Business

  • Pressure on U.S. Nuclear Power Could Mount if Sanctions Imposed on Russian Uranium

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ensuing sanctions may have a limited immediate impact on the U.S. nuclear industry, despite its reliance on uranium imports. Potential implications over the longer term, however, require urgent action, officials from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) said. NEI CEO and President Maria Korsnick told reporters at the ongoing CERAWeek by […]

  • CPS Energy Exploring Novel Geomechanical Pumped Storage Technology

    Texas-based CPS Energy, the largest municipally owned electric and natural gas company in the U.S., has entered into a 15-year commercial agreement to explore installing up to 15 MW of geomechanical pumped storage (GPS). The agreement will kick off with a pioneering 1-MW project that will pump water into drilled wells and store it under […]

  • How Data—with Context—Will Drive a More Secure Energy Future

    I’ve come to depend on the navigation system in my car. It predicts traffic jams, gives me the fastest route, informs me of store hours, and even tells me where to get a burger. To give me this experience, the navigation system draws on multiple data sources, puts it into context, and presents it through […]

  • Ban on Russian Energy Imports Gains Bipartisan, Bicameral Steam in Congress

    Eighteen bipartisan U.S. Senators are backing a bill that would direct the president to declare a national emergency and prohibit imports of Russian energy commodities, including crude oil, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and coal. While the measure does not include Russian uranium, a senior Department of Energy official said addressing U.S. reliance on […]

  • The Connected Plant Conference Announces Southern Company as Host Utility Partner

    HOUSTON, TX, March 4, 2022 – The 6th Annual Connected Plant Conference is proud to announce Southern Company as the Host Utility Partner. The 2022 event will convene in-person at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, from May 23 to 26. Hosted by POWER and Chemical Engineering, the Connected Plant Conference will provide attendees with the […]

  • NRC Dramatically Reconsiders SLR Approvals, Sets New Conditions for Nuclear Life Extensions

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission  (NRC) in a dramatic reversal on Feb. 24 threw out a key environmental review that staff applied to subsequent license renewal (SLR) approvals for units at Turkey Point and Peach Bottom nuclear plants in 2019 and 2020, deeming their applications “incomplete.” In a series of orders, the federal regulatory agency’s three […]

  • Xcel Energy Considering Nuclear Operator Role at Idaho NuScale SMR Plant

    Xcel Energy is exploring a role as operator of the 462-MWe Carbon-Free Power Project (CFPP), potentially becoming a key member of the first-of-its-kind small modular reactor (SMR) power plant that is under development at an Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site in Idaho Falls. The development is another sizable step for the six-module NuScale Power VOYGR project. […]

  • Charah Solutions Places Final 20% of All Real Property Acreage at Former TMPA Gibbons Creek Steam Electric Station Under Contract

    In Less than One Year Since Acquisition, Environmental Risk Transfer Services Leader Has Successfully Executed Contracts for the Sale of 100% of Real Property Acreage and Demolition of Power Plant; Remediation of Existing Ash Ponds and Landfills Underway Proven Environmental Risk Transfer Services Model Benefits Utility Partners, Shareholders, Local Communities and the Environment LOUISVILLE, KY […]

  • New Realms for Gas Power Technology

    Gas power technology developers are exploring new roles and applications to ensure gas power will remain relevant as power markets embrace decarbonization. At the end of 2020, about 1,600 GW of gas turbines

  • Power Industry People: Finding Top Talent in the Military

    Last month, POWER published an article written by Senior Associate Editor Darrell Proctor that detailed the challenges power companies have been facing when trying to attract high-quality recruits in the increasingly competitive labor market for engineers and other workers with technical backgrounds (see “Groups Grapple with Labor Logistics as Energy Evolves” in the February 2022 […]

  • Sweden’s Government Approves Construction of Spent Nuclear Fuel Repository 

    Sweden’s government in late January gave radioactive waste management company Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB (SKB) the green light to proceed with a deep geological repository (DGR) for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) at a site near Vattenfall’s 3.2-GW Forsmark nuclear power plant. The milestone, which wraps up a planning process that has taken more than 40 years, makes Sweden only the second country, after Finland, to take active steps on building a permanent SNF repository.

  • Market Transitions: The MOPR Merry-Go-Round

    The PJM Interconnection’s Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) was introduced in 2006 as a floor to bar new generators from artificially depressing capacity auction clearing prices through below-cost bids.

  • Composite Insulator Application and Design for a Growing and Evolving Transmission Grid

    The need to integrate renewable energy resources, and prepare for increased demand for power as electrification takes hold in transportation and other sectors, creates challenges for an aging grid. Some

  • Harnessing the Benefits of Energy Storage to Reshape Sustainable Operations

    In today’s challenging business environment, it is paramount for organizations of all disciplines to reduce operating expenses while creating processes to meet strict greenhouse gas emissions standards. There is a worldwide focus on utilizing the full power of renewable energy and distributed assets to help organizations become more sustainable and decarbonized. Energy consumers, producers, utilities, […]

  • SCOTUS Hears Arguments on EPA’s Purview Over Power Plant GHG Emissions

    The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on a landmark case that could determine whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to broadly interpret the Clean Air Act (CAA) to establish carbon emission standards for coal, oil, and gas-fired power plants. Arguments in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (No. 20-1530) presented to […]

  • GE Digital’s CIMPLICITY 2022 Monitors and Controls Industrial Operations with Centralized, Remote, and Mobile Innovation

