Business

  • A Modular Power Plant Is Steaming Up Kenya’s Geothermal Efficiency

    Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power, Kenya’s newest geothermal power plant, is powered by modular technology that maximizes efficiency, reduces costs, and enhances scalability. Kenya’s scenic Rift Valley

  • Jinzhai Pumped-Storage Hydro Facility Helps Integrate Renewable Energy and Solve Grid Stability Challenges

    Pumped-storage hydropower is seen as a key technology in China to balance the grid and store excess energy from intermittent sources like wind and solar. The 1.2-GW Jinzhai pumped-storage project is a model

  • Nuclear Milestone: China’s HTR-PM Demonstrates Inherent Safety

    Chinese researchers have confirmed the first of two units of the 200-MWe high-temperature modular pebble bed (HTR-PM) demonstration project at the Shidao Bay site in Rongcheng, Shandong Province, successfully

  • Fasteners and Gaskets for Power Plant Service

    Anyone who works in the power industry knows how important fasteners, such as nuts, bolts, and rivets, and gaskets are to plant operation. Fasteners provide structural integrity, effectively holding everything

  • Gearing Up for Experience POWER Week

    Every year, I look forward to attending several power industry events. Among my favorites is the big event POWER hosts, known as Experience POWER Week. The conference will be held this year at the Renaissance

  • The Carbon Countdown: Captive Insurance Strategies for Energy’s Ticking Time Bomb

    As the urgency to combat climate change intensifies, the energy sector faces unprecedented financial risks. One of the most pressing issues is the risk of stranded assets. This challenge was first brought to widespread attention by the Carbon Tracker Initiative’s 2011 report, which highlighted the financial risks associated with unburnable carbon. Now, the risk of […]

  • Can Utility-Scale Power Boilers Safely Fire Hydrogen?

    There is plenty of enthusiasm around hydrogen as a possible alternative fuel to natural gas in combustion processes. Some hope it can eventually replace natural gas in applications such as utility boilers. However, any transition to 100% hydrogen has plenty of challenges to overcome due to it having such fundamentally different combustion characteristics. This gives […]

  • Original Approach to Fogging Regains Popularity

    MeeFog’s very first installation of inlet air fogging was done at Harbor Cogen in Southern California in 1991 on a GE 7EA turbine where it continues to be used for power augmentation to this day (Figure 1). When it was installed, the fogging arrays were placed upstream of the air filters. Since that time, more […]

  • Navigating the Transition to Sustainable MV Switchgear Amidst Decarbonization Initiatives

    The push for decarbonization in Europe is reshaping the power sector. Stringent environmental regulations and ambitious renewable energy targets have necessitated the expansion and upgradation of the electricity distribution network. This is to accommodate the increased adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs) and electrification across sectors. These factors are expected to significantly drive the demand […]

  • Data Mobility Will Define the Future of Power Operations

    As the power industry becomes more complex, the ability to move contextualized data will be a catalyst for more successful, efficient operations. Power producers and distributors face a unique set of

  • Enhancing the Potential of Condition Monitoring Using Vibration Information

    Condition monitoring can transform how power plants operate and maintain their assets. This article argues that to exploit the full potential of condition monitoring, it’s necessary to use data to acquire

  • How Energy Services Businesses Can Adapt and Win in a Changing Market

    Energy services businesses are poised to benefit from an unprecedented amount of government support for energy infrastructure. However, choppy waters lie ahead as business models and market conditions evolve

  • Energizing the Grid: Insights into the DOE’s GRIP Program

    To secure federal funding, developers must navigate various financing and investment options related to grid resiliency and modernization, transmission deployment, and critical electric generation facilities. Responding to funding demands, however, can pose significant challenges. Balancing early-stage project commitments with application requirements blurs the line between speculating about long-term project details, being non-responsive, and making costly […]

  • FRP Delivers Resiliency for Power Plants

    The chemicals and water present in power generation plants can have a corrosive effect on metal. Integrating fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) into power plants can help reduce downtime due to maintenance. Power generation plants almost have “too much of a good thing.” The demand for power in the U.S. alone has skyrocketed in the last few […]

  • Texas Moves Forward with $5.38B in Loans for 10 GW of New Dispatchable Power Projects

    The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has shortlisted 17 gas-fired “dispatchable” generation projects—a combined 9,781 MW—that will advance to receive $5.38 billion in loaned funds under the Texas Energy Fund (TEF) In-ERCOT Loan Program. The 17 proposed new projects in the PUCT’s loan portfolio, chosen from 72 applications, now proceed to a “due diligence” […]

