Business

  • Shift to Gas, Financing Issues Could Delay Polish Power Plant Project

    Officials in Poland have said changing the fuel source of a planned 1-GW power plant in Ostroleka, known as Ostroleka C, from coal to natural gas could delay the project, which already faces several financial

  • POWER Digest [April 2020]

    Group Readies Hydrogen Production Plant in Japan. A consortium including Toshiba, Tohoku Electric Power, and Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in March said it has

  • Electrification: Too Much of a Good Thing?

    Electrification has been a much-touted driver for the global energy transition toward decarbonization. But though an all-electric future could have vast implications for the power and gas sectors, achieving it

  • What Does It Take to Develop Utility-Scale Solar Projects?

    Constructing a utility-scale solar project requires more than simply buying PV panels and mounting them in a field. It can take years to find the right location, conduct feasibility studies, obtain permits, and align the proverbial stars. A couple of experts, who have managed multiple projects through the process, were guests on The POWER Podcast. […]

  • How One Fabrication Shop in Alabama Is Powering Through the Pandemic

    Drive one hour south of Birmingham and you will find the not-so-small town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, county population of more than 207,000. Known as the home of the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa is rich in history, arts, young professionals, rooted families, and famous Southern hospitality. At the heart of this college town is a culture […]

  • EU Unveils Key Elements of its Green Deal

    The European Commission in December 2019 announced its new European Green Deal, a set of major policy and legislative proposals that position the EU as the global leader on environmental and climate issues. Since then, the Commission has published a draft EU climate law and is seeking stakeholder input on potential revisions to the Energy […]

  • Lake Charles Power Station Achieves Commercial Operation

    Plant will provide clean, affordable and reliable energy to Louisiana customers WESTLAKE, La. – Entergy Louisiana’s state-of-the-art Lake Charles Power Station began commercial operation March 28, providing another source of reliable and clean energy to a region that has seen substantial growth in recent years. “We are excited to announce Lake Charles Power Station achieved […]

  • GE-led Consortium to Build Two High-Efficiency, Lower Emission HA Combined Cycle Power Units at Dolna Odra Power Plant in Poland

    PGE’s Dolna Odra Plant will be equipped with two GE 9HA.01 gas turbines and two STF-D650 steam turbines to deliver world-class efficiency and flexibility for the combined cycle power plant 1.4 gigawatt (GW) plant will produce the equivalent electricity needed to power approximately 1 million Polish households while meeting the most rigorous environmental standards for […]

  • Bloom Energy, State of California, Almo Partner to Refurbish Ventilators for Healthcare System as COVID-19 Spreads Throughout U.S.

    SAN JOSE, Calif. and PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (March 28, 2020) – Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE: BE) and Almo Corporation today announced they are joining forces to refurbish unused, out-of-warranty ventilators and ship them to state agencies and hospitals throughout the country, particularly as an increasing number of patients experience critical respiratory issues as a result of COVID-19. […]

  • EPA Relaxes Noncompliance Enforcement During COVID-19 Pandemic

    Adopting a new temporary policy that gives it more “enforcement discretion,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said March 26 it does not expect to seek penalties for civil violations of the agency’s rules that result from the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy adopted Thursday addresses concerns that regulated facilities are facing potential worker shortages, travel restrictions, […]

  • District Energy Group Outlines Emergency Preparedness Steps

    The International District Energy Association (IDEA), a group founded in 1909 to help the district energy sector share information, held a COVID-19 Working Group Conference Call on March 23 to discuss emergency preparedness measures underway at district energy systems around the world. IDEA is providing this call as a free webinar, available here. IDEA has […]

  • COVID-19 Threatens Outages Scheduled at 97% of U.S. Nuclear Sites in 2020

    Challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. nuclear industry has asked the Trump administration to ensure nuclear workers, suppliers, and vendors will have access to nuclear plants and personal protective equipment (PPE) during the 2020 spring and fall refueling outage seasons and beyond. All but two of the nation’s nuclear sites had scheduled planned outages  […]

  • Lessons from Microgrids Applied to the COVID-19 Crisis

    There are parallels between COVID-19 responses and the management of the electrical grid of the future. Concepts like “flattening the curve” and “self-quarantine” are concepts not only crucial in the current pandemic, but in electricity distribution systems globally. While we at Introspective Systems practice social distancing, working remotely, and watching record demands asked of hospitals and the […]

  • PSEG Donates 50,000 N95 Masks to Aid Response by Health Care and First Responders During COVID-19 Pandemic

    NEWARK, N.J. (March 24, 2020) — PSEG announced today that it is donating more than 50,000 N95 respirator masks to one of New Jersey’s largest health care systems in an effort to help the medical community meet its increased need for protective equipment amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “We recognize the dire need that the medical […]

  • COVID-19 Response: Electric Power Industry Closely Coordinating With Federal Partners

    WASHINGTON, March 23, 2020 — The nation’s investor-owned electric companies, public power utilities, and electric cooperatives are working together to protect the energy grid and ensure continued access to safe and reliable electricity during the COVID-19 global health crisis. The electric power industry has been planning for years for an emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, as […]

