Business

Xcel Energy on May 20 announced it would close its two remaining coal plants in Minnesota over the next decade, and the utility said it also wants to operate its Monticello nuclear plant in the state until at least 2040. Xcel, which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serves electricity and natural gas customers in […]

Commercial and industrial (C&I) sites increasingly are looking for ways to increase the reliability and resiliency of their power supply, along with controlling their energy costs. These C&I projects include distribution centers, data centers, office parks, hospitals, college campuses, and also military bases. CleanSpark, a San Diego, California–based technology company which specializes in the optimized […]

Sub-Saharan Africa’s power generation capacity is projected to surge 4% annually through 2040, and its current energy mix—which is today dominated by hydro and coal—will likely be more diversified as interest rises in renewables such as solar and wind, General Electric (GE) said in a white paper surveying market opportunities in the region that it […]

The fight about who owns equipment at the now-abandoned V.C. Summer 2 and 3 AP1000 reactors in South Carolina intensified on May 14, as key stakeholder Santee Cooper sued lead contractor Westinghouse for certification documentation related to that equipment.  The lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division, […]

When it comes to gas turbines, size matters. Although the market for large, heavy-duty gas turbines has been challenging in recent years, demand for industrial gas turbines—generally units with output ranging from about 5 MW to 100 MW—has been growing, according to Reed Lengel, product line manager for SCC-800 solutions with Siemens Energy. “When you […]

Legislative scrutiny of the energy industry have picked up of late. Here are practical steps from law firm K&L Gates that your company could take to prepare for congressional investigations.

TORRANCE, Calif. and COLUMBUS, Ohio (May 15, 2019) — As part of its ongoing effort to reduce CO2 emissions from its vehicles and operations, Honda is conducting research with Ohio-based electric utility American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) to develop a network of used electric vehicle (EV) batteries that could be integrated into AEP’s electricity system. The […]

Two globally-recognized market leaders – InfraRed Capital Partners and Navigant Consulting — today announced the formation of a company, Compass Energy Platform, which will develop and finance microgrids and other forms of distributed energy. Compass will focus on communities as they prepare for the grid of the future with microgrids, energy storage, solar, wind, fuel cells, […]

Merger integrates wide-ranging network of safety and risk mitigation professionals, critical compliance solutions delivered on a modern SaaS platform, and industry-leading training services. MANDEVILLE, La. and HOUSTON, May 15, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — PEC Safety and Veriforce, recognized leaders in delivering safety and compliance solutions to industrial markets, today announced that they have merged to create a […]

Agreement could spur new improvements in core design, performance, and levelized electricity cost of NuScale’s small modular reactor PORTLAND, Ore.—Today, NuScale Power and Enfission, LLC, a joint venture of Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ: LTBR) and Framatome, announced a memorandum of understanding to explore the use of next generation nuclear fuel technology in NuScale’s small modular reactors. […]

GE Steam Power, PGE (Polska Grupa Energetyczna) and GE-led consortium partners celebrate the synchronization of Opole Unit 6 to the grid With Opole Unit 5 and 6 synchronized to the grid, up to 1.8 GW of power is being delivered to the grid, enough electricity for two million Polish homes The consortium is on track […]

General Electric, Siemens, and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems confirmed their gas turbine sales for the year’s first quarter, with GE taking the top spot with six orders for its advanced HA-class unit. The three companies on May 14 confirmed the numbers to Reuters. GE, which had no sales in the same period a year ago, […]

SALT LAKE CITY — CleanSpark, Inc., a microgrid company with advanced engineering, software and controls for innovative distributed energy resource (DER) and microgrid deployments today announced that it has secured a $2.5 million in orders for its intelligent automatic transfer switch (ATS) switchgear. The Company’s Intelligent ATS switchgear is used to automatically transfer power supply from its […]

SHANGHAI, May 13, 2019 — Arctech Solar, a leading solar tracking and racking system provider, announced that it will supply 125 megawatt (MW) solar trackers to a solar power plant in Oman, Middle East. Located in the southern city of Amin, the plant will be commissioned by the end of 2019 and will power Petroleum Development Oman’s interior operations […]

