Business
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Legal & Regulatory
Xcel Will Retire Coal, Add Renewables in Latest Plan
Xcel Energy, citing “historically low” costs for wind and solar power, said it wants to double its generation from renewable sources. Colorado’s largest utility also said it will retire two coal-fired units representing 660 MW at its Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo at least 10 years ahead of schedule. The changes were outlined in a […]
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Renewables
Six Glaring Interventions in Competitive Markets — Beyond the Trump Plan
The Trump administration’s attempt to prop up uneconomic “fuel secure” generators in competitive markets is just the latest in a string of recent “extra-market” interventions that experts said imperil independent organized markets for electricity. In a recent white paper, Raymond Gifford and Matthew Larson, energy partners at Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, said the restructured administrative […]
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Renewables
Exelon CEO Clarifies Headline-Grabbing No-Grid-Emergency Comment
Chris Crane, CEO of Exelon Corp., seemed to take umbrage with the way comments he made on June 5 were reported by Utility Dive. The website published the headline “Exelon CEO: No grid emergency to justify DOE coal, nuke bailout,” but Crane went out of his way to clarify his position while on stage participating […]
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Press Releases
Seeq Announces New Version, and adds Managing Director for European Operations
Seeq expands machine learning and publishing functionality in new R20 release, and adds new Managing Director for European Sales office. SEATTLE, June 5, 2018 – Seeq Corporation announces the release of its second update to their Seeq software application in 2018, staying on plan to provide four new releases each year. Seeq is an advanced […]
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Commentary
Hurricane Season is Here; Is Your Grid Prepared?
When Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, no one could predict the level of devastation those 155-mph sustained winds would deliver. In its wake, Maria plunged the entire island of Puerto Rico into darkness, and decimated its aging distribution, transmission and generation infrastructure. By all predictions, it was going to […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Swift (and Angry) Reaction to Trump Move to Save Coal, Nuclear Plants
Reactions from U.S. energy and legal and regulatory groups began pouring in minutes after the White House confirmed on June 1 that President Trump has directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to act immediately to stop the loss of uneconomic coal and nuclear plants. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a June 1 […]
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Legal & Regulatory
How General Atomics Developed Its Revolutionary Nuclear Fuel Solution
The U.S. is pouring funding into developing new fuel technology for advanced nuclear reactors in a bid to help the flagging industry. On April 27, it awarded General Atomics (GA) $3.2 million for two projects that the San Diego, California-based company is developing, including an accident tolerant fuel (ATF) solution that the company says is […]
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Coal
India’s Power Industry Struggles to Solve Pollution Problems
In a bid to tamp down pollution, India’s government in December 2015 notified the country’s coal generators they would need to meet—for the first time—new emissions limits for nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and mercury, as well as tightened limits for particulate matter (PM) and water consumption. The gazetted notification gave new plants until […]
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Workforce
THE BIG PICTURE: CEO-to-Employee Pay Ratio
As required for the first time by a new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule mandated by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K, public companies in early 2018 began disclosing ratios that compare total compensation paid to principal executive officers (PEOs), such as a CEO, to the median of the annual […]
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IIOT Power
Rethinking the Service Delivery Model for Guaranteed Outcomes
Service delivery models are today undergoing unprecedented change to accommodate the needs of customers trying to navigate business and market uncertainties. Around the world, industrial manufacturers are facing new and familiar challenges ranging from economic and competitive pressures and the tightening availability of resources, to aging workforces, rising technology and operating costs, and heightened focus […]
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Renewables
Novel Geothermal Power Technology Being Deployed in Canada
In a bid to tamp down pollution, India’s government in December 2015 notified the country’s coal generators they would need to meet—for the first time—new emissions limits for nitrogen oxides (NOx)
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Renewables
POWER Digest [June 2018]
Marking an important milestone in energy storage’s steady charge to become a key element in balancing variability posed by renewables, ACCIONA Energia has received a prototype certificate from DNV GL for a
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O&M
Common Goals and Team Mentality a Winning Combination
A lot of things factor into success at a coal-fired power plant, but leadership and teamwork certainly rank high on the list. Comanche Generating Station has parlayed those two attributes, among others, into a
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Legal & Regulatory
Power in Africa: Prospects for an Economic Foothold
To sustain unprecedented economic growth, lift hundreds of millions out of poverty, and attract investment, African countries are taking bold steps to expand electricity infrastructure. Are the continent’s
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Renewables
Power Plant Efficiency: A Key to Profitable Performance
Building power plants is only the first step to generating success. Running plants efficiently, and consistently improving efficiency as they run, is the path to putting profits on the bottom line. Building
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O&M
Disaster Response: How Power Generators Prepare to Weather the Storm
