Engineering

  • Leclanché achieves breakthrough in environmentally friendly production of high-performance lithium-ion batteries

    YVERDON-LES-BAINS, Switzerland and ANDERSON, Indiana (Jan. 17, 2023) – Leclanché SA, a leading global provider of energy storage solutions, has achieved a breakthrough in the environmentally friendly production of modern G/NMCA cells: As the first manufacturer worldwide, Leclanché is able to reduce the cobalt content in NMCA as cathode material from 20 to 5 percent […]

  • Burns & McDonnell Completes 250 MWac of Solar Projects for Alliant Energy in Wisconsin

    Company Now Mobilized on Six Additional Wisconsin Solar Sites Totaling 414 MWac of Capacity KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Burns & McDonnell has completed engineer-procure-construct (EPC) services for three Alliant Energy solar projects in Wisconsin. The projects are part of Alliant Energy’s Clean Energy Blueprint. These projects are now energized: Bear Creek — 50-MWac North Rock — 50-MWac […]

  • Pioneering U.S. Wave Energy Power Plant Unveiled

    One of the first U.S.-based wave energy power plants is set to be deployed at AltaSea’s 35-acre campus located at the Port of Los Angeles. Israeli firm Eco Wave Power, which unveiled the project on Jan. 12, said the AltaSea pilot would help the company make inroads in the U.S. Eco Wave’s onshore wave energy […]

  • Building better catalysts to close the carbon dioxide loop

    SASKATOON – The best way to stave off the worst effects of climate change is to reduce CO2 emissions around the world. And one way to do that, says Zhongwei Chen, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo, is to capture the CO2 and convert it into other useful […]

  • Alleviating Control Valve Erosion Crucial to Power Plant Uptime

    Ongoing process steam leakage in power plant control valves due to erosion from wet steam must be addressed to maximise uptime at a critical time for industry, says a power industry expert. Continually rising gas prices caused by geopolitical events have put pressure on facilities to ensure continued, uninterrupted performance, and further heightened the impact […]

  • Jacobs to Plan Dismantling of Soviet-era Nuclear Reactors

    Project in Lithuania could offer important lessons for U.K. power station cleanup DALLAS – A consortium comprising Westinghouse Electric Spain, Jacobs (NYSE:J) and the Lithuanian Energy Institute was selected to plan dismantling and waste management at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) in Lithuania. Soviet-designed Ignalina could be the first graphite-moderated reactor plant to be […]

  • Enhancing and Hardening the U.S. Power Grid

    It’s no secret that the U.S. power grid needs some work. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), nearly 70% of the nation’s grid is more than 25 years old. The DOE says the U.S. needs to expand

  • Being Pro-Nuclear Won’t Be Enough—Here’s Why

    Nuclear energy—not just nuclear power—is seeing a burst of innovation unlike anything seen since the 1950s. While the strong momentum for the dispatchable zero-carbon energy source is promising, prominent pitfalls threaten necessary progress.

  • Updates on Five Big Nuclear Energy Developments POWER Was Watching in 2022

    In January 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) published a list of five nuclear energy stories to watch in 2022. Here’s an update on the items the NE felt were important for industry insiders to keep an eye on. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law The DOE noted in the January […]

  • Increasing Energy Security: Optimizing Today’s Energy Operations and Investing in Renewables for the Future

    Countries’ timelines to becoming energy secure and reaching net-zero targets have shortened. Major contributing factors include COVID-19’s impact on supply chains and the war in Ukraine. Alongside this are external influences such as COP27, or the landmark U.S. Climate Bill, which will direct almost $370 billion toward rapidly scaling renewable energy production and reducing emissions. Already, intergovernmental […]

  • Jacobs Wins Contract to Support UK Nuclear Regulator

    Deep technical knowledge underpins country’s energy security and net-zero carbon ambitions DALLAS – Jacobs (NYSE:J) was selected to provide the U.K.’s nuclear regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), with specialist engineering and technical support services. The four-year framework covers the ONR’s activities in new build, power generation, decommissioning and defense. Jacobs has supported the […]

  • Hybrids Combine Technologies to Enhance Electricity Production

    Solar + wind, solar + storage, wind + storage—even fossil fuels combined with renewable energy—are supporting the growth of hybrid power plants that are breaking the norms of traditional power generation

  • Reduce Plant Fuel Use, Emissions, and Operating Cost with Performance Models and Predictive Maintenance

    Thermal power generation has to adapt new methods to thrive as renewables transform dispatch. Now used more often as a bridge source of power rather than the main source of power, many fossil fuel plants

  • How NRIC Is Helping Advance Technology for the Nuclear Power Industry

    The National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) is a national Department of Energy (DOE) program led by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) that allows collaborators to harness the world-class capabilities of the U.S. National Laboratory System. NRIC supports the construction and demonstration of advanced reactor systems through a suite of services and capabilities. “Our vision is […]

  • Siemens Energy Seals Deal for Hydrogen-Ready Coal-to-Gas Switch

    European energy giant EnBW will pilot switching a 114-year-old coal-fired waste incineration and district heating power plant in Stuttgart-Münster, Germany, to gas-fired technology while ensuring the regionally significant plant will be ready to combust hydrogen “as quickly and completely” as possible. Siemens Energy on Nov. 17 sealed an agreement with the utility for an overall […]