In the days following its May 7 announcement that it will spin off its Gas and Power business, Siemens has fleshed out how and when the carveout will occur, laid out its reasons for lumping its energy businesses together, and put forth a market case for why a business separation may be a “win-win” situation […]

The percentage of coal-fired generation in the U.S. electricity mix will continue to decline, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said May 9, with gas-fired generation accounting for at least 40% of the nation’s power this summer and output from renewables continuing to rise. EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) said coal-fired units will produce only […]

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has issued a fresh warning that continued “above-normal” growth in electric demand could require it to enter Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) status to maintain system reliability this summer.  As it released its final Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) for the upcoming summer season (June to September), a preliminary […]

Combined heat and power (CHP), also known as cogeneration, is the concurrent production of electricity or mechanical power and useful thermal energy (heating and/or cooling) from a single source of energy. Although it may not be widely recognized outside of industrial, commercial, institutional, and utility circles, CHP has been providing highly efficient electricity and process […]

Companies will also offer Convergent’s energy storage solutions to large electricity users in Ontario (Toronto, ON) May 8, 2019 – Convergent Energy + Power (Convergent), the leading independent developer of energy storage solutions in North America, and Shell *, today announced a joint venture starting with 21 MWh of industrial battery storage systems at two […]

The remaining nuclear reactor at the Three Mile Island Generating Station (TMI) in Pennsylvania will shut down by the end of September. Exelon made that official May 8, setting the closing date for Unit 1 at the financially struggling plant that it first announced it would shutter two years ago. Exelon in 2017 said the […]

The UK has gone a week without using electricity from coal-fired generation, according to the National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO), which oversees the power network in England, Wales, and Scotland. Government officials said it’s the first time the UK has gone without coal in a week-long period since 1882, when a coal-fired plant opened […]

Continuous silica measurement is the best means to protect against contamination from spent anion resin and from steam carryover. Check out how to minimize risks of corrosion with accurate silica monitoring.

FLIR T840’s Integrated Color Viewfinder Simplifies Inspections Outside in Bright, Challenging Light Conditions WILSONVILLE, Ore., – FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) launched the FLIR T840, a new thermal camera in the high-performance T-Series family. The high-resolution T840 offers a brighter display and an integrated viewfinder to help electrical utility, plant managers, and other thermography professionals […]

Siemens will spin off and give up its majority stake in its lucrative Gas and Power division—comprising its conventional power generation, power transmission, oil and gas, and related services businesses—and transfer its current majority 59% stake in Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) to the new business. The company’s supervisory board announced the spinoff on May 7 […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to take final action to repeal the Clean Power Plan in June 2019, a federal court filing shows. The agency told the D.C. Circuit—in a May 6 status report—review of the Obama-era rule that sets the first carbon dioxide limits for existing power plants “continues to be a high […]

Depending on the hazard field, electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) resulting from detonation of a nuclear weapon at high altitude or in space could cause significant damage to electronics on the bulk power system and even prompt a regional voltage collapse, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) says in much-anticipated findings from its three-year study on high-altitude […]

NuScale Power, the front-runner in the race to commercialize small modular reactors (SMRs), has bagged another major backer that could broaden its nuclear supply chain base and expand its financial standing.  On April 29, NuScale signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction (DHIC), a South Korean–based engineering, procurement, and construction […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has certified the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400), a third-generation design developed by deployed by South Korean state-owned companies Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP). The U.S. nuclear regulatory body on May 1 said it will issue a direct final rule certifying the reactor […]

Geothermal energy has been around forever, used as a heating source across the world. Today it has surfaced as another renewable resource, with advancements in drilling technology bringing down costs and opening new areas to development. In conjunction with the feature article on geothermal in the May 2019 issue of POWER, we sought opinions from […]

Offshore moorings have a long tradition in the oil and gas industry. Even though most offshore mooring systems feature similar components, they differ a lot in design, depending on the bathymetries, the metocean data, and the design of the platform they support. But despite the wide range available in the market, the fast development of […]