Connected Plant

  • Stem, Syncarpha Capital Partner on Solar+Storage

    MILLBRAE, Calif. – July 9, 2019 – Stem, Inc., the global leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven energy storage services, announced a new partnership with Syncarpha Capital, LLC, a New York based private equity firm that develops, owns and operates distributed photovoltaic solar energy systems as well as energy storage systems, to build 28.2 megawatt-hours (MWh) […]

  • The Industrial Internet of Things and the Global Power Industry

    The Implications of Two Technologies and How They Merge for Next-Generation Intelligence Undoubtedly, as the world becomes more complex and interconnected, digitization and technological innovations are vital components of the global power future. The power industry’s digital transformation is not merely developing alongside the industry, it is infiltrating it—transforming the very fabric of how the […]

  • How to Position Your Power Company for the Future

    Faced with the challenge of making the right moves to accommodate a swiftly changing energy ecosystem, one question draws into sharp focus for generators and the entire power and utilities industry: What will their role become in the years ahead, considering evolving portfolio mixes and changing industry dynamics? Leaders know there’s a very real possibility […]

  • Drivers for Advanced Distribution Management Systems

    There are many reasons for utilities to invest in Advanced Distribution Management Systems, particularly as more renewable resources are utilized and integrated, and the need for reliability and resilience of

  • How to Monitor and Predict Operational Performance with Digital Analytics [PODCAST]

    Power plants are capturing operational data in ever-increasing amounts. However, analyzing all the data can be challenging. A number of tools are available that can help. In this episode of The POWER Podcast, two experts from one technology provider explain how big data can be analyzed to identify trends and create actionable information to solve […]

  • Nrby Announces New Features to Enhance and Drive Disaster Recovery Scenarios

    Nashua, NH, June 20, 2019 — Nrby, the only mobile workforce collaboration platform powered by SmartPins, today announced an upgrade designed to enable broadband service providers, telco’s and utility companies to get services back online in a faster and safer manner following a natural disaster, or related event. “When disasters occur, getting teams mobilized and organized […]

  • The POWER Interview: Navigant Navigates Changing Energy Landscape

    The rapid evolution of the world’s power generation landscape is creating challenges for utilities and others in the energy space, as power plant owners and operators adapt to new technologies and changing business models. Jan Vrins, managing director and segment leader for Navigant’s global Energy practice, is immersed in this change. Vrins, who joined Navigant […]

  • TRITON/TRISIS Cyberattacker Has a New Target: Power Sector

    XENOTIME, a cyberthreat activity group thought responsible for TRISIS/TRITON malware attacks on safety instrumented systems (SIS) at an oil and gas Middle Eastern facility in 2017, has been probing power company networks in the U.S. and elsewhere, new intelligence from industrial control systems (ICS) security firm Dragos shows.  “In February 2019, Dragos identified a change in […]

  • GE Launches New Analytics Technologies to Boost Grid Efficiency 

    General Electric (GE) has rolled out a new portfolio of predictive analytics that could allow utilities to use data from transmission and distribution networks to achieve better operational efficiency as more distributed assets are introduced to the grid.  The company on June 11 unveiled three new grid analytics—for storm readiness, network connectivity, and effective inertia—that […]

  • Strengthening the Energy Sector’s Cyber Preparedness

    The Department of Energy (DOE) in March 2018 released a 52-page report outlining its multi-year strategy to improve cybersecurity. In the report’s introduction, Assistant Secretary Bruce J. Walker noted that

  • Temperature Monitoring Protects Low-Voltage Assets

    Early detection of increased temperatures helps avoid power distribution asset-related failures and unplanned shutdowns. Wireless technologies make implementing this predictive maintenance solution practical

  • IIoT and the Future of Hydropower

    Hydropower has evolved through multiple industrial revolutions. Today, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 offer solutions to take the industry to a whole new level. Rules-based analysis

  • Wireless Monitoring Improves Power Plant Operations

    Wireless pressure gauges keep nine continuous emissions monitoring systems operating reliably, and wireless position monitoring helps close the loop on 90 control valves. Existing operations in power plants

  • Transformer Reliability: An Overview of Data-Driven Decision-Making

    Are you properly quantifying and assessing the health of your plant’s transformers? Oil testing, infrared scanning, electrical testing, and inspection provide a much deeper understanding of what is happening

  • Blockchain Pilot Shows Promise for Grid Balancing

    A blockchain pilot wrapped up by European transmission operator TenneT and storage solutions provider sonnen Group this May showed “tremendous potential” when used to network decentralized home storage

  • Enel Green Power First in North America to Deploy New Predictive Maintenance Technology at Geothermal Plants

