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.
A joint strategy released by the governments of the U.S. and Canada to thwart the growing threat of cyberattacks on the electric grid sets three priorities that the countries said would be critical to preserving energy and national security. The “Joint United States-Canada Electric Grid Security and Resilience Strategy,” released on December 15, outlines three […]
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on December 15 proposed reforms to its large generator (20 MW or more) interconnection processes. The notice of proposed rulemaking (or NOPR in FERC-speak) would revise FERC’s 2003 pro-forma large generator interconnection procedures and agreement. At the FERC meeting approving the proposed rule, FERC Chairman Norman Bay said, “Much […]
Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Coal Magnate Tells Trump to Lower His Expectations Although optimistic about the future of the coal industry under the Trump administration, Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy Corp., the largest underground coal mining company in the U.S., does not […]
· Two more Industrial Trent 60 gas turbines and generators for Bayonne Energy Center, located in New Jersey and supplying power to New York City · Simple cycle power plant is able to ramp up quickly to meet peak electricity demand with best in class simple cycle efficiencies · Additional extension to current long-term service contract Siemens […]
Block Island Wind Farm has begun commercial operations, making it America’s first offshore wind farm. Deepwater Wind and project partners have commissioned and tested the 30-MW installation off the coast of Block Island, R.I., and it is now delivering power into New England’s grid via National Grid’s 20-mile-long sea2shore submarine transmission cable, the company said […]
Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Trump Reportedly Picks Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt for EPA President-elect Donald Trump has picked Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general, Scott Pruitt, to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the New York Times reported Wednesday afternoon, citing a transition official. The […]
Global demand for the 17 periodic table elements—15 within the chemical group called lanthanides, plus yttrium and scandium—has soared in recent years as they become increasingly integrated in new technologies. Some major end uses include generators for wind turbines, permanent magnets and rechargeable batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles, automotive catalytic converters, fluid cracking catalysts […]
December 05, 2016 11:54 AM Eastern Standard Time PITTSBURGH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Westinghouse Electric Company and South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), the principal subsidiary of SCANA Corporation (NYSE: SCG), have received the Dispute Resolution Board’s (DRB) decision on the construction milestone payment schedule for the two nuclear construction projects at V.C. Summer Station in Jenkinsville, S.C. […]
December 05, 2016 02:13 PM Eastern Standard Time BALTIMORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Five Exelon utilities — Atlantic City Electric (“ACE”), Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (“BGE”), Commonwealth Edison (“ComEd”), Delmarva Power (“DPL”), and Potomac Electric Power Company (“Pepco”) — intend to issue a joint-utility Request for Proposals (“RFP”) from Winter Resources to aggregate with the Exelon utilities’ Summer […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 · 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 […]
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’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” […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 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, […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]