Business

  • Centrus, Oklo Set Out to Solidify HALEU Fuel Cycle, Trade Advanced Nuclear Power and Fuel

    Centrus, a firm poised to demonstrate high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) production, will partner with microreactor technology developer Oklo on several pioneering steps to build out the HALEU front-end supply chain, including pivotal commercial deconversion capabilities. The landmark collaboration could also make Centrus one of Oklo’s first commercial power off-takers for two reactors planned in Southern […]

  • Westinghouse Will Supply Nuclear Fuel for Russian-Designed Reactors in Slovakia

    Westinghouse Electric Company signed a long-term agreement with Slovenské elektrárne to license and supply VVER-440 fuel assemblies to its nuclear power plants in Slovakia. Westinghouse said the agreement “supports Slovakia’s energy security and diversification of nuclear fuel.” Slovakia has five operating nuclear reactors (Bohunice 3 and 4, and Mochovce 1, 2, and 3) and one […]

  • NERC Identifies Energy Policy as Key Risk to Grid Reliability Amid Evolving Challenges

    The North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) will for the first time consider “energy policy” among five significant evolving and interdependent risks to grid reliability. In its latest biennial ERO Reliability Risk Priorities Report, the designated North American Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) identifies energy policy as a new risk priority alongside grid transformation, resilience to extreme […]

  • Federal Funding Bolsters Saskatchewan’s First Proposed 300-MW Nuclear Project

    Canada’s federal government has committed C$74 million ($55 million) to support SaskPower’s potential deployment of a 300-MW small modular reactor (SMR) in the mid-2030s. Federal agency Natural Resources Canada on Aug. 19 confirmed that up to C$50 million is designated for SaskPower from the agency’s C$250 million Electricity Predevelopment Program. Another C$24 million will be […]

  • Maximizing the Potential of Automated Metering

    The writer Lewis Carroll famously said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” Well, the road the utility industry is currently on is perhaps the bumpiest and most circuitous one it has ever seen, and knowing where it is going, or needs to go, is paramount. Utilities find […]

  • CPV, GE Vernova Bring 1.2-GW Gas-Fired Plant Online in Illinois

    Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) said the company’s new 1.2-GW Three Rivers Energy Center in Illinois has entered commercial operation. The natural gas-fired facility, built in collaboration with GE Vernova’s Gas Power business, features two generating blocks, each with a GE 7HA.02 gas turbine, an STF-A650 steam turbine, a W84 generator, and GE’s integrated Mark* Vle […]

  • Sustainable Solutions for Residential Homes and Solar’s Increasingly Popular Adoption

    As the global push toward sustainable energy gains momentum, solar power stands at the forefront of this transformative movement. There are many sustainable solutions presented by solar energy, the comparative economics against traditional grid power, and the bright future that lies ahead. In just 10 years, renewable energy’s share of U.S. electricity generation has doubled—from […]

  • AEP Sells 1.4-GW Unregulated Contracted Renewables Portfolio to Invenergy-Led Consortium

    American Electric Power (AEP), one of the nation’s largest power producers, has completed the sale of its 1,365-MW unregulated contracted renewables portfolio to an Invenergy-led consortium. IRG Acquisition Holdings (IRGAH)—a partnership between Invenergy, CDPQ, and funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners—confirmed the close of the transaction on Aug. 16 for a $1.5 billion enterprise value. […]

  • Understanding the Impact of Net Metering Changes on Solar Adoption in California

    California has long been a leader in the U.S. solar industry, largely due to lucrative financial incentives encouraging adoption. Recently, the California Public Utilities Commission announced it will not be holding another hearing on net energy metering (NEM), confirming that recent changes made to the rules are permanent. In this question and answer article, Amir […]

  • INNIO wins Red Dot Award in three categories with its branding approach focused on moving energy forward

    INNIO impresses the jury of the world-renowned design competition Red Dot Award with its new branding and earns Red Dot Award in three categories: Corporate Design & Identity, Website and Film & Animation Prestigious title is awarded for the company’s innovative visualization of its forward-thinking and energy-centered approach to providing solutions that enable the green […]

  • The Future of Wind Energy Depends on Technicians and Technology

    New global renewable energy deployments are set to increase by more than 440 GW by the end of 2023, the largest increase to date. To put that into perspective, a power plant with a capacity of 1 GW could power approximately 876,000 households. So, this increase is expected to provide the renewable energy equivalent of a plant […]

  • Plant Vogtle: Not a Star, but a Tragedy for the People of Georgia

    In a recent guest essay entitled “A Star Is Born, as Plant Vogtle Nuclear Expansion Enters Service,” Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols wrote glowingly about Plant Vogtle, the first new reactor to come online in the U.S. in 30 years. He even praised Southern Company for keeping the project going during COVID. But what […]

  • RNG, Battery, and Innovative Heat Pump Developments in News and Notes (Aug. 10, 2023)

    A number of companies with ties to the power industry revealed new projects and other interesting developments this week. The following are some the more noteworthy announcements that POWER has been monitoring. Landfill Gas to Renewable Natural Gas Project Enters Service in Missouri Vision RNG (VRNG) said its Landfill Gas (LFG) to Renewable Natural Gas […]

  • Could SCR Catalyst Technology Adoption Be a Roadmap for Power Plants Seeking Economical and Efficient CO2 Point-Source Solutions?