  • BWXT Secures Contract to Advance Domestic Uranium Enrichment Pilot Plant

    BWXT Technologies has won a contract from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to evaluate options for deploying a centrifuge pilot plant that could establish a new domestic uranium enrichment capability suitable for national security purposes. The Lynchburg, Virginia–based company on Aug. 26 said the NNSA contract would kick off a yearlong engineering study as […]

  • TVA Boosts Nuclear Funding with $150M for SMR Development at Clinch River

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA’s) board of directors has approved an additional $150 million for the public power utility’s $200 million New Nuclear Program to boost continued design work and development of potential small modular reactors (SMRs) at TVA’s Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The combined $350 million funding for the project will […]

  • Investment Firm Buys Major U.S. Community Solar Provider

    A New York-based infrastructure investment fund said it has completed its purchase of a community solar and battery energy storage business in a deal to expand the U.S. community solar market. NOVA Infrastructure on August 16 said its acquisition of UGE International will forge a partnership “with UGE’s veteran management team with the goal of […]

  • Sage’s First 3-MW Geothermal Power and Energy Storage Project Will Feed ERCOT

    Sage Geosystems will build a first-of-its-kind 3-MW geothermal baseload power and energy storage system on land owned by San Miguel Electric Cooperative (SMECI) in Christine, Texas. The company plans to begin operating the project later this year to supply the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid. The project will mark the first commercial-scale deployment […]

  • The POWER Interview: Using Home Batteries to Support the Grid

    The Dell name is synonymous with technology and innovation, so perhaps it’s not surprising that a member of that famous computing family is working to solve the challenge of making electricity more reliable and resilient. The technology is distributed batteries, in this case a battery for the home that supports the power grid during periods […]

  • LS Power Acquiring Renewable Energy Assets in $2.5 Billion Deal

    A New York-based power and energy infrastructure group will acquire more than 3 GW of operating renewable energy assets, along with another 8 GW of projects under development, from a Canadian company in a deal valued at up to $2.5 billion. LS Power, headquartered in New York City with offices in New Jersey, Missouri, Texas, […]

  • $2.2B for 13 GW of New Transmission Capacity: DOE Unveils Latest Boost for U.S. Grid Modernization

    The Biden administration will invest $2.2 billion in eight projects under its Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) program to bolster the nation’s power grid with nearly 13 GW of new transmission capacity across 18 states. The funding, announced on Aug. 6, marks the second round under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) GRIP program, a […]

  • Fuel Cells: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They’re Important

    Fuel cells are not some novel new technology. In fact, most history books credit the invention of the fuel cell to Welsh chemist and physicist William Grove, who, in the late 1830s and early 1840s, conducted experiments proving that electric current could be produced from an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen over a platinum […]

  • EIA: U.S. Coal Plant Stockpiles at Highest Level in Four Years

    Stockpiles of fuel at U.S. coal-fired electric plants are at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on August 5 said coal stockpiles totaled 138 million short tons at the end of May, the most since the early months of 2020 when the start of the COVID-19 […]

  • India’s Prototype Fast Breeder Nuclear Reactor Moves Closer to Criticality

    India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) will allow the country’s flagship 500-MWe/1,250-MWth prototype fast-breeder reactor (PFBR) in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, to approach criticality. The nuclear energy safety watchdog on July 30 granted state-owned Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (BHAVINI) permission to embark on the final stage of core loading following assessments, extensive safety reviews, and plant […]

  • Peak Performance: APS’s Virtual Power Plant Saves Big During Brutal Heatwave

    Through its innovative virtual power plant (VPP), Arizona Public Service (APS) harnessed smart home devices to save 138 MW during a historic heatwave, shifting peak demand and proving critical for grid

  • Viking Link: The Epic Build of the World’s Longest Onshore and Subsea HVDC Interconnector

    A marvel of modern engineering, Viking Link—the world’s longest onshore and subsea interconnector—began commercial operations in December 2023. The project garners POWER’s inaugural Transmission and

  • Tips for Improving Power Plant Valve Performance

    Managers know that valves are important to plant operation. That’s why keeping them in top condition is a priority. Upgrading to advanced valve designs and reducing stress on valve materials are just a

  • Forced Outage Parametric Insurance Solutions for CCGTs

    Combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants started appearing on a larger scale in the late 1990s and have since then been a very efficient supplier of baseload and lately peaking capacity to the power grids. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently reported that natural gas–fired capacity additions are increasing in the U.S. again […]

  • Applying Photovoltaic Charging and Storage Systems: Challenging the Limits of PV Technology

    To achieve net-zero goals and accelerate the global energy transition, the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that countries need to triple renewable energy capacity from that of 2022 by 2030, with the development of solar photovoltaics (PV) playing a crucial role. Additionally, the comprehensive electrification of combustion engine vehicles is an indispensable measure for reducing […]