Business

  • FPL Developing More Solar, Set to Bring Big Gas Plant Online

    Florida Power & Light (FPL) on March 4 announced plans to build four new solar power plants this year, with each expected to come online in early 2020. The company has rapidly expanded its solar power portfolio in recent years; the four new plants will join 18 others already operating in the state. FPL also […]

  • GE’s HA Gas Turbine Technology Ordered for the Long Ridge Energy Project in Ohio

    GE will provide its record-setting HA gas turbine, the company’s most advanced and efficient technology, for a project in eastern Ohio GE has secured 30+ orders for the HA in North America alone, and the HA recently surpassed 250,000 operating hours from 30+ commercially operating units ATLANTA; March 6, 2019 – GE Power (NYSE: GE) […]

  • ERCOT Warns of Intensified Summer Supply Crunch (UPDATED)

    Grappling with a historically low planning reserve margin of 7.4%, owing to a mass of coal plant closures, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is forecasting record electric use this summer and warns it could issue energy alerts at “various times.”  ERCOT said its March 5–released final Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) for […]

  • FPL announces plans to build four new solar power plants in 2019

    – Installation of more than 1 million solar panels included as part of FPL’s plan to add 30 million more solar panels by 2030 – New solar plants will create about 800 jobs as Florida continues to lead the nation in solar-related employment – With 18 solar power plants in operation and four more on […]

  • SKF Pulse™: Machine Monitoring Made Easy

    Detecting machine problems has never been so easy. New portable sensor and intuitive mobile app from SKF puts simplified inspection, machine health data collection and expert analysis within everyone’s reach. Lansdale, Pa. — March 4, 2019 — SKF Pulse™ combines an easy-to-use handheld sensor with a new mobile app, allowing users to quickly monitor rotating […]

  • POWER Notebook: Alabama Power Says Closing Coal Plant Will Cost $740 Million

    Several developments worldwide impacted the power generation landscape in the past week, including more news about the closure of a coal-fired power plant in Alabama, the restart of a geothermal facility in Hawaii, and construction of a biomass-fueled power plant in Japan. In addition, a company said it plans a $150 million investment in three […]

  • Carbon Capture Proposed to Save New Mexico Coal Plant

    The New York-based hedge fund aiming to take over New Mexico’s San Juan Generating Station (SJGS), targeted for closure by state lawmakers, wants to refit the 46-year-old, coal-fired plant to use carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology. Acme Equities LLC said last week that retrofitting the 847-MW plant with CCS technology would cut carbon emissions […]

  • Construction Resumes on $1.5 Billion Zimbabwe Power Project

    Johannesburg, South Africa (March 2, 2019) – Zimbabwe recently resumed the construction of the $1.5 billion Hwange Expansion Project for Units 7 and 8 as it aims to progressively implement the Vision 2030 which will transform Zimbabwe into an upper middle class economy. The $1.488 billion project is being funded by China Exim Bank, Sinohydro […]

  • Power Supplies in Pacific Northwest Tighten as Deep Freeze Grips Region

    Energy supplies are tight in the Pacific Northwest, a region that has been stricken with unseasonably frigid weather and is bracing for deep freezes as a mass of Arctic air descends on the region.    The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), a federal power marketer that sells wholesale power from 31 federal dams and one nuclear […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: Japan’s Nuclear Comeback

    After the Great Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami, and ensuing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March 2011, Japan issued stringent safety regulations and reviews that affected its entire 50-reactor fleet. It meant that as each Japanese nuclear reactor entered its scheduled maintenance and refueling outage, it could not returned to operation until restart […]

  • Combined Heat and Power: A Sleeping Giant May Be Waking

    One of the oldest energy efficiency ideas—combined heat and power—is prospering in the U.S. and looks promising elsewhere as the world searches for low-cost energy by increasing efficiency while lowering

  • Building Puerto Rican Resiliency with LPG-Fueled Engines

    After Hurricane Maria left the island of Puerto Rico in ruins, the ProCaribe liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) hub continued to operate, ensuring vital energy resources were available even in the wake of this

  • Rapid Advancements for Fast Nuclear Reactors

    Fast neutron reactor systems have the potential to extract 60 times more energy from uranium compared to existing thermal reactors, and they contribute to a significant reduction in the burden of radioactive

  • The Pursuit and Advancement of Carbon Capture and Storage

    As the world grapples with climate change concerns, carbon capture and storage could be the holy grail for continued fossil fuel use. Projects have come online that prove its feasibility, but costs can be