    SAN RAMON, Calif. – FEBRUARY 24, 2022 —  GE Digital today announced the availability of the latest version of its industry-leading CIMPLICITY 2022 HMI/SCADA software. A proven, secure-by-design automation platform, CIMPLICITY® provides true client/server visualization and control – from single machines to plant locations spanning the world – helping industrial companies manage operations, enable the connected worker, and achieve […]

  • The Economics of Reliability: U.S. Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution

    The U.S. power network received attention for tragic reasons in 2021. From February 10 through 20, Texas suffered a severe power crisis due to a confluence of catastrophic winter storms. Failures occurred across all types of electricity generation facilities—natural gas, coal, and nuclear plants shut down, and wind turbines froze. Problems cascaded, as the compressors […]

  • Abloy unveils keyless padlock with removable shackle

    The new version of the keyless ABLOY BEAT padlock, designed especially for critical infrastructure, features a removable shackle. The highly weatherproof lock is operated with a mobile app and connects to both ASSA ABLOY’s and third-party management and operational systems. JOENSUU, Finland, February 24, 2022 – Abloy Oy today unveiled a digital, keyless padlock with […]

  • Bilfinger supports VERBUND with the construction of a pumped storage power plant

    Bilfinger will deliver pressure piping and draft tube gates for new Limberg III pumped storage power plant in Austria Order volume of more than €20 million Bilfinger impresses with innovative, time-saving assembly technique Bilfinger is supporting Austria’s leading energy company VERBUND Hydro Power with the construction of the new Limberg III pumped storage power plant […]

  • Decarbonizing the World: Hydrogen Technology Is the Next Big Thing

    Many experts believe hydrogen holds great promise as a clean energy resource that can help nations achieve carbon-free goals. Green hydrogen, which is made from water through electrolysis powered by renewable energy, could be used to decarbonize a wide range of hard-to-abate industries, including petrochemical, cement, and steel, which often require high temperatures and combustion […]

  • The ‘Weakest Link’ in Supply Chain Security

    The energy transition will bring with it a new generation of cybersecurity challenges for the power sector. While information-sharing has been valuable, strategies to address issues related to vendor security, cyber talent, and lagging investment will also be critical, a former utility supply chain executive who led the development of an industry-wide cybersecurity risk exchange […]

  • Houston Dynamo and Dash Exclusive Energy Provider

    Shell Energy will become the exclusive energy provider beginning with the 2022 soccer season, working to integrate energy solutions aimed at reducing the carbon footprint at their stadium by an estimated 50% by 2026. NEED TO KNOW: Shell Energy has signed a letter of intent to become the exclusive energy provider of the Houston Dynamo […]

  • Ethiopia Produces First Power at GERD Mega-Dam

    Ethiopia began delivering power from a 375-MW turbine at its flagship 5.15-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Feb. 20, marking a significant milestone for the project that could become Africa’s largest hydropower producer. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed inaugurated the project in a celebration broadcast widely in the East African nation on Sunday. Officials […]

  • California Energy Commission Awards Funding to GreenFire Energy Inc. for Demonstration of its Geothermal GreenLoop Technology at The Geysers

    GreenFire Energy Inc. to Partner with Calpine Corporation to Implement Its Steam Dominated GreenLoop Technology San Francisco, California – February 17, 2022, GreenFire Energy Inc. announced today that it was awarded more than $2.7 million by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to install its Steam Dominated GreenLoop (SDGL) technology at The Geysers geothermal field in […]

  • Duke Energy Eyeing Coal Phaseout by 2035

    Duke Energy, the nation’s largest power producer, will dramatically slash coal generation’s share from the current 22% of total generation to 5% by 2030 and achieve a full phaseout of unabated coal by 2035. The company instead expects to deploy more than $130 billion over the next decade—$63 billion of which it will spend over […]

  • Poland Secures NuScale SMR as Urgency for Nuclear Energy Ramps Up Across Central, Eastern Europe

    NuScale Power has signed a definitive commercial agreement with mining and processing firm KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. to deploy a VOYGR power plant of up to 924 MWe as early as 2029 to support KGHM’s copper and silver production in Poland. Under an “early works agreement” signed in a ceremony on Feb. 14 in the […]

  • American Nuclear Society warns advanced reactors face ‘significant deployment delays’ unless DOE accelerates HALEU availability program

    The American Nuclear Society (ANS) warned the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that the continued unavailability of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel within the United States is risking “significant deployment delays” of advanced reactors. In a February 14th letter,  ANS President Steven Nesbit and ANS Executive Director and CEO Craig Piercy urged the DOE to expedite the creation of a HALEU availability […]

  • GE-Led Carbon Capture Project at Southern Company Site Gets DOE Funding

    A GE Gas Power front-end engineering design (FEED) study will receive $5,771,670 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management following successful completion of the award negotiation phase. The funding is focused on carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) for power generation applications with a goal […]

  • ME2C® Environmental Gains New Supply Business at Another Midwest Plant Operated by Large Utility Customer, Patented Mercury Emissions Technology Licensee

    Third Plant Location with Major Utility Gained as a Supply Customer After Issuing License to Operate CORSICANA, TX, Feb. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. (OTCQB: MEEC) (“ME2C Environmental” or the “Company”), a leading environmental technologies firm, today announced that the Company has received new supply business with a licensee of the […]

  • Curtiss-Wright and Teledyne FLIR Defense Sign Agreement to Provide Unmanned Systems and Integrated Solutions to the U.S. Nuclear Power Market and Department of Energy

    DAVIDSON, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE: CW) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Teledyne FLIR Defense to supply unmanned systems and integrated solutions to the U.S. nuclear power market and Department of Energy (DOE). Mobile unmanned systems (MUS), including drones, robotics, and submersibles, play a critical role in industrial and defense applications […]