Sonal Patel
Articles By

Sonal Patel

  • Williamson College is Offering “Introduction to Thermal Power Plants” Course 

    “An Introduction to Large Thermal Power Generation Plants,” a 3-day course designed to provide useful knowledge to those interested in energy, electric power generation, and the basics of fossil power production, is being presented by Williamson College of the Trades, in Media, Pa., from July 12-14. The course will include tours of three local power […]

  • POWER news—June 2, 2016

    Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Great Plains Energy to Acquire Westar Energy in Deal Worth $12.2 Billion Kansas City–based Great Plains Energy has agreed to purchase Westar Energy—Kansas’ largest electric utility—in a combined cash and stock transaction with an enterprise value of about $12.2 […]

  • Siemens signs first balance of plant wind service agreement in U.S.

      Siemens has signed a long-term contract extension for service and maintenance at the 152-megawatt (MW) Keenan II wind farm in Oklahoma that will add Balance of Plant (BoP) to the scope and extend it for another 15 years. This marks the first long-term BoP wind service agreement in the U.S. for Siemens. The customer […]

  • Thailand Utility Signs Multiyear Parts and Repair Agreement with GE to Support Availability of Bangkok Power Plants

    Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) Signs Six-Year Pact with GE’s Power Services Business, Covering Fleet of Gas Turbines at Two Power Plants in Bangkok Agreement Builds on GE’s Work with EGAT to Increase Availability, Reliability and Economics of the Power Plants   BANGKOK—May 26, 2016—GE’s Power Services business (NYSE: GE) today announced it has signed a multiyear […]

  • Secretary of Energy Moniz Urges Continued Work on ITER Fusion Reactor

      General Atomics is Building ITER’s Central Solenoid, the Heart of the Fusion Reactor SAN DIEGO, May 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Dr. Jeff Quintenz, Senior Vice President of General Atomics’ Energy Group, issued the following statement on Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz’s report released today recommending continued U.S. support for ITER, the world’s largest magnetic fusion device […]

  • DOE Ditches Two Major Offshore Wind Demonstration Projects

    The Department of Energy (DOE) has pulled back funding for two proposed offshore wind demonstration projects spearheaded separately by Dominion Virginia Power and Principle Power, bolstering its support instead for projects it says demonstrate more progress or potential. The funding decision stems from the agency’s 2012 selection of seven offshore demonstration projects, which initially received […]

  • Proposed Rule Requires Federal Government Contractors, Vendors to Disclose Climate Risks

    A new rule proposed by the Obama administration requires vendors and contractors selling goods and services to the federal government to disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-related risk data. The rule proposed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council on May 25 seeks to drive greater disclosure of the federal government’s supply chain, which […]

  • POWERnews—May 26, 2016

    Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Watts Bar Unit 2 Reactor Goes Critical (and That’s a Good Thing) The Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) newest nuclear plant, Watts Bar Unit 2, achieved initial criticality on May 23 at 2:16 a.m. Although that may sound ominous to […]

  • AGs Tell EPA to Halt Aid to States Planning Clean Power Plan Compliance

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must halt its drive to help states supportive of the Clean Power Plan to comply with the rule because it defies the Supreme Court stay, the attorneys general for West Virginia and Texas have urged the agency. An April 28 request to the agency by 14 states seeking technical assistance […]

  • Fluor Completes Dominion’s Brunswick County Power Station

    May 23, 2016 04:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time IRVING, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced today that it has achieved substantial completion for Dominion Virginia Power’s (NYSE: D) Brunswick County (Va.) Power Station. .@FluorCorp completes Dominion’s Brunswick County Power Station Tweet this Fluor provided engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services for the 1,358-megawatt natural gas-fueled power […]

  • GE Renewable Energy Introduces New Suite of Digital Wind Farm Apps

    Five software applications built to enhance annual energy production and improve wind farm profitability Industrial wind apps include Energy Forecasting for business strategy optimization, Wind PowerUp* Services and Digital Plan of the Day to streamline site operations, and Diagnostics & Prognostics for turbine-level asset performance management All apps are built on GE’s Predix* software platform and include […]

  • Xcel Energy Delivering Clean Energy to Communities

    Company sees drop in emissions, ramps up renewable energy May 24, 2016 10:59 AM Eastern Daylight Time MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Xcel Energy’s commitment to clean energy is benefiting the customers and the environment in the communities it serves. By adding wind and solar power, retiring aging coal plants and expanding energy efficiency programs, the company has significantly […]

  • Westinghouse Zephyr® Saves Customers Time and Money

    May 24, 2016 01:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, the Arizona Public Service Company’s Palo Verde Generating Station in Wintersburg, Ariz., was honored with a Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Top Innovative Practice (TIP) award for enhancing plant performance. The Westinghouse Combustion Engineering Vendor Award went to Palo Verde for successfully piloting commercial application of […]

  • Two Exelon Nuclear Plants Fail to Clear PJM Auction

    Exelon’s Quad Cities and Three Mile Island nuclear plants have failed to clear the PJM capacity auction for the 2019–2020 planning year, and the future looks grim for at least one of those plants. The Chicago-headquartered company on May 25 confirmed that the two plants would not receive capacity revenue for the period. It also […]

  • POWER news—May 19, 2016

    Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide D.C. Circuit Delays Clean Power Plan Case Hearing by Months, Opts for En Banc Review Oral arguments to assess the merits of the Clean Power Plan will now take place before a nine-judge panel at the U.S. Court of […]