  • Energy at a Cellular Level: Battery Storage Shows Plenty of Power

    Battery storage technology has moved in fits and starts, but today experts note that rapid advances make it difficult for safety standards to keep pace. Developers of storage systems are designing projects to

  • Microturbines Useful in Commercial and Industrial Applications

    Gas turbines come in a variety of sizes. While large combustion turbines seem to get the bulk of the publicity, with the likes of Siemens, GE, and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems making the most noise

  • Cost-Effective Solutions for Boosting Solar Farm Production

    It makes sense that solar panels would perform better when positioned to capture more direct sunlight, but the cost of adding tracking systems has not always penciled out. Costs have come down, however, and

  • Solving Renewable Transmission Constraints with Water Infrastructure

    One of the largest hurdles to delivering substantial amounts of renewable energy is transmission constraints. Los Angeles’ current in-basin transmission infrastructure is based largely on delivering power

  • Should a Power Company Be Held Responsible for Wildfires?

    If you’ve been following the news, you know that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because it is facing tens of billions of dollars in liability for

  • POWER Digest [March 2019]

    The Distribution System Is Newest Energy Transition Frontier in Europe. The European power sector is urging member states and regulators within the European Union (EU) to speed up development of

  • UAE Adds Gas Power to Its Mix and Renewables Abroad

    The January agreement between GE and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. for a 1.8-GW combined cycle power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is part of the country’s commitment to increasing its power generation

  • Russia Sets New Domestic Nuclear Generation Record

    Rosenergoatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear plant owner and operator, said it set another nuclear power production record in 2018. The company generated 204 TWh from its 35 reactors—1.4 TWh more than in

  • Germany’s Coal Exit Bound to Be Complicated

    Eight years after Germany decided it would halt nuclear power production by 2022, the country that relied on lignite and hard coal for 38% of its generated power in 2018 will phase out coal by 2038 or earlier

  • Kazakhstan Adds New Solar Plant to Growing Renewables Capacity

    The SES Saran solar power plant entered commercial operation in late January in Saran, in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, an area long known for its coal production. Government officials said the plant is

  • The POWER Podcast Archive Vol. 1

    The POWER Podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, iHeart, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and some other podcast apps. Follow the links below to subscribe via your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube YouTube Music Amazon Music iHeart TuneIn SoundCloud The POWER Podcast Archive (Sept. 21, 2017 – Feb. 28, 2019) FERC […]

  • DOE Chief: Nuclear Power, Clean Coal Technology Key to Reducing Emissions

    U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on February 28 said nuclear power and the use of clean coal technology are the way to combat climate change and reduce emissions from the energy sector. Perry, speaking at a joint press conference in Washington, D.C., with Fatih Birol, director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said, “We believe […]

  • ENGIE to Exit 20 Countries, Refine Transition Growth Strategy 

    Multinational power and gas giant ENGIE, which embarked on an aggressive transition toward zero-carbon three years ago, saw tempered revenue growth over 2018, owing in part to its disposal of thermal generation businesses in the UK and Poland, and the 1-GW Loy Yang B coal-fired power plant in Australia. ENGIE CEO Isabelle Kocher, who outlined […]

  • KBC Releases Petro-SIM® and Petro-SIM Integrator for the PI System® to Accelerate Digitalization Across The Oil and Gas Industry

    Petro-SIM Integrator for the PI System enables automatic synchronization between two market leading platforms for smarter decisions across the enterprise WALTON ON THAMES, United Kingdom, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — KBC (a Yokogawa Company) and OSIsoft LLC, a leader in operational intelligence, today announced the Petro-SIM Integrator for the PI System. Petro-SIM 7 is also being […]

  • GC and GE Sign Agreement to Modernize Nine Gas Turbines and Improve Reliability at GC’s Industrial Power Plant in Thailand

    GE’s Total Plant and Digital Solutions Will Help GC Reduce Costs, Achieve Higher Availability and Increase Reliability and Efficiency at GC’s Rayong Facility GC is the First Company in Thailand to Install GE’s Asset Performance Management Software Signing Ceremony Held Today with GE and GC Executives Highlights a Strong 30–Year Relationship Service Agreement Will Cover […]

  • New kind of turbine governor from Voith proves effective in small hydropower plant in Scotland

    Modified form of tried and tested compact drive from Voith Turbo used in a hydropower plant for first time Installation and maintenance friendly design Energy efficiency and environmental compatibility Heidenheim. As part of an upgrade of the Storr Lochs small hydropower plant in Scotland, technology group Voith installed a new kind of turbine control unit, […]