    The software technology, created by NarrativeWave, will enable Enel Green Power North America to better anticipate maintenance needs at its geothermal sites saving the company time and money The technology has now been deployed at all of Enel Green Power’s North American geothermal sites, Cove Fort, Salt Wells and Stillwater BOSTON, May 30, 2019 (GLOBE […]

  • Atom Power Introduces First Digital Circuit Breaker

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 21, 2019) — Atom Power, inventor of the world’s first and only digital circuit breaker, today announced its technology is listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the governing standard for consumer safety. This is the first time in the history of commercial power distribution that a digital solid-state circuit breaker has been listed […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: 30 Innovations Revolutionizing the Power Industry

    Between 2005 and 2016, the global installed capacity of solar PV increased more than seven-fold, and the capacity of onshore wind increased nearly three-fold, and owing to plunging costs, variable renewable energy (VRE) capacity is set to expand dramatically, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). To accommodate soaring shares of VRE generation, innovations […]

  • Modifying Behavior to Protect Systems in a Malicious Threat Landscape

    The malicious threat landscape for industrial control systems (ICSs) is constantly evolving and getting more sophisticated, thereby raising the need to have visibility, implement protective controls, and perform continuous monitoring. As a result, it is important to take a look at the attack vectors of some malware/malicious events—such as Triton—that have occurred over the last […]

  • Certifying Precision Timing in the Smart Grid

    Utilities deploying precise timing in their networks have an additional choice in evaluating solutions based on whether or not the devices are IEEE certified for compliance to the appropriate IEEE 1588 Power Profile. To reach this point, years of effort from the IEEE, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and […]

  • Regulators Must Mirror the Greening of America’s Power Supply

    COMMENTARY The 19th-century electrical grid has had a good run in the United States. For more than 100 years, it has reliably provided electricity to end-users based on the premise that a centralized generation and transmission model was the way to go. Large coal, hydro and (later) nuclear generating facilities would produce huge amounts of […]

  • Lessons in Backup Power Generation from South Australia

    Electricity demand spiked considerably in South Australia this past January as residents tried to stay cool in the middle of a record heat wave that brought temperatures up to 46.6°C (or about 115°F). To ensure a stable power supply would be available, the South Australian government fired up two power plants (276 MW) that the […]

  • New Cyberattack by Group Behind TRITON/TRISIS Reported

    Cybersecurity firm FireEye has uncovered and is responding to a new intrusion at an unnamed critical infrastructure facility that it suggests in an April 10 blog post was perpetrated by the group behind the TRITON attack, which prompted a process shutdown at a Middle Eastern facility in 2017. But while details of the new attack are sparse, […]

  • TrendMiner Introduces New Capabilities and Extended Integration with PI System at OSIsoft PI World 2019

    The long-term OSIsoft partner will unveil extended capabilities to support PI Event Frames and preview their latest software enhancement, DashHub, at the flagship event. Houston, TX, USA – April 9, 2019 – TrendMiner NV, a Software AG company and provider of the leading self-service predictive analytics software, announced today that they will be previewing the […]

  • Hackers May Already be in Your Infrastructure—Now What?

    Cyber-attacks on industrial control systems (ICSs) are no longer a hypothetical. As pieced together by the Wall Street Journal, in 2017, Russian hackers attacked a small construction company, exploiting the organization’s connections with utilities and government agencies. Through an integrator, the hackers accessed computer-network credentials, giving them the ability to get into computer systems that […]

  • INNIO to Supply Six Jenbacher Gas Engines for Innovative Microgrid Project in Finland

    JENBACH, AUSTRIA—April 1, 2019—INNIO* announced today that it will supply six Jenbacher* gas engines for the LEMENE microgrid project in Finland, helping the Finnish government reach its climate goal of having 100 percent of its energy come from renewable sources by 2030. The LEMENE flagship project will be the largest energy self-sufficient business district using […]

  • Replacing Retirees and Improving Reliability High on To-Do Lists

    What keeps you up at night? The question has become cliché as panel moderators now routinely ask it as a “thought-provoking” final query to close out executive roundtable sessions at industry conferences

  • Autonomous Power Plant Takes Shape in Japan

    The world’s first autonomous combined cycle power plant is currently under construction at the Takasago Machinery Works facility in Japan, and it will be operational by 2020, according to Mitsubishi Hitachi

  • Improving Safety and Efficiency with Reality Capture

    Reality capture uses laser scanning hardware to record the as-built conditions of any environment in a series of scans. These scans, once stitched together, create a holistic picture of structures, equipment

  • Working with Peers Is Critical to Power System Reliability [PODCAST]

    When conversations around the power industry turn to computer hacking, more often than not experts say it’s not a question of if, but rather, how systems have been compromised. William Doering, adjunct professor in the online Master’s in Business Administration program at Maryville University and a director with Guidehouse—a management consulting services provider—said he has participated […]