Business

Mexico’s energy reform began in 2013. It has opened up key parts of the country’s electricity sector to new market participants, foreign investors, and innovative technology. Prior to the reform, Mexico operated under a traditional, vertically integrated model with the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) responsible for all power supply functions from generation to distribution. […]

A week after the Department of Energy (DOE) proposed a rule to bolster uneconomic coal and nuclear generators in competitive power markets, Luminant announced that an “unprecedented low power price environment” will force it to retire a 1.9-GW coal-fired power plant operating in the Texas market. The plant’s economic woes suggest a larger swath of […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) set a three-week window for comment on the proposed Department of Energy (DOE) grid resiliency rule that 11 power trade groups—representing natural gas, wind, solar, public power, and power consumers—worry could have serious ramifications for competitive markets because it favors coal and nuclear. The groups filed a joint motion on […]

Less than a week after GE struck a $2.6 billion deal with ABB for GE’s electrification business, GE Power completed the $3.4 billion sale of its lucrative water and process technologies division to multinational water management firm SUEZ. The sale of GE Water & Process Technologies, a systems and services provider of water, wastewater and […]

POWER magazine was launched in 1882, just as the world was beginning to grasp the implications of a new, versatile form of energy: electricity. During its 135-year history, the magazine’s pages have reflected the fast-changing evolution of the technologies and markets that characterize the world’s power sector today. The History of POWER is the History […]

POWER magazine—the oldest-running trade publication for power generators in the world—has since its establishment in 1882 been a valuable resource for business and technology developments. Here are compelling excerpts from the magazine’s voluminous pages over the 14 decades it has been published. [Scroll down for full content.] Source: POWER magazine archives. All rights reserved.  —Sonal […]

The rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs)—both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)—is expected to transform global electricity consumption through 2040, three

Construction Scheduled for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plant in South Korea. Hanwha Energy  on August 25 approved formation of a subsidiary,  Daesan Green Energy , to build a 50-MW hydrogen fuel cell plant in the

Given the opportunity to help India’s bread basket alleviate a chronic power shortage, a major engineering, construction, and manufacturing firm built its first 1,400-MW coal-fired power plant in just 54

Marmaduke Surfaceblow was a crusty character, providing POWER magazine readers with imaginative tales of engineering feats, and lending his name to one of our most-coveted awards. He might be fictional, but Marmaduke Surfaceblow became synonymous with POWER magazine, a colorful character with a distinctive way of finding solutions to engineering problems. Author Stephen Elonka introduced […]

A rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on September 29 directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to mandate that competitive power markets develop and implement market rules to “accurately price” what it calls “fuel-secure” generation. The DOE’s “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule” directs FERC—an independent regulatory government agency that is officially organized as […]

Rapid startup is critical for modern power plants, as peaks and valleys in demand fluctuate with the increased use of alternative, renewable sources. But power plant cycling comes with risks to expensive equipment. Maintaining control of water cycle chemistry is vital to help mitigate them.  

Entergy Corp. will keep the Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Michigan, open until the spring of 2022, owing to a shortfall in recovery granted to Consumers Energy by state regulators. In a bid to actively exit the merchant nuclear power business, investor-owned Entergy had decided to shutter the 798-MW plant by October 1, 2018.  […]

SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper moved to cash in a $2.2 billion settlement with Toshiba—even though it will cost them $171 million—rather than risk collecting guaranty payments from the Japanese conglomerate over the next five years for the unfinished V.C. Summer nuclear expansion. Just days before the utilities decided to abandon the project, Toshiba on […]

SCANA Corp.’s troubles concerning its decision to abandon the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion intensified again this week after South Carolina’s attorney general’s office and state lawmakers urged state law enforcement to conduct a criminal investigation on how it handled the project. The company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on […]

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