Full Coverage
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Finance
Standardized Documents and Solid Partners Make Financing Less Stressful for Project Developers
Many small- and medium-sized power projects are simply not large enough to gain the interest of highly sought-after institutional investors. The complexity and related costs of smaller projects means risks and
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Hydrogen
Hydropower: A Cost-Effective Source of Energy for Hydrogen Production
With more countries announcing net-zero plans for 2050 or sooner, hydrogen’s time has come to play a major and integrated role in our energy infrastructure. The energy industry has shown an increased interest in understanding the opportunities, challenges, and economic realities in integrating hydrogen into their energy portfolios. The March 2020 BloombergNEF Hydrogen outlook estimates […]
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Hydrogen
Ready for the Energy Transition: Hydrogen Considerations for Combined Cycle Power Plants
Following the European Green Deal, the European Union has set the objective to become climate-neutral by 2050, much like the U.S. and many other countries that joined the Paris Agreement. To meet this goal, greenhouse gas emissions cannot exceed capture and storage, meaning that fossil fuels will unavoidably need to be phased out. In power […]
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News
AEP Will Shed Kentucky Operations in $2.9B Sale
American Electric Power (AEP) is shedding its Kentucky-based assets—including its longstanding regulated utility Kentucky Power and transmission business AEP Kentucky Transco—to better position itself to invest in projects that will support a resilient, cleaner energy system. The Columbus, Ohio, headquartered company on Oct. 26 announced it has entered into an agreement for the sale of […]
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Gas
The POWER Interview: Pioneering STEP Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Demonstration Readying for 2022 Commissioning
Construction of the 10-MWe Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP) pilot plant, a public-private collaboration to demonstrate and test supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power generating technology, is making marked progress toward a mid-2022 startup date. Attendees from Experience POWER, HydrogeNext, and the Distributed Energy Conference, three of POWER’s annual in-person events, which took place last week in […]
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Gas
Texas-Based Utility Teams Up with Mitsubishi Power to Explore Carbon Reduction Opportunities
El Paso Electric (EPE) and Mitsubishi Power have signed a joint development agreement (JDA) “creating a collaboration framework to jointly develop projects that will enable EPE to achieve its clean energy goals.” EPE is a regional electric utility providing generation, transmission, and distribution service to approximately 444,300 retail and wholesale customers in a 10,000-square-mile area […]
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Hydrogen
Power-to-Power Hydrogen Demonstration Involving Largest U.S. Nuclear Plant Gets Federal Funding
Palo Verde Generating Station, a 4-GW nuclear power plant in Arizona, is gearing up to produce hydrogen from a low-temperature electrolysis (LTE) system, and that hydrogen will then be used to fuel a natural gas–fired power plant owned by Arizona Public Service (APS). The innovative power-to-power demonstration led by PNW Hydrogen is set to receive […]
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IIOT
Three Things Utility Companies Need to Do to Prevent the Next Cyberattack
For the better part of the past decade, utility companies have been more concerned with the potential for outages than cyberattacks, but this has changed over the past several months. The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and the remote cyberattack on a Florida water treatment plant put cybersecurity top-of-mind and made it clear hackers can do […]
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Coal
India’s ‘Unprecedented’ Coal Shortages Paralyzing Power Generation
Stricken by a surge in global coal prices and freight costs, several Indian coal power plants are fielding a critical coal supply shortage that has forced some to curtail power. Fearing a power crisis, the Ministry of Power recently directed hydropower generators to defer scheduled maintenance through October. The Ministry of Coal, meanwhile, this week […]
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IIOT Power
Monitor, Teach, Protect: Three Priorities for Insider Threat Prevention in the Energy Sector
In December 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a new subcommittee focused on the nation’s electric grid. The Grid Resilience for National Security subcommittee was a response to increasing threats to the country’s expansive electric grid that reliably delivers electricity to power the digital age. Today, those threats are even more relevant than ever […]
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Technology
Distributed Intelligence: Empower Consumer Control and Uncover New Possibilities
Consumers today want their utilities to provide an experience like any other service provider, offering the same control and transparency. User-friendly smart meter technology has allowed consumers to play a bigger role in managing their energy usage and cost. But to give customers true command of their energy consumption, the industry needs distributed intelligence technology. […]
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Distributed Energy
The New Wave of the Decentralized Energy Market
Ten years ago, the energy market was based around the conventional, centralized generation of oil and coal plants. It was predictable and formulaic. These staples of yesterday’s energy market are no longer the future of energy generation. Instead, we see a global push toward clean energy with wind and solar power, and companies are accelerating […]
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Workforce
Energy Transition Outlook
As the energy sector transforms and innovates into a decarbonized, digitalized industry, it is crucial that talent pools are available with the right balance of skills and experience to deliver the projects and operations needed for a brighter tomorrow. NES Fircroft, a staffing company dedicated to providing the skilled engineers and technical workforce needed to […]
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Full Coverage
