Business

Swiss engineering firm ABB has moved to expand its electrification business, especially in North America, with a $2.6 billion deal to acquire GE Industrial Solutions (GE IS). The move announced September 25 is the latest by GE to refocus its operations under new chief executive John L. Flannery, who replaced long-time GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt […]

Power plants are under pressure to accurately measure critical water quality parameters like chloride, sulfate and organics with shrinking budgets for equipment and staffing. How can they achieve this?

New report highlights criticality of utilities. As more and more industries increasingly rely on information technology (IT), the ability to ensure IT systems stay up and running is more critical than ever. But which industries absolutely, positively must stay up and running? Which industries are most critical? That’s the question answered by a team of […]

SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper—utility partners that recently abandoned a two-unit expansion at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant—have received federal subpoenas for documents associated with a much-guarded February 2016 assessment report conducted by Bechtel, documentation of meetings with the firm, and documentation of site walk-downs and real-time observations at the half-built project. A copy of […]

  Chances that an 895-MW project to expand Sunflower Electric Power Corp.’s coal-fired Holcomb Station in Kansas will ever be completed are “remote,” a key project partner said. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association—a Denver-based power generator owned by 43 electric cooperatives that partnered with Sunflower in 2005 to build the new unit—in an August 10-Q […]

The solar industry enjoyed its largest second quarter in history, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) announced, kicking off the annual Solar Power International (SPI) conference in Las Vegas. In the latest U.S. Solar Market Insight Report, GTM Research and SEIA found that in Q2 2017, the industry installed 2,387 MW of solar photovoltaics (PV), […]

Hanging like a thick fog over the proceedings of the annual Solar Power International (SPI) conference in Las Vegas, an ongoing trade case cast uncertainty on the industry. The case, which pits two solar manufacturers against just about everybody else in the industry, was the focus of several panels and nearly all side conversation at […]

Steam electric power plants preparing to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) effluent limitations guidelines (ELG) and standards as they concern bottom ash transport water and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) waste streams will get—for now—a two-year reprieve under a new rule the agency finalized on September 12. The ELG rule, which was finalized by […]

Sempra Energy’s proposed $9.45 billion acquisition of an 80% ownership interest in Oncor Electric Delivery Co. has been approved by a U.S. bankruptcy court. But the company still needs approval from Texas regulators, which have blocked two previous attempts by Oncor’s parent Energy Future Holdings to sell it. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District […]

Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. has dropped the price of several assets as it continues to work toward closing a deal to sell five of the company’s natural gas-fired power plants, along with a hydroelectric facility, to an equity group that specializes in energy investments. FirstEnergy this week said it had cut the price of the facilities […]

Mexico’s energy reform, which began in 2013, has opened up key parts of the country’s electricity sector to new market participants, foreign investors, and innovative technology. Prior to the reform

Canadian Solar Expands Solar Power in Japan. Canadian Solar in July started commercial operation of its latest group of photovoltaic solar power plants in Japan as it continues to build its solar presence in

The Drax Group operates the UK’s largest power station, and in a country where government leaders have said all coal generation needs to be retired by 2025, Drax is moving forward with plans to convert its

The combination of solar power and water is in use around the world, with various solar arrays placed on lakes to provide renewable energy from the sun. However, a project in Portugal has found a new way to

It’s no secret that women are underrepresented in the energy industry. According to the Department of Energy, less than a quarter of U.S. workers in the electric power generation field are women, compared to

For more than 20 years, I have been championing the use of fuel cell powered cars to connect the natural gas distribution network of this country with the electric distribution network, making them partners in

Independent System Operator-New England celebrated its 20th anniversary last July with a solid record in its energy and capacity markets, turning around a fragmented regional electric system. Can it repeat

Harvey—a massive weather system, which has so far killed 38 people, displaced thousands of others, and caused widespread flooding in Texas—downed 7.6-GW of generation resource capacity, along with two major 345-kV transmission lines and 85 other high-voltage transmission lines serving the Gulf Coast. As of 1 p.m. on August 30—about four days and 18 hours […]

Xcel Energy on August 29 said it wants to retire 660 MW of coal-fired generation capacity as part of a “Colorado Energy Plan” that also includes adding as much as 1,700 MW of renewable energy and 700 MW of natural gas-fired power generation to its portfolio in the state. A key element of the proposal […]

A Houston-based microgrid company has used its on-site generators and underground natural gas pipeline system to enable H-E-B grocery stores in the Houston area to remain open despite power outages and massive flooding during and in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Texas utilities have reported more than 300,000 customers have been without power at various […]

Falling profit margins mean there is growing pressure on power plants to do more with less. In many plants there has been a reduction in maintenance staff, and the remaining team is left trying to keep all equipment operational with a lower budget and in fewer hours. Digital sensors are a major contribution to simplifying and easing the maintenance burden.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) new grid study is based on analyses of federal government data collected between 2002 and 2017, a period it notes fostered critical developments in the nation’s power sector. Here are some of report’s most thought-provoking charts. [gss ids=”109885,109881,109883,109877,109865,109867,109869,109875,109873,109871″] For an in-depth analysis about the DOE’s grid study, see: DOE Grid Study Points Finger […]

Nine states in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region have said they will cut emissions from power plants by 65% below 2020 levels by 2030, expanding a cap-and-trade program designed to reduce carbon output usually associated with power plants. States in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) agreed to increase emissions cuts by an additional […]

A lawsuit filed in South Carolina wants state-owned utility Santee Cooper to sell the parts from a coal-fired power plant project it suspended in 2009, saying customers should receive the proceeds as payback for Santee Cooper raising residential and commercial rates after the project was stopped. Conway, S.C., attorney George Hearn Jr. filed the lawsuit […]

A settlement Mississippi Power reached on August 21 with stakeholders of the Kemper County facility will ensure customers won’t be subjected to rate increases associated with the now-abandoned gasification portion of the project. While that will affect revenues, the resolution could soften controversy surrounding the project and avoid protracted legal and financial turmoil, the company […]

Houston-based Calpine Corp., which confirmed in July it was looking for a buyer, announced August 18 it has agreed to be bought by Energy Capital Partners (ECP) in a $5.6 billion deal. ECP is a private equity firm that focuses on investments in North American energy infrastructure. The purchasing group also includes a consortium of […]

Eliminating contamination of a power plant’s water cycle is a critical element of protecting expensive plant equipment such as turbines and boilers from corrosion and pitting. Learn about a proactive approach for predicting when resin exhaustion will occur that offers significant benefits over the traditional elapsed time and totalized flow methods.

The operator of one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the Western U.S. will continue to run the facility, changing course about a year after a company executive said the plant was not economically viable. A spokesman for Talen Energy confirmed to POWER on August 9 that the company will continue to operate the […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) again has a working quorum after the U.S. Senate confirmed Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson as new members August 3. FERC had been without a quorum since February 2017 when Commissioner Norman Bay resigned, and with only one member after Collette Honorable left the agency at the end of […]