Business

At the opening ELECTRIC POWER 2010 plenary session, both the keynote speaker’s address and discussion among the Power Industry Executive Roundtable participants pointed to the renewed appeal of natural gas and proposed cap-and-trade legislation as being potential game-changers for the U.S. power industry.

The Energy Department’s failure to recognize an impending supply squeeze for helium-3—a nonradioactive gas produced in the agency’s nuclear weapons complex—has created a national crisis requiring White House intervention and threatening key U.S. nuclear and homeland security programs, a wide range of medical and scientific research activities and development of U.S. oil and natural gas resources, according to testimony before a House subcommittee.

Does wasted work time equal job dissatisfaction? Two studies point in that direction.

Clipper Windpower didn’t have the luxury of a decade or more of product development. Instead, it started big—with a 2.5-MW wind turbine. Here’s the story of how they did it.

With some industries reeling in today’s economy, future revenue growth is still uncertain in certain markets. The bright exception is the "new energy" arena of renewables and sustainables. But that’s a tough market, with lots of competitors for the business and lots of opportunities to misfire and miss the boat. A key to success is bidding smartly on contract opportunities. Otherwise, don’t bid at all.

The FIFA World Cup, the biggest sports event on the planet, is under way in South Africa through July 11. More than 300,000 fans are expected to attend the global soccer tournament, and hundreds of millions more will be watching on television. But a focus will also be on South Africa itself, which 20 years ago ended apartheid and has spent the following decades in a recovery process. And the pressure is on for Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned utility, which generates nearly 95% of the nation’s power (and 45% of Africa’s total).

Alstom and Schneider Electric Close AREVA T&D Acquisition Deal. Alstom and Schneider Electric on June 7 closed a €2.29 billion (US$2.75 billion) transaction to acquire AREVA’s transmission and distribution arm, AREVA T&D, after obtaining approvals from relevant competition authorities and the French Commission des Participations et des Transferts. A consortium agreement for the joint acquisition […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission puts fire at the top of its safety concerns, calculating that fire constitutes half of all reactor safety risks, and lately fire safety has again become a major industry issue. For example . . .

AES Secures PPA with Electricity Vietnam for 1,200-MW Coal Plant. AES Corp. subsidiary AES VCM Mong Duong Power Co. Ltd. in April signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with state power company Electricity Vietnam (EVN) for Mong Duong II, a proposed 1,200-MW coal-fired power plant. In support of this agreement, AES VCM has also entered […]

Since the collapse of Enron and the wholesale power markets, the vitality of competition in retail markets for electricity has waned in most regions of the U.S., with the exception of Texas. At KEMA’s 21st annual Executive Forum in late March, 300 attendees converged on Dallas to discuss and debate the dynamics and changes now facing residential and commercial customers in most regions of the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 1927, KEMA is a global provider of business and technical consulting, operational support, measurement and inspection, and testing and certification for the energy and utility industry. A summary of the many presentations follows.