Engineering
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Commentary
The Critical Role Engineers and STEM Educators Play in Addressing Climate Change Challenges
Even with the end of hurricane season, America was once again reminded of the tragic and devastating impact that extreme weather and hurricanes can have on our communities. This hurricane season brought
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O&M
Technology Has Transformed Energy Deployment; O&M Is Next
Deployment operations management (DOM) systems were born of necessity to help telecom, renewable energy, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and other critical-infrastructure developers tackle the simultaneous
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Nuclear
Virginia Officials Say State Will Be Home to World’s First Fusion Power Plant
Virginia’s governor and other officials on Dec. 17 said the state has a plan for the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant. Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) on Tuesday announced it will build a 400-MW fusion facility on a 100-acre site at the James River Industrial Park in Chesterfield County. Massachusetts-based CFS, founded in 2018, and […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Energy Storage Also Eyed for Data Centers
Recent news about continued growth in the U.S. energy storage market highlighted continued deployments of grid-scale systems, along with ongoing demand from commercial and industrial and residential sectors. Electric utilities and power grid operators, along with those using storage to support distributed energy installations, want to make their power supplies more flexible, reliable, and resilient. […]
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Engineering
EPRI Develops Power System Generic Models to Plan for an Increasingly Net-Zero Grid
Planning and operating a power system requires detailed grid studies to guide investment decisions and prepare for how the system may evolve over time. Long-term planning can identify the policy, regulatory, infrastructure, and operational updates that may be needed to achieve desired outcomes. Also, comprehensive planning can identify operating limits, determine performance improvements, assess mitigation […]
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Nuclear
Russia Advances REMIX Fuel Trials in Boost for Closed Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Russia has launched its third cycle of testing innovative uranium-plutonium REMIX fuel at the Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant in Saratov Oblast, a key step that advances the closed nuclear fuel cycle technology. Designed to recycle spent nuclear fuel (SNF), the REMIX assemblies could significantly expand the raw material base for nuclear energy while reducing radioactive […]
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Renewables
GE Vernova Will Modernize Two Units at Dominion Hydropower Plant
GE Vernova said it has secured an order with Dominion Energy South Carolina to modernize two hydropower units at the Saluda Hydro facility on the Saluda River about 10 miles west of Columbia, South Carolina. The company on Dec. 2 said the project “will help extend the lifetime, reliability, performance, and operational flexibility of the […]
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Trends
Trial Run at Finland’s Onkalo Repository Sets Stage for World’s First Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal
Finland is making significant strides in a trial run that will demonstrate the entire process for the safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) at Onkalo on Olkiluoto Island—the world’s first permanent
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Renewables
POWER Digest (December 2024)
Egypt Reducing Renewable Energy Target. Karim Badawi, petroleum minister for Egypt, said the country has cut the amount of renewable energy it will likely have online by 2040. Badawi on Oct. 20, speaking at
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Gas
Replacing Duct Burners in Combined Cycle Power Plants
Many combined cycle power plants (CCPP) and cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) plants utilize supplemental firing systems, or duct burners, inside the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) boilers
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Nuclear
Enhancing Nuclear Plant Safety, Efficiency, and Compliance Through Video Borescope Inspections
This article explores the role video borescopes play in nuclear plant inspections, emphasizing the value they bring in terms of safety, efficiency, and long-term plant integrity. Nuclear power plants operate
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Energy Storage
Lessen Risk for Battery Energy Storage with Analytics Software
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) have emerged as a crucial technology for storing and dispatching energy when needed. However, the rapid expansion of BESS has been accompanied by safety and risk management challenges. Most BESS units use lithium-ion batteries, which require particular care to avoid fire concerns. Though lithium-ion BESS is overall a safe and […]
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Legal & Regulatory
EPA Proposes Tighter NOx Limits for Combustion Turbines
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed tougher nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions limits for new, modified, and reconstructed stationary combustion turbines. The proposed rule identifies a combination of combustion controls and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) as the Best System of Emission Reduction (BSER) for most turbines though it proposes combustion controls alone for certain smaller […]
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Nuclear
Westinghouse, CORE POWER Partner for Floating Nuclear Power Plants
Westinghouse Electric Co. and CORE POWER said the companies have formalized a deal for the design and development of a floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) using the Westinghouse eVinci microreactor. The companies on Nov. 25 called the floating facilities “a game-changing approach to deploying nuclear energy to islands, ports, coastal communities and industry.” “There’s no […]
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Data Centers
Is a Modular Data Center the Answer to Tech Industry’s Land and Energy Crisis?
