Coal

Efficiency has become the mantra of modern coal power. The 912-MW hard coal–fired RDK 8, a unit that operates in Germany’s challenging power market, achieved a 47.5% net thermal efficiency through

New coal power plant technology is being developed by various companies around the world, but there are some pretty efficient and reliable designs already commercially available. Circulating fluidized bed

A new coal-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, replacing old boilers in place since the 1960s, improves the efficiency of the campus’ heating and cooling system

Shutdown, turnaround, and outage events are extremely complex, with multiple stakeholders all focused on minimizing the time assets are offline, delivering their scope on budget, and ensuring zero safety

State-of-the-art automation systems are common at power plants these days. Still, many plants start up units in a very manual way. When startups were rare, the implications were minimal, but as units cycle

Coal-fired plants have been powering the electric grid for more than a hundred years, but the technology being used in them is not stagnant, as many advancements have been made. One new design—the Clean

A major part of maintaining a power plant at peak efficiency is dealing with or preventing damage from corrosion and corrosive objects that can enter air and water intake systems, including pipes and fluid

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), known for its wind turbines used in both large onshore and offshore projects, in June began operation of an electric thermal energy storage (ETES) system in Germany

VW Chooses MHPS to Modernize Cogen Plant. Volkswagen AG (VW) in early July said it chose Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe (MHPS Europe) to build a gas-and-steam power plant in Wolfsburg, as part of the

An arc flash is the explosive energy released when an electrical fault causes an arc. This rapid release of energy causes excessive temperatures in addition to air and metal in the path of the arc expanding

Economic pressures coupled with new and proposed regulations to reduce air emissions and regulate cooling water use and the management and disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) continue to drive the

A new report released July 31 details continued growth in global energy storage, driven by lower costs for lithium-ion batteries. Research company BloombergNEF (BNEF) in its latest forecast published Wednesday said energy storage installations worldwide will grow across the next two decades, from the 9 GW/17 GWh of capacity deployed as of last year, to […]

BHP and Mitsubishi Development Pty (MDP) in late June signed a memorandum of understanding for joint research, development, and deployment of greenhouse gas emissions reduction technologies in several countries, including projects with battery storage, solar, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). The agreement, signed in Tokyo, Japan, on June 20, also calls for research into […]

Lebanon, Pennsylvania – July 24, 2019 | Marsulex Environmental Technologies (“MET”) has announced the award of a contract for flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems by an Indian government power company at its thermal power plant in the State of Jharkhand. MET’s licensee for India, Thermax Limited, has concluded the order for two FGD units at […]

BrandTech™ Precast Solutions deliver results to customers 90% faster Kennesaw, Georgia, USA, July 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) –Industrial Specialists by BrandSafway recently added a hot wire CNC (computer numerical control) foam-cutting machine to its portfolio of offerings, giving the company the ability to cut precast refractory forms within just hours (as compared to days, weeks […]

Venture capital investments in battery storage companies and projects rose significantly year-over-year through the first six months of 2019, according to a report from Mercom Capital Group. That level of activity is consistent with the growth in energy storage noted by speakers on July 24 at the Storage Week Plus conference in San Francisco, California. […]

Beijing, China (July 24, 2019) — Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) today released a report which analyzes the impacts of implementing electricity markets in China and quantifies the benefits, which will help regulators identify which electricity power plants are at risk of closure due to market reforms and determine the best ways to handle challenges in […]

Awarded CFB Steam Generator for CLC Chupei Mill in Taiwan Utilizes SFW’s advanced circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) technology ESPOO, Finland–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) announces today that it has been awarded a contract by Cheng Loong Corporation, CLC for a CFB steam generator for their Chupei Mill in Taiwan. Commercial operation of the new boiler is […]

Ohio’s Gov. Mike DeWine (R) on July 23 quickly signed a controversial nuclear subsidy bill that narrowly passed the state’s House of Representatives on Tuesday, making Ohio the fifth state in the nation to prop up nuclear power.  Lawmakers passed H.B. 6 with a 51–38 vote Tuesday. The bill passed the state Senate on July […]

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue’s mechanical engineering faculty and students are using artificial intelligence to help coal-dependent areas make the eventual transition to renewable energies. Purdue University is working with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association; Great River Energy, Maple, Minnesota; and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, on a project to develop resources […]

JEA, the electric utility in Jacksonville, Florida, has been decommissioning the St. Johns River Power Park over the past year. A third implosion as part of the decommissioning occurred July 19, as a 640-foot-tall stack and two steam generating boilers were demolished. Friday’s work followed similar implosions in June 2018, when the plant’s two, 464-foot-tall […]

WESTMINSTER, Colorado (July 17, 2019) — Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is pursuing an aggressive Responsible Energy Plan to transition to a cleaner energy portfolio, while ensuring reliability, increasing member flexibility and with a goal to lower wholesale rates. “Our membership and board are unified in our pursuit of a cleaner, reliable and lower-cost resource portfolio,” said […]

A federal judge in Ohio on July 18 approved American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) plan to close Unit 1 of its two-unit, 2,600-MW coal-fired Rockport Plant in Indiana. The modified consent decree approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Thursday is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute among AEP, […]

Inter-lab collaboration between the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is paving the way for a greener and more resilient power grid – and attracting interest from businesses and government in the process. The Analysis Laboratory for Synchrophasor and Electrical Energy Technology (ALSETLab) at Rensselaer in collaboration with the Advanced Grid Innovation […]

U.S. utility Portland General Electric has launched a first of its kind project that will integrate smart grid technologies at a very large scale in the US. The smart grid test bed will accelerate the utility’s energy decarbonization and clean energy efforts, in partnership with customers. Some 20,000 customers across three neighborhoods, Hillsboro, Portland and Milwaukee, will participate in the utility’s demand […]

The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on July 16 threw its support behind Georgia Power’s plan to add 2,260 MW of new renewable power generation to the utility’s portfolio, on the same day the PSC signed off on the company’s effort to decommission its long-running coal-fired Plant Hammond. Georgia Power earlier this year submitted a […]

New York City-based LS Power on July 15 said it would end a project to expand its natural gas-fired Troy power plant in Ohio if state lawmakers pass legislation to subsidize the state’s two nuclear power plants. LS Power in a news release Monday said, “Handouts to nuclear plants jeopardize the economics of the other […]

In line with global emissions targets, energy markets are moving ever more quickly to take up renewables. Such a move is obviously important to ensure carbon reduction targets can be met. This does however create an issue—one that’s not been given the attention it deserves—of the impact this has on the conventional power plants that […]

Investments in renewable energy projects slowed in the first half of 2019, primarily due to a 39% year-over-year drop in China, the world’s largest renewables market, according to data published July 10 by BloombergNEF (BNEF). BNEF said investments in China dropped to $28.8 billion, the lowest figure for any six-month period since 2013. China is […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and members of Congress are looking at legislation concerning research and regulation of energy storage. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources committee, on July 9 said there is bipartisan interest in combining a handful of bills on energy storage, dealing with research and development […]