Worldwide power demand for computing could exceed the world’s energy production by 2040, according to a report from a global coalition of trade groups for microchip manufacturers. The recently released 2015 International Technology Roadmap For Semiconductors 2.0 (ITRS), prepared by experts from the U.S., Europe, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, provides an assessment of the near future […]

Hopes that the beleaguered U.S. shale gas industry can find new markets have come to fruition as the second shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) was unloaded at a European port on July 22, with the promise of more to come. After being loaded at the Cheniere-owned Sabine Pass Terminal in Louisiana (Figure) on July […]

A severe solar storm striking the continental U.S. could cause trillions of dollars in damage to the global economy and shut down portions of the U.S. grid for up to a year, according to a new study prepared by the Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies for insurance firm AIG. The study, Helios Solar Storm Scenario, […]

Talen Energy and Puget Sound Energy (PSE), owners of Units 1 and 2 at the Colstrip Power Plant in Montana, have reached an agreement to shut those units down no later than July 2022. The settlement came as a result of a lawsuit brought by the Montana Environmental Information Center and the Sierra Club in […]

Japan’s embattled nuclear sector, struggling to restart some of its idled reactors, suffered a pair of setbacks this week as a court again ruled against the restart of Takahama Units 3 and 4 in Fukui Prefecture and an antinuclear activist won election as governor of Kagoshima Prefecture, where Japan’s only operating nuclear plant, Sendai, is […]

Power News   Current Issue | Find a Job | Post a Job GE-Powered Combined Cycle Plant Sets New Efficiency Record Guinness World Records recognized GE’s HA gas turbine for powering the world’s most efficient—up to 62.22%—combined cycle power plant. The first unit equipped with an HA turbine officially began operation on June 17 at […]

China is preparing to expand nationwide a ban on new coal plant construction announced in April in an attempt to further rein in overcapacity and boost utilization of renewable energy, according to a report in Australian Financial Review. This spring, China’s National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration suspended or slowed plans for […]

The “polar vortex” storm of January 2014 blew in big changes to PJM Interconnection’s operations. But these changes are now the subject of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, alleging they discriminate against clean energy sources. The sub-zero temperatures froze coal piles and gearboxes. Natural gas plants, lacking firm contracts for fuel delivery, were unable […]

Siemens on July 5 entered the competition for the largest wind turbine in the world with an upgrade of its SWT-7.0-154 model. The new SWT-8.0-154 turbine boosts power output over the earlier model through upgraded magnet technology. Other components remain largely the same over the earlier model and the smaller SWT-6.0-154 turbine, Siemens said. The […]

The European Union (EU) parliament on July 6 approved the first community-wide rules designed to bolster cybersecurity throughout the EU. According to the official statement, the new law “lays down security and reporting obligations for ‘operators of essential services’ in sectors such as energy, transport, health, banking and drinking water supply. EU member states will […]