Business
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Plant Design
How to Avoid Common Genset Room Design Mistakes
Reliable power is essential for all facilities, but it is even more critical for places like hospitals, data centers, and military bases. Therefore, many decision-makers are purchasing power generator sets (gensets) to supply their facilities during emergencies. It is crucial to consider where the genset will be positioned and how it will be operated. If […]
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News
IHS: Natural Gas Prices Will Fall Below $2/MMBtu in 2020
Average natural gas prices at Henry Hub in 2020 could fall to below $2/MMBtu —a level “not seen in decades”—owing to a persistent oversupply, a new report from information and analytics firm IHS Markit suggests. Prices could fall despite strong demand for natural gas, both domestically, including for power generation, as well as for exports. […]
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T&D
What Can You Do with a Superconductor? A Lot! [PODCAST]
What is a superconductor? One definition says, “a material that can conduct electricity or transport electrons from one atom to another with no resistance.” “At the base physics level, what a superconductor does is it moves a lot more power per unit volume or per unit weight, so you have a very high energy-dense material […]
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News
Exelon’s Byron 2 Completes First Insertion of Westinghouse Accident-Tolerant Fuel
Exelon’s Byron Unit 2 nuclear power plant has completed installation of EnCore Fuel, Westinghouse Electric Co.’s accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) solution, marking the start of the first test of uranium silicide fuel pellets in a commercial nuclear reactor. The installation, completed during the plant’s scheduled 18-day spring refueling outage this April, but publicly announced on Sept. […]
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News
Three More Nuclear Plant Owners Will Demonstrate Hydrogen Production
FirstEnergy Solutions (FES), Xcel Energy, and Arizona Public Service (APS) will demonstrate hydrogen production at three nuclear plants they own starting in 2020 and 2021. The projects, selected as part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Reactor Development Project funding pathway, aim to improve long-term competitiveness of the nuclear sector […]
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Press Releases
Neoen Announcing Major Hybrid Power Plant
SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — Renewable energy giant Neoen is expected to announce plans today for a major hybrid power plant in South Australia featuring 1,200 MW of wind, 600MW of solar, and 900 MW of battery storage. Neoen’s Hornsdale wind and battery projects have been important components in South Australia’s emergence as a renewable energy […]
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Plant Design
California’s Largest Battery Storage Installation to Be Installed in Mojave Desert
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Glendale Water and Power, through the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), on May 16, 2019, received SCPPA’s approval on agreements with 8minute Solar Energy (8mSE) for the installation of a 300-MW/1,200-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) located at 8mSE’s Eland Solar and Storage Center. […]
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Instrumentation & Controls
Hawk Measurement Systems Launches New Radar Transmitter
Hawk Measurement releases a new non-contact radar level transmitter that uses FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) technology. Hawk Measurement Systems (HAWK), a global leader in measurement solutions, has announced the release of their new SENATOR™ Radar Level Transmitter product line. The SENATOR™ Radar Level Transmitter is a non-contact sensor that uses FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous […]
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O&M
Keeping Track of O&M Costs and Processes in the Field
Cost. The dirtiest word in clean energy—especially with operations and maintenance (O&M) costs set to rise globally to $17 billion in 2020 in the wind industry. Part of saving on O&M costs means taking a look at the inefficient processes that skilled workers are doing as part of O&M procedures to optimize their time. A […]
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Coal
Charah Solutions Receives Byproduct Sales and Operations Contract Extension Award from Luminant
Five-Year Extension of Services Provided to Miami Fort and Zimmer Power Plants in Ohio LOUISVILLE, KY (September 10, 2019) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) (the “Company”), a leading provider of environmental and maintenance services to the power generation industry, today announced that it recently was awarded a contract extension to provide byproduct sales and […]
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News
PG&E’s Reorganization Plan—Cap Wildfire Liabilities at $18 Billion
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) wants to cap its liabilities from damages caused by California wildfires at about $18 billion, according to the reorganization plan filed by the bankrupt utility September 9 in federal court in San Francisco. The amount is less than half what creditors, including insurance companies and wildfire victims, say they are […]
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News
New York City to Get Eight Floating Aeroderivative Gas Turbines
New York City may soon be powered with two new power barges outfitted with eight Siemens 76-MW aeroderivative gas turbines. Under a Sept. 5-announced contract signed by Astoria Generating Co. (AGC) and Siemens, the power barges—a relatively new Siemens offering based on a concept it calls “SeaFloat”—will replace two of four existing power barges at […]
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News
PG&E Seeking $14 Billion in Restructuring Plan
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) reportedly will soon file a restructuring plan that includes more than $14 billion in equity commitments, as the utility looks to recover from billions of dollars in liabilities tied to its role in California wildfires that caused the company to file the largest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history. Bloomberg on […]
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Press Releases
Caterpillar Powers 3.2-MW Natural Gas Power Plant at McEwen Gold Bar Mine