    As the quest to develop a net-zero carbon emissions electricity grid marches on, global entities like the International Energy Agency (IEA) increasingly point to a big role for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). The IEA goes so far as to say reaching net-zero will be nearly impossible without CCUS. Proposed governmental greenhouse gas emissions […]

  • How Wind Turbine Pitch-Control and Sealing Systems Work

    With over 350,000 wind turbines currently in use globally, wind continues to be one of the fastest growing forms of renewable energy. In 2021, 93.6 GW of new installations brought global cumulative wind power capacity to 837 GW, showing year-over-year growth of 12%. The Global Wind Report 2022 notes that 557 GW of new capacity […]

  • Indictment of Former Westinghouse Executive Charged in Connection with V.C. Summer Nuclear Project Dismissed

    Former Westinghouse Electric Co. Senior Vice President Jeffrey A. Benjamin’s motion to dismiss for grand jury bias a federal indictment issued in August 2021 alleging he concealed damaging information concerning the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project schedule was granted by U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis on August 2, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina. Benjamin […]

  • Two Big Nuclear Regulatory Milestones for Idaho NuScale SMR Project

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on July 31 accepted a standard design approval (SDA) application for NuScale Power’s VOYGR-6, a plant design that will be featured in the 462-MWe Carbon-Free Power Project (CFPP) proposed at an Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site. The milestone comes on the same day that CFPP submitted a limited work authorization […]

  • FERC Adopts ‘Historic’ Reforms to Ease Nationwide Generation Interconnection Backlog

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved key transmission reforms aimed at clearing a staggering backlog of more than 10,000 generation and storage projects—more than 2,000 GW—stalled in interconnection queues across the country. Order 2023, a final rule unanimously adopted by FERC’s four commissioners at a July 27 open meeting and posted in full […]

  • TECO Achieves Highly Reliable Power Grid Service with Advanced Technology

    Tampa Electric Company (TECO) has enhanced its power system operation through the adoption of advanced technology. Its pioneering culture and the benefits obtained with these new innovative tools have led to

  • NRG Energy’s Pivot Amid Power Sector Change

    Once a giant pure-play independent power producer, NRG Energy has cultivated a legacy of pioneering business models to withstand waves of change in the power sector. Its latest strategic shift pivots from

  • Generator Maintenance: Preparing for the Bubble

    If you were paying attention to the power industry during the early 2000s, you may remember a large spike in the U.S. gas turbine fleet at the time. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that

  • A Model for ZLD Treatment of Blowdown from Cooling Towers—Even the Big Ones

    Pilot testing under the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Pitch-to-Pilot desalination research funding proved an electro-coagulation, clarification, micro-filtration, reverse osmosis with vacuum-assisted

  • Quantum Computing Can Help Utilities Become More Reliable

    Below freezing at breakfast, sweltering by supper, dramatic swings in weather are no longer the purview of small talk. Predicting, accounting for, and reacting to weather are boardroom agenda items that impact

  • Spider Power for Turbomachinery Operators

    Slowly, a blue spider crawls across its spider web. When it reaches the center, it stretches, solidifying the self-woven structures. We are in the middle of a video scene. Only when the camera opens up and moves away from the scenery does it become clear. This is not a real spider, but a model from […]

  • Vogtle Unit 3 Enters Commercial Operation: First ‘Newly Constructed’ U.S. Nuclear Power Plant in Decades

    Georgia Power declared Plant Vogtle Unit 3 commercially operational on July 31, 2023, making it the first “newly constructed” nuclear power unit to be added to the U.S. fleet in decades. “Today is a historic day for the State of Georgia, Southern Company, and the entire energy sector, as we continue transforming the way we […]

  • Creating More Resilient Data Centers to Navigate Energy Volatility and Extreme Weather

    An astonishing surge of heat across the globe shattered temperature records and marked three days of July 2023 as likely the hottest in Earth’s modern history. When temperatures rise dramatically, data centers also struggle to keep their servers cool. As the effects of climate change become more pronounced, energy market volatility is expected to persist. […]

  • Hydrogen Offers a ‘Multi-Billion-Dollar Opportunity’ This Decade for Innovative Companies

    Hydrogen demand throughout the world reached 94 million metric tons in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) Global Hydrogen Review 2022, an annual report issued by the IEA in late September last year. Demand for new applications grew to about 40,000 metric tons (up 60% from 2020, albeit from a low base). Notably, […]

  • Busy Week: News and Notes from the Power Industry (July 27, 2023)

    A number of companies in the power industry revealed new projects and other interesting developments this week. The following are some the more noteworthy announcements that POWER has been monitoring. BWXT to Provide Nuclear Reactor Engine and Fuel for DARPA Space Project BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT) announced on July 26 that its reactor and fuel […]

  • Transmission for Transition: Solving the South African Energy Crisis Through Logistics

    South Africa is in the midst of an energy crisis characterized by electricity shortages, blackouts, and lack of new infrastructure investment. Eskom, the state-owned utility supplying more than 90% of the nation’s electricity, has suffered from operational failures, maintenance issues, and breakdowns at aging, poorly maintained power stations, leading to steady declines in the energy […]

  • Energy Storage Projects Commissioned to Serve New York City

    A Virginia-headquartered group said it has brought online the first two of the company’s four planned energy storage systems (ESS) designed to support and stabilize the New York City power grid. Summit Ridge Energy on July 25 said the projects, located across Brooklyn and Staten Island, ultimately will provide 58 MWh of generation to the […]