Natural disasters can strike anywhere, and the events of recent years—hurricanes, flooding rains, bomb cyclones—have ramped up the efforts of utilities to prepare for extreme weather. Power companies are
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O&M
Building the Case for Power System Hardening
Purse-string holders are pretty easily swayed to approve funding to upgrade transmission and distribution systems following major events like Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene. However, it is becoming
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Renewables
Developments in Energy Storage Could Spell the End of the Duck Curve
The duck curve is named for its resemblance to a duck, with its peaks and valleys highlighting the effect solar production has on the power demanded from thermal generators and hydropower resources throughout
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Commentary
The Power Grid’s Great Transition
POWER has been reporting for many years on changes taking place in the power generation mix around the globe. Renewable energy, such as wind and solar generation, has been growing steadily in most parts of the
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Press Releases
MHPS Advanced-Class Gas Turbine Arrives in Mexico Port of Altamira
ALTAMIRA, MEXICO (May 29, 2018) — Iberdrola SA and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) today joined Mexican officials as they welcomed another Advanced-Class Gas Turbine arrival in the bustling Mexican Port of Altimira. The turbine is headed to Iberdrola’s 850-MW power project in El Carmen in northeastern Mexico. In the past two years, Iberdrola has ordered a […]
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Press Releases
DHYBRID partners with QOS Energy to monitor PV hybrid and energy storage off-grid plants
Nantes, France (May 2018) — DHYBRID, the leading German solution provider for PV hybrid, energy storage and smart-grid projects, has announced its partnership with QOS Energy, the data intelligence cloud specialist, to monitor PV hybrid and energy storage plants. DHYBRID will benefit from the versatility of QOS Energy’s monitoring software, which is unique in its ability to aggregate […]
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Gas
Pioneering Zero-Emission Natural Gas Power Cycle Achieves First-Fire
First-fire has been achieved at NET Power’s supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) power plant—a test facility in La Porte, Texas, to demonstrate the potentially revolutionary natural gas–fueled Allam Cycle. The project is designed to produce low-cost electricity from natural gas while generating near-zero atmospheric emissions, including full CO₂ capture. NET Power, which is based in Durham, […]
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Energy Storage
SRP Will Launch 40-MWh Energy Storage Project for Peaking Flexibility
Public power utility Salt River Project (SRP) will launch Arizona’s first battery energy storage project to provide flexible peaking capacity. Energy storage firm Fluence will supply a 10-MW, four-hour duration system to AES Corp., which has a 20-year agreement with SRP for the project to be built in Chandler. AES owns Fluence in partnership with […]
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Press Releases
Constellation, GE Team With The Home Depot to Install Largest Rooftop Solar Array in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. (May 30, 2018) — Constellation, an Exelon company, and GE today announced the completion of a 554 kilowatt (DC) solar generation project for The Home Depot’s Washington, D.C., store. The solar project, now the largest single rooftop array in the District*, is expected to supply more than 9.9 million kilowatt hours of electricity […]
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Press Releases
TEXO DSI CARRY OUT INDUSTRY-FIRST FOR NUCLEAR SECTOR
Texo Drone Survey and Inspection (Texo DSI), the owner operators of the world’s most comprehensive and dynamic fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles has announced that it has carried out an internal UAV inspection of a live nuclear asset – a first for the global nuclear sector. Texo DSI were commissioned by URENCO UK to carry […]
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Gas
GE Stock Falls as CEO Backs ‘Deliberate’ Pace of Change
Shares of General Electric (GE) have fallen about 50% over the past year, and on May 23 GE saw its stock drop more than 7%, its biggest one-day loss since April 20, 2009. Much of Wednesday’s decline came as CEO John Flannery was speaking to attendees at the Electrical Products Group (EPG) conference in Longboat […]
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Nuclear
Bill Supporting Xcel Energy Nuclear Plants Dies in Minnesota
A bill that would have provided more cost-recovery certainty for Xcel Energy’s two Minnesota nuclear plants didn’t get through the state House of Representatives prior to the legislative session ending on May 20, effectively killing the measure. The bill would have allowed Xcel to submit proposals to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) designating each […]
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Press Releases
Large onshore order from Norway: Siemens Gamesa to supply 70 wind turbines to three projects
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) will supply three onshore wind farms in Norway including 70 units of its Onshore OptimaFlex wind turbines. The SWT-DD-130 turbines will each feature a rated capacity of 4.2 megawatts (MW) and a 130 meter diameter rotor. All turbines will be installed on steel towers with 125 meter hub heights. The […]
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Coal
Concerns About Summer Reliability in Texas and California Persist
Higher-than-average temperatures forecast for much of the U.S. this summer won’t affect reliability in most regions, though concerns remain for Texas and Southern California, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Presenting the “Summer 2018 Energy Market and Reliability Assessment,” on May 17, FERC staff said that most entities that are part of the […]
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Press Releases
MST named finalist in 2018 AMM Awards for Steel Excellence
Midwestern seamless steel tube & pipe manufacturer among just three finalists for Tube & Pipe Producer of the Year South Lyon, Mich., [May 21, 2018] – MST Seamless Tube & Pipe, a leading manufacturer of high-quality carbon and alloy seamless cold-drawn tube and pipe, is one of a select few companies being recognized by American […]