Gas
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News
UAE Set to Start First Nuclear Plant; Sweden, Germany Shut Units
The first nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reportedly will come online in early 2020. The report comes one day after Sweden on Dec. 30 shut down one of four reactors at the nation’s largest nuclear plant, closing Unit 2 at the Ringhals facility after more than 40 years of operation. Germany […]
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Water
Good Water Treatment Systems Need Both Equipment and Chemistry [PODCAST]
Proper water treatment is vital to successful power plant operation. The water treatment system must be designed appropriately, implementing a suitable water chemistry program, and operated and monitored correctly. Having adequate training and utilizing the services of a knowledgeable partner can be invaluable. Three water industry experts from U.S. Water, a Kurita company, were recent […]
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News
Mixed Reactions to FERC’s Recent MOPR Order from Power Generators
On Dec. 19, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) directed PJM Interconnection to dramatically expand its Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) to nearly all state-subsidized capacity resources, including renewables backed by state portfolio standards. It’s the latest of a series of dramatic revisions to the grid operator’s rule, which essentially functions to provide a minimum […]
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Markets
The Significance of FERC’s Recent PJM MOPR Order Explained
A divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a long-awaited order on Dec. 19 in which it directed PJM Interconnection to dramatically expand its Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) to nearly all state-subsidized capacity resources. The order will have a significant impact on PJM’s capacity market. While it was no surprise that the decision immediately […]
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News
Minnesota Court Blocks Construction of Gas-Fired Plant
A Minnesota court on Dec. 23 said a proposed natural gas-fired power plant in neighboring Wisconsin needs more environmental review before construction can proceed, reversing an earlier decision by the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that approved the facility. The state Court of Appeals on Monday said state regulators must look at whether the Nemadji […]
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News
New Jersey Backs 45 Community Solar Projects
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) on Dec. 20 announced it has approved 45 applications in the first year of its Community Solar Energy Pilot Program. The NJBPU in a statement Friday said the projects, with total generation capacity of 77.61 MW, will be designed by local governments, community groups, and private developers. […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: NCC Group on Cybersecurity
Reliability and resiliency are buzzwords in today’s world of power generation. The focus is often on valuing those attributes, be it through subsidizing baseload power to make it more economically viable, or through other means. Reliable delivery of electricity, of course, also depends on cyber-resilient systems, at power plants and across the grid. Cyberattacks against […]
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Fuel
NERC: Long-Term Reliability Uncertain Amid Rapid Changes to Bulk Power System
Significant and rapid changes that are reshaping North America’s power sector will likely leave Texas and Ontario, Canada, with supply shortfalls over the next decade, and energy deficiencies could also occur during off-peak conditions in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) area and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) region, the North American Electric Reliability […]
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Workforce
Recruiting the New Power Workforce [PODCAST]
It’s a time of great transition in the power industry. Not only are generation resources changing, but so are the work skills needed to operate and maintain those resources. Meanwhile, a large number of workers are reaching retirement age, leaving open positions that had long been filled by highly experienced staff. And the talent pool […]
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News
EU Finalizes ‘Green Deal’ for Clean Energy Investment
The European Union (EU) on Dec. 16 announced an agreement among its member states on rules involving the financing of green energy projects. Lawmakers approved a list of technologies and activities that can be classified as green, after disagreement about whether nuclear energy and natural gas should be included. The so-called “Green Deal” is a […]
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IIOT
Positive Technologies assists Siemens with eliminating dangerous vulnerabilities in utility control system
Framingham, MA — Positive Technologies experts have discovered a total of 17 vulnerabilities in the SPPA-T3000. Vladimir Nazarov, Head of ICS Security at Positive Technologies, said: “By exploiting some of these vulnerabilities, an attacker could run arbitrary code on an application server, which is one of the key components of the SPPA-T3000 distributed control system. […]
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Connected Plant
The POWER Interview: New Directions for GE Digital
In a recent conversation with POWER, GE Digital CEO Pat Byrne discussed why GE made key changes to the lucrative business, streamlining it to focus on four key markets, including electric utilities and power generation. GE has been at the forefront of the innovation in the energy sector since Thomas Edison formulated the essential requirements […]
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News
Indiana Utility Will Close Coal-Fired Units Early
Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL) on Dec. 9 announced it will close two of the four coal-fired units at its Petersburg Generating Station in southern Indiana, as the utility continues to move