McEwen Mining Inc. recently declared commercial production at their newest mine site in Nevada, USA, the Gold Bar mine, powered by Caterpillar. The customized solution consists of two Cat® G3516 1,450 ekW and one G3512 1,000 ekW natural gas generator sets. The Cat G3500 series of generator sets meet most worldwide emissions requirements down to […]
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News
2018 Exceptional Year for Nuclear Power Firsts
Last year, five of the world’s 449 operable nuclear reactors reached 50 years of operation for the first time, four first-of-their kind reactor designs were brought online, and while the industry showed capacity factor impacts from load-following, the global nuclear fleet performed at an average capacity factor of about 80%, says a new report from […]
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Gas
Engineering a World-Class Gas Turbine [PODCAST]
GE introduced the F-class gas turbine to the power industry nearly 30 years ago. Since that time, more than 1,500 F-class machines have operated for more than 54 million hours. With available outputs ranging from 51 MW for a GE 6F.01 simple cycle unit to more than 1,000 MW for a 3×1 7F.05-based combined cycle […]
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Press Releases
Siemens to build new combined cycle power plant in France
Siemens will build a new combined cycle power plant as a turnkey project in Landivisiau in western France. The company will also operate and maintain the plant for a period of 20 years. With an installed capacity of 446 megawatts, the power plant will help to reliably cover Brittany’s growing demand for electricity. The order […]
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News
How Net Generation Has Changed in States with Renewable Portfolio Standards
As of August 2019, 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), and eight others had non-binding renewable portfolio goals. Three states also had clean energy standards, which set targets for low-carbon non-renewables, like nuclear, and two had clean energy goals. Our monthly infographic in September 2019 shows how shares for each […]
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Business
The X Factor in the Power Market’s New Math
How power companies are using experience management, or XM, to reshape customer relationships and reveal new revenue opportunities Here was a company with one of the largest investor-owned electric systems in the U.S.—the owner of close to a dozen electricity distribution entities—and a strong desire to pursue new opportunities outside its traditional regulated business. Those […]
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News
THE BIG PICTURE: Renewable Portfolio Standards
As of August 2019, 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), and eight others had non-binding renewable portfolio goals. Three states also had clean energy standards, which set targets for low-carbon non-renewables, like nuclear, and two had clean energy goals. Shown in the bars below are the shares of generation by source […]
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Instrumentation & Controls
How to Ensure Plant Reliability and Regulatory Compliance
Lock in safe, reliable operations by opening the door to third-party expertise There’s still a big takeaway from a 2008 Florida blackout, and it’s not the size of the fine that followed. Although it was the largest penalty levied under the new reliability standards at that time, here’s the bigger elephant in the room: Florida […]
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News
Solar Plant Aims to be ‘Benchmark of Excellence’
The Veltoor facility in India has been honored for its cutting-edge technology, which helps maximize its energy production. The project also is notable for the developer’s commitment to communities near the
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Hydrogen
Decarbonizing the Power Sector with Renewable Gas
One way to help decarbonize the electric grid is through the use of renewable hydrogen, that is, hydrogen produced from renewable power resources. The process involves using excess wind and solar power during
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Business
Public vs. Private: What’s Best for Power Customers?
There are generally three types of electric power utility ownership structures: public power utilities, rural electric cooperatives, and investor-owned utilities (IOUs). The American Public Power Association
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Technology
Five Inspections Made Easier with Drone Technology
Today, drones equipped with sensors and cameras are proving their worth in gathering real-time footage that can be stored for later analysis. Uncrewed aerial systems can detect failing structures and equipment
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News
Nigeria Enlists Siemens to Help Shore Up Power Grid
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has an ambitious plan to rebuild the country’s power grid, as his government tries to jump-start the slow pace of growth in Africa’s largest economy. Buhari and Siemens
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News
Changing Power Market Conditions Warrant Smart Boiler Services
There have been a lot of changes in how power plants do business. As financial pressure mounts and lean-staffing strategies are implemented, finding time to do all the work that needs to be done can be a
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News
Turkey Banking on Geothermal Projects to Boost Domestic Generation
Geothermal power generation continues to increase in Turkey, as the country works toward a goal of at least 2 GW of installed capacity by the end of 2019, a rise of almost 50% since the end of 2018. Geothermal
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News
Heavy Hauling: Moving 300-Ton Gas Engines from Europe to Michigan
Two new power plants in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.) came online earlier this year, supplying power for customers of Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corp. (UMERC), a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group. WEC
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News
Developing an ‘Insurance Policy’ to Ensure Stability for Renewables-heavy Grids
Many countries are integrating renewable energy sources to their power grids. While this is a much-needed transition toward cleaner energy, grid operators and utility providers must be prepared to address