  • NET Power’s First Allam Cycle 300-MW Gas-Fired Project Will Be Built in Texas

    NET Power, developer of the novel Allam-Fetvedt supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycle, will build its first 300-MW natural gas–fired power plant at an Occidental-hosted site near Odessa, Texas. The “serial number one” project will demonstrate—at utility scale—NET Power’s potentially revolutionary technology, which promises to provide low-cost gas-fired power generation, no atmospheric emissions, no water […]

  • Potential Deal Brewing for Second Polish Nuclear Plant Based on South Korean Technology 

    Days after Poland chose Westinghouse to supply its AP1000 technology to the country’s first nuclear plant in Pomerania, northern Poland, the government and two Polish energy firms signed a letter of intent with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to “push ahead” with development of a second nuclear plant based on APR1400 technology in Pątnów, […]

  • Fulcrum 3D sheds light on solving U.S. solar industry’s underperformance

    U.S. solar developers can address a number of crucial underperformance issues identified in kWh Analytics’ Solar Risk Assessment: 2022 through the adoption of pre-build resource assessments that utilize site-based measurement campaigns, according to Fulcrum 3D. kWh Analytics’ Solar Risk Assessment: 2022 report called on the U.S. solar industry to identify new solutions to issues causing underperformance across the industry. Despite […]

  • China Approves Commissioning of Thorium-Powered Reactor

    China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment on Aug. 2 gave Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) the green light to commission the experimental 2-MWth thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR-LF1) at

  • Emerson’s Latest Control System Update Lays Foundation for Software-Driven, Data-Centric Automation Platform

    AUSTIN, Texas (Oct. 26, 2022) – Emerson, a global software and engineering leader, has released a new version of its DeltaV™ distributed control system (DCS). Version 15 of the DeltaV DCS helps plants digitally transform operations through improved production optimization and enhanced operator performance. New software designed to reduce the burden of IT support and […]

  • General Atomics Announces Plans for Fusion Pilot Plant

    Innovative concept leverages decades of expertise in fusion research and development San Diego, Oct. 20, 2022 – Today, General Atomics (GA) announced a new concept for a fusion pilot plant (FPP) to deliver clean, safe, and economically viable fusion energy. GA’s FPP concept utilizes a steady-state, compact advanced tokamak design approach, where the fusion plasma […]

  • Ansaldo, Westinghouse Partner on Nuclear Plant Based on Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor Design

    Westinghouse and Ansaldo Energia’s Switzerland-based nuclear arm, Ansaldo Nucleare, will cooperate in developing a nuclear power plant based on lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) technology. The two companies, which have separately spearheaded the development of fast-reactor designs, said they will advance a common design “to maximize synergies, combine experience in design, testing and licensing, and align […]

  • DOE’s Latest Energy Earthshot Will Tackle Technical, Economic Challenges for Enhanced Geothermal Systems

    The Department of Energy’s (DOE)’s latest Energy Earthshot will seek to cut the cost of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) to $45/MWh by 2035, an ambitious goal that would shave current EGS costs by 90%. The DOE’s latest Energy Earthshot—part of a 2021-research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) initiative it launched to accelerate breakthroughs for emerging technologies—will […]

  • You’ve Heard of Offshore Wind; Now, Offshore Nuclear Is a Thing

    CORE POWER announced that it and its partners, the MIT Energy Initiative and the Idaho National Laboratory, were granted funding by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) for a three-year study into the development of offshore floating nuclear power generation in the U.S. “It is an important step forward for […]

  • DOE Backs Carbon Capture Development at Two Major Gas-Fired Power Plants   

    Two major U.S. gas power plants will be part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) efforts to develop carbon capture technologies capable of capturing at least 95% of carbon dioxide.  The agency’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) on Aug. 26 announced $31 million in funding for 10 projects. While many of the […]

  • TVA Successfully Completes a Dam Safety Modification Project for the Ages

    When a sinkhole was discovered near the base of the Boone Dam embankment, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s dam safety engineers went to work determining the best fix. The complexity of the work and quality

  • A Fine Balance: Building One of Europe’s Largest Hybrid Facilities

    When Swedish company Vattenfall in 2018 set out to combine wind, solar, and battery storage resources at this pioneering energy park in the Netherlands, its foremost focus was to demonstrate a clean energy

  • Excellent Planning and Focus on Safety Lead to Successful Feedwater Heater Replacement Project

    Nuclear power plant outages are filled with intense work and tight schedules. A feedwater heater replacement project at Duke Energy’s Oconee station in South Carolina shows how teamwork coupled with

  • How Digital Technology Can Help Lower Carbon Footprint

    As owners and operators of fossil fuel plants navigate through the energy transition, digital technology offers the opportunity to perform while transforming, balancing the energy trilemma of providing a

  • The POWER Interview: Modeling Solutions for the Future of Energy

    Utilities function in the present but must always plan for the future. That’s even more true today, as the rapid pace of change with power generation technologies, and the transition to cleaner forms of energy, means utilities—whether they deal with electricity, natural gas, water, transportation, or are a municipality that pays attention to all those […]