Stanton Energy Reliability Center Hybrid Supplies Power When Southern California Needs It Most
Stanton Energy Reliability Center is a unique hybrid power station that includes two GE LM6000 gas turbines, each integrated with a battery energy storage system. The station provides reliable and stable power
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Gas
Sustainability and Efficiency Are Key Considerations at the West Riverside Energy Center
The West Riverside Energy Center is a two-unit combined cycle power plant located near Beloit, Wisconsin. Alliant Energy’s state-of-the-art facility has several important sustainability and efficiency
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News
Gas Turbine Technology Advances That Could Boost Their Future Relevance
Gas turbines have grown into a hallmark of the modern power system for their high efficiency, reliability, operational flexibility, fuel flexibility, and low-emission power options. But if gas turbines are to
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Commentary
Getting to Net-Zero GHG Emissions Will Take More Than Closing Coal Plants
The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, next month. The roughly two-week-long event will bring together delegates from around the world with a goal
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Hydrogen
Environmental and Permitting Considerations for Decarbonizing with Hydrogen
Many experts believe hydrogen will play a key role in the effort to decarbonize the world’s energy supply. However, current hydrogen production methods release a lot of carbon dioxide, and carbon capture
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News
Water Intake Reliability in the Age of Environmental Uncertainty
Thermal power plants need a continuous supply of cooling water to operate, but as the natural environment changes, more and more screen blockages are occurring at cooling water intakes. Maintaining intake
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Coal
Addressing the Increased Need to Decommission Power Plants in a Sustainable Manner
Coal-fired power plant decommissioning and remediation work is not typically a utility company’s core business. That’s why having the right partner and implementing a sound plan to ensure both
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O&M
Effect of Eddy Grooves on Tilting Pad Journal Bearings
Tilting pad journal bearings are used in turbomachinery such as turbo compressors, turbo gears, gas turbines, or steam turbines. There is an ongoing and growing customer demand for bearings with increased
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International
China Grappling with Another Crippling Power Crunch
China’s tightening coal supplies, more stringent energy intensity and environmental restrictions, and soaring industrial power demand have triggered another widespread power crisis. Blackouts and brownouts have reportedly afflicted numerous provincial jurisdictions across the economic powerhouse this week, most prominently in Guangdong in the south, and Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning in the northeast, according to state-run […]
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Nuclear
Terrestrial Energy Launches 390-MW Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor Design
Terrestrial Energy has unveiled an upgraded 390-MWe design of its Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) power plant to meet utility requirements and boost its cost-competitiveness as part of an effort to ramp up its candidacy for deployment at Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG’s) Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. This week, the Canadian firm also announced a series […]
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Gas
Three Coal-Heavy Utilities Team Up on New Gas-Fired Power Plant
Bismarck, North Dakota-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative will join Dairyland Power Cooperative and ALLETE Inc. as co-owners of the planned Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC), a combined cycle natural gas power plant proposed for construction in Superior, Wisconsin. The deal between Basin Electric and ALLETE was announced on Sept. 28. Basin Electric will become a […]
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Nuclear
Experimental Advanced Fuel Rods Loaded in Russian Nuclear Reactor
The first Russian-made nuclear reactor fuel bundles with experimental ATF (Advanced Technology Fuel) rods have been loaded into Unit 2 at the Rostov nuclear power plant (NPP) in southwest Russia. The reactor resumed operations earlier this month after a scheduled maintenance and refueling outage. The Rostov site is home to four VVER-1000 reactor units (Figure […]
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Nuclear
Nuclear Is the Bastion of Pennsylvania’s Newest Climate Action Plan
Pennsylvania, a major power producer that relied on fossil fuels for 66% of its net power generation in June, plans to maintain its nuclear generation at current levels until it can ramp up other carbon-free supplies to 100% by 2050, the state’s Sept. 22–released 2021 Climate Action Plan suggests. The measures are part of a […]
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Hydro
Red Rock Hydroelectric Project: Successfully Generating New Power from a Pre-Existing Dam
There are challenges to adding power generating capability to a dam built for flood control, but the Red Rock Hydroelectric Project shows that the obstacles are not insurmountable. With the right team, success
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Finance
Types of Power Purchase Agreements and Why Each PPA Might Be Used
Stakeholders are increasingly pressuring corporations to become more sustainable, and often that means using renewable energy to help meet their electricity needs. Most non-power companies don’t want to take
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Coal
Types of Coal and Fuel Blending Tips for Coal Power Plants
There are a handful of reasons why coal-fired power plant managers may want to blend fuel, but often the driving factor is economics. While the cost of the delivered coal is an important aspect, there could be
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Gas
Phnom Penh Power Plant: An Investment for the Future of Cambodia
The Phnom Penh power station supports Cambodia’s decarbonization goals. The 200-MW facility’s 11 dual-fuel engines can operate on heavy fuel oil today, with a goal of using much-lower-emission natural gas