  • NRC Preparing Rule Changes Due to Coronavirus

    The agency that regulates nuclear power in the U.S. is preparing to allow reactor operators to work longer shifts, and could also issue new rules that would let facilities put off some maintenance and plant inspections. The actions are in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Comments during a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conference call on […]

  • Power Loads Changing as Coronavirus Impacts Energy Sector

    Power industry analysts who’ve spoken with POWER agree there will be an impact to power load due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the loss of much of the U.S. commercial and industrial demand for power, and certainly an uptick in the amount of demand from the residential sector as more people work from home, away […]

  • PG&E Pleads Guilty to 84 Involuntary Manslaughter Counts in 2018 Fire

    Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of unlawfully causing a fire after it was blamed for the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, the deadliest wildfire in state history. The utility reached the agreement with the Butte County District Attorney’s office on March […]

  • Utilities Plan to Keep Key Staff Housed at Power Plants

    U.S. electric utilities and other energy companies are preparing to have key personnel remain at power plants and operations centers to ensure the facilities remain online during the coronavirus pandemic. The federal government considers power plants part of the nation’s critical infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for working with power […]

  • Veolia North America Recognized for Innovative Hubgrade Energy Efficiency Technology

    BOSTON, Mass. (March 19, 2020) — Helping businesses reduce energy consumption is a key driver for Veolia North America, which is why the company — a global leader in sustainable energy, water, and waste solutions — was recently presented with a 2019 SEAL Environmental Initiative Award for its innovative Hubgrade smart monitoring system, which helps […]

  • Wind Energy Group Says $43 Billion at Risk from COVID-19

    Energy groups continue to assess the industry disruption caused by the coronavirus, with the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) on March 19 saying the global pandemic is putting  $43 billion of wind industry investments and payments at risk. Utilities, grid operators, and other have been altering their routines as state and local governments call for […]

  • PLM, ERP, EAM, Digital Twin: What Do They All Mean?

    The power industry and technology worlds are filled with acronyms. It’s often hard to know what they all mean. Mark Reisig, director of Product Marketing at Aras, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. He explained how digital technology is being utilized to bring products to market and track assets throughout their lifecycle. The process […]

  • Oklo Submits First Non-LWR Combined License Application to NRC

    Oklo, developer of the 1.5-MW Aurora micro-reactor, has submitted the first-ever combined license application (COLA) for an advanced non-light water reactor (LWR) to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The move formalizes the start of a new era for nuclear regulation in the U.S. The Silicon Valley company, which last year received a first-of-its-kind site use […]

  • Power Industry Weighs Impacts of Coronavirus

    Utilities and power generators worldwide are altering their business practices and developing strategies for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s particularly critical for the power industry, as a reliable supply of electricity is essential to prevent even more economic disruption. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lists utilities among the 16 industries that the […]

  • Banks Invest in Coal, Gas Projects Despite Pushback

    A new report from a half-dozen environmental groups says global banks financed $2.7 trillion of fossil fuel projects from December 2015, when the Paris Agreement on climate was reached, through year-end 2019. The report said funding for such projects has increased in each of the past four years. “Banking on Climate Change 2020,” published March […]

  • Pandemic Creating ‘Crisis’ for Solar Industry

    The president of the Solar Energy Industries Association on March 17 said the solar industry is seeing “a pretty significant crisis” along with the overall economy due to the global coronavirus pandemic, as the situation likely will limit growth in the solar sector this year. Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the SEIA, told […]

  • Solar Drives Down Price for ISO-NE Power

    Silicon Valley-based SunPower on March 16 said it has secured grid capacity for about 11 MW of power after a winning bid in ISO New England’s 14th Forward Capacity Auction (FCA), in which companies predict the cost of making power in 2023. The auction, which closed in February, saw a record low price of $2 […]

  • Siemens receives third order from Belarus for SGT-800 gas turbines

    March 16, 2020 — For the third time in three months, Siemens has received an order from Belarus to supply SGT-800 industrial gas turbines. The new order covers five gas turbines, including associated auxiliary and electrical systems, for a peak load and backup power plant. The new plant will be built at the existing power […]

  • Eaton Helps Build China Field Hospitals in Battle Against Coronavirus

    Power management company Eaton and its partner electrical contractors and distributors recently completed a construction project to build two new field hospitals in Wuhan, China. The project delivered an additional 2,500 hospital beds to the region, which has been considered ground zero for the COVID-19 global pandemic. Eaton’s energy solutions are helping provide electricity to […]

  • Modern Energy Management completes scope on flagship Vietnam intertidal wind project

    Ho Chi Minh City, 12 March 2020 – Modern Energy Management (MEM), a specialist in developing, building and operating investment grade renewable energy projects in emerging markets, announced that it completed its scope of work for ST International (STI) and Climate Investor One (CIO) on their flagship Vietnam project: the Tra Vinh 48MW intertidal wind […]