]

  • DOE Seeks More Information on Private Interim Nuclear Waste Storage Facilities

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a request for information to assess the future role of private consolidated interim storage facilities in the agency’s plans for an integrated nuclear waste management system. The DOE noted in an October 27 notice published in the Federal Register that since it unveiled a strategy for the […]

  • POWERnews—Oct. 27, 2016

    Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Moniz: Eight Critical U.S. Nuclear Power Issues That Should Be Addressed Now Nuclear power's future—and its much-needed contribution to U.S. decarbonization efforts—may be hampered if eight pressing issues aren't addressed within the next five years, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest […]

  • Plant Barry to Pilot Fuel Cell Carbon Capture from Coal and Gas Generation

    FuelCell Energy and ExxonMobil will test a novel fuel cell carbon capture technology at a Southern Co. 2.7-GW coal- and gas-fired power plant in Alabama, the companies said on October 27. The technology under development by the companies uses carbonate fuel cells to concentrate and capture carbon dioxide streams from power plants. A pilot plant […]

  • USDA to Provide $3.6B in Loans for Rural Electric Projects

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will provide $3.6 billion in loans to fund 82 projects in 31 states to finance new transmission and distribution lines, smart grid technologies, renewable projects, environmental improvements, and energy efficiency. The agency said on October 26 that the loans will be provided through the Electric Program of […]

  • IEA Report: Mexico’s Energy Reform Set to Revitalize Ailing Sector

    26 October 2016 Mexico’s wide-ranging energy reform, which began in 2013, is expected to reverse the country’s declining oil production, increase the share of renewables in the power sector, and slow the growth in carbon emissions, providing a solid foundation for robust economic growth in the coming decades, according to the International Energy Agency. Mexico’s […]

  • Moniz: Eight Critical U.S. Nuclear Power Issues That Should Be Addressed Now

    Nuclear power’s future—and its much-needed contribution to U.S. decarbonization efforts—may be hampered if eight pressing issues aren’t addressed within the next five years, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said at a recent event held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The issues Moniz outlined in his keynote speech at a six-hour event titled […]

  • Negotiations Underway for 300-MW Coal Plant in Colombia

    New Colombia Resources in Negotiations to Build a 300 MW Thermal Coal Power Plant Near their Coal Property in Colombia in Association with a Foreign Entity that Secured a US$ 200 Million L.O.I. from a Major Construction Company in China NEWS PROVIDED BY New Colombia Resources Inc.  Oct 19, 2016, 10:32 ET BARRANQUILLA, Colombia, October 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ […]

  • Inland Empire Utilities Agency and Advanced Microgrid Solutions Launch First-of-its-Kind Energy Storage Project

    Link between Energy Storage, Renewable Power Takes on Water-Energy Nexus, Lowers Costs NEWS PROVIDED BY Advanced Microgrid Solutions  Oct 20, 2016, 16:09 ET CHINO, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Clean tech energy storage leader Advanced Microgrid Solutions(AMS) and the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) today launched a landmark water-energy project using advanced energy storage systems to better integrate […]

  • Emerson Targets $1 Trillion in Industry Losses with Operational Certainty™ Program

    Emerson Helps Companies Improve Earnings As Much As 15 Percent and Achieve Top Quartile Performance October 24, 2016 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As the oil and gas, petrochemical, refining and other manufacturing companies face mounting pressure to achieve improved financial results, Emerson (NYSE: EMR) today launched Operational Certainty™, a technology and engineering-based […]

  • Westinghouse & KHNP Sign MOU to Promote Bilateral Technological Exchange

    October 24, 2016 09:39 AM Eastern Daylight Time SEOUL, Korea–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Westinghouse Electric Company and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Co. Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form a technological exchange committee to promote a discussion and exchange of engineering capabilities between both organizations. The bilateral MOU will fully engage the partners’ capabilities in […]

  • POWERnews—Oct. 20, 2016

    Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Court Orders EPA to Evaluate Coal Industry Job Losses Related to Air Pollution Rules A federal court has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to file a plan and schedule to evaluate the consequences of its air pollution rules […]

  • Pilot Test of Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion Carbon Capture Technology Kicks Off in Canada

    In a major development for a novel carbon capture technology, developers are preparing to commission a 1-MWt oxy-fired pressurized fluidized bed combustion (oxy-PFBC) pilot test facility in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its Canadian counterpart, Natural Resources Canada, commemorated the facility’s construction and commissioning in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 18 […]

  • Siemens to supply key equipment for combined cycle power plant in Canada

    Siemens received an order to deliver the main components for installation at SaskPower’s planned Chinook Power Station – a 350 megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired power plant to be located near Swift Current, Saskatchewan in Canada. Customer is the Canadian engineering and construction company Burns & McDonnell. The thermal power project, scheduled for operation in the […]