The digital age is fundamentally dependent on data centers, which serve as the backbone of our technological infrastructure. Without them, the digital world as we know it would not exist. However, the rapid expansion of data centers has put unprecedented stress on the electric grid, leading to increased energy consumption and heightened demand for power. […]
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Energy Storage
EVLO Will Provide Dominion Energy With Safety-Enhanced Energy Storage Systems
EVLO Energy Storage, a fully integrated battery energy storage systems (BESS) provider and wholly owned subsidiary of Hydro-Québec, on Nov. 20 announced a major achievement in its relationship with investor-owned utility Dominion Energy. EVLO will develop a BESS with enhanced fire and safety features that meet and exceed Dominion’s unique safety specifications. The augmented version […]
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Nuclear
Mobility, Flexibility, Scalability: SMRs Forging Nuclear’s Future
The need for emissions-free power generation, along with the ability to provide more power when and where it’s needed, is driving research and development of smaller nuclear reactors. Energy industry
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Nuclear
Idaho Digital Twin Project Trailblazing for Nuclear
In 2023, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Idaho State University unveiled the industry’s first near real-time digital twin of a nuclear reactor. The virtual replica of the 5-Wth AGN-201 research reactor
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Trends
How Nuclear O&M Is Evolving for the Emerging Power Paradigm
In its quest to drive down costs while boosting safety, the nuclear industry has ramped up efforts to streamline operations and maintenance (O&M). New approaches target efficiency and resilience. If there
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Hydrogen
Uniper Picks Electric Hydrogen’s Tech For 200-MW Green Hydrogen Project
German energy company Uniper has selected Electric Hydrogen as its exclusive partner to design a 200-MW electrolyzer plant for the large-scale electrolysis within Uniper’s Green Wilhelmshaven project in Northern Germany. Electric Hydrogen began conducting the preliminary front-end engineering design (pre-FEED) work for the project in October of this year. The companies made the partnership announcement […]
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Nuclear
Westinghouse, Radiant Secure $5M for Microreactor Tests at INL’s Pioneering DOME Testbed
Westinghouse and Radiant Industries have secured a $5 million Department of Energy (DOE) award to advance their microreactor designs for testing at the Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) testbed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL)— the world’s first facility, specifically designed to support fueled reactor experiments for advanced nuclear technologies. The two companies, along with Ultra […]
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Nuclear
Major Microreactor Developer Enters Bankruptcy Amid Nuclear Industry Surge
Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. (USNC), a developer of much-watched microreactor technology and advanced nuclear fuel, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The move signals a critical restructuring phase through which the company will seek to secure new ownership while ensuring uninterrupted operations. The company’s Oct. 29 filings at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District […]
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Nuclear
Bill Gates’ Energy Group, Former Google CEO Investing in Pacific Fusion Startup
A fusion energy company that counts executives such as Eric Schmidt and Bill Gates among its backers has emerged from stealth, announcing $900 million in pledged funding. Pacific Fusion, whose technology builds on recent fusion advances at two U.S. national labs, is the latest U.S.-based group to join a growing list of companies working on […]
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Engineering
New Command Center Supporting African Power Grid Will Use GE Vernova Software
An initiative aimed at connecting more of Africa’s population to the continent’s power grids will use GE Vernova’s GridOS orchestration software. A newly completed Information and Coordination Centre (ICC) in Abomey-Calavi, Benin, designed for the West African Power Pool (WAPP), is considered “a groundbreaking initiative aimed at transforming the region’s energy landscape,” according to an […]
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Gas
Simple Cycle, Combined Cycle, or a Hybrid Approach?
Simple cycle gas turbines provide efficiency levels of around 35% to 40%. Combined cycle units boost efficiency to 60% and beyond. But another option is emerging that combines the attributes of simple and combined cycle designs. This hybrid configuration uses a single power turbine expander and recycles exhaust heat back to the combustor to combine […]
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Gas
GE Vernova Turbines Part of Upgrade at Japan Gas-Fired Power Plant
The Nanko Power Plant in Osaka, Japan, will be upgraded with new gas turbines from GE Vernova. The 1,800-MW station, which was commissioned in late 1990, is replacing three boilers and three steam turbines in an effort to increase the efficiency of the facility and reduce its emissions of carbon dioxide. GE Vernova on October […]
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Nuclear
U.S. Bank Commits $98 Million Toward NuScale SMR Project in Romania
A U.S. bank that supports technology exports to international groups is committing $98 million toward development of a small modular reactor (SMR) project in Romania. The board of directors of EXIM, the U.S. export-import bank, on October 2 announced approval of a final commitment for a loan for pre-project services for the SMR, which would […]
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Commentary
From Rust to AI: How America’s Industrial Heartland Is Powering the Digital Revolution
The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is transforming our world, but it comes with an insatiable surge in data centers that are powered by an ever-growing appetite for energy. As AI and high-performance computing (HPC) applications proliferate, the tech industry faces a growing challenge: building the next generation of data centers and finding suitable locations with […]
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Trends
Billions in Federal Funding Earmarked for Power Plant CCS Projects: Here’s a Snapshot
The Department of Energy (DOE) unveiled plans on Sept. 27 to inject $1.3 billion into its portfolio of federally funded carbon capture demonstration and large-scale pilot programs by the end of the year—including up to $400 million to support one commercial-scale coal power plant carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration. The Office of Clean Energy […]
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Coal
Lignite Coal Power CCS Project in North Dakota Gets First Tranche of $350M Federal Funding
Project Tundra, a demonstration project that seeks to capture an average of 4 million tons of carbon dioxide from flue gas from two lignite-fired units at the 705-MW Milton R. Young Station near Center, North Dakota, has secured a $4.1 million federal award from the Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). Under […]