  • EIA: Clean Power Plan Will Wallop Coal Power Generation

    Even if the final Clean Power Plan is not implemented, U.S. electricity-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will remain well below 2005 levels, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a comparison of two cases looking forward through 2040. The cases are part of the agency’s May 17–released Annual Energy Outlook 2016 Early Release (AEO2016 Early […]

  • Scuderi Clean Energy’s System Produces Low Heat Rates

    WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass., May 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Scuderi Clean Energy (SCE) today announced that its system heat rates can be significantly lower than the traditional power generation systems on the market today. Today’s wholesale electric market is directly related to the cost of natural gas (NG).  In the U.S., more and more power generation […]

  •  Dow Increases Clean Energy Targets Aligned to 2025 Sustainability Goals 

    Groundbreaking partnership with NRG Energy will provide increased renewable wind energy to power Dow Operations  MIDLAND, Mich. – May 17, 2016 – Today, The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) advances its vision to accelerate the development of cost-effective clean energy alternatives and reduce carbon emissions by increasing its clean energy target from 400 MW to […]

  • Emerson helps Longview power plant become one of the cleanest, most efficient coal-fired units in the United States 

    Fast-track automation project boosts reliability and energy output PITTSBURGH (May 17, 2016) – Longview Power’s rehabilitation of its 700-megawatt power plant in Maidsville, West Virginia, has transformed an operation previously beset by frequent outages and poor performance into one of the cleanest, most efficient coal-fired plants in the United States. Emerson (NYSE: EMR) contributed to […]

  • D.C. Circuit Delays Clean Power Plan Case Hearing by Months, Opts for En Banc Review

    Oral arguments to assess the merits of the Clean Power Plan will now take place before a nine-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on September 27, bypassing review of challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) controversial rule by a three-judge panel that was originally scheduled to […]

  • Leading Wind Developer Signs MOU with HVDC Transmission Project to Develop up to 600 MW of New Wind Generation Projects in Upstate New York

    Wind energy and transmission project combination add up to $2.5 billion of new construction for NYS ALBANY, N.Y., May 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — HVDC transmission developer Empire State Connector Corp. (“ESC” or the “Company”) today announced that the Company has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Invenergy who is developing a portfolio of […]

  • POWER news—May 12, 2016

    Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide EIA International Outlook to 2040 Foresees Decoupling of Power Demand and Economic Growth The world's frenzied economic growth through 2040 won't be matched by electricity demand growth, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) says in the International Energy Outlook 2016 […]

  • [SLIDESHOW] Highlights from the EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2016

    See “EIA International Outlook to 2040 Foresees Decoupling of Power Demand and Economic Growth,” (May 11, 2016) for an in-depth review of the Energy Information Administration (EIA)’s newly released International Energy Outlook 2016.  [gss link=”none” ids=”88941,88939,88947,88955,88967,88951″] —Sonal Patel, associate editor (@POWERmagazine, @sonalcpatel)

  • EIA International Outlook to 2040 Foresees Decoupling of Power Demand and Economic Growth

    The world’s frenzied economic growth through 2040 won’t be matched by electricity demand growth, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) says in the International Energy Outlook 2016 (IEO2016 ) released on May 11. World net electricity generation will jump 69% by 2040, the IEO2016 reference case projects, but that is still well below “what it would […]

  • Solano County landfill gas-to-energy project providing clean power to homes

    SUISUN CITY, Calif., May 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Potrero Hills Energy Producers, a partnership between DTE Biomass Energy Inc. and Pacolet Milliken Enterprises, recently started generating electricity from landfill gas. This cleaner source of electricity comes from a newly constructed renewable energy facility at the Potrero Hills Landfill in Suisun City, Calif. DTE Biomass Energy, the developer and operator […]

  • DNV GL-led project gives green light for wind-powered oil recovery

    OTC Houston: The DNV GL-led WIN WIN1 Joint Industry Project (JIP) shows that for suitable fields, wind-powered water injection is technically feasible, capable of meeting performance targets, and offers a cost-competitive alternative to conventional water injection solutions. For the past year, participants from both the renewable and oil and gas industries have worked together in the […]

  • AMSC Announces D-VAR® System Orders for the Electric Grid in Australia

    DEVENS, Mass., May 09, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AMSC, a global energy solutions provider serving wind and power grid industry leaders, today announced new orders for multiple sites for D-VAR® STATCOM systems to support Australia’s electric grid. Under the terms of the order, the systems will be installed in one of the Company’s target markets, […]

  • Energy Companies Launch Critical Transmission Equipment Sparing Company

    COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 9, 2016 – Six energy companies Friday officially launched Grid Assurance™, an independent company providing transmission sparing solutions for critical electric transmission equipment. Michael Deggendorf, senior vice president, Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), was named Grid Assurance™ CEO and will oversee the formation and operations of the company.  At KCP&L, Deggendorf […]

  • Southern Co. Kemper IGCC Delays, Cost Surges Are Under SEC Scrutiny

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is conducting a formal investigation concerning costs and delays plaguing Mississippi Power’s Kemper integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant. Southern Co., Mississippi Power’s parent company, revealed the investigation in a recent 10-Q financial filing. The company said that while it is fully cooperating with the SEC, it believes the […]

  • NRC Issues Environmental Impact Supplement For Long-Stalled Yucca Mountain Proposal

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on May 6 released a final environmental impact statement (EIS) supplement for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, a court-obligated finding that may revive the comatose project. The final supplement evaluates the potential environmental impacts on groundwater and other impacts associated with the discharge of contaminated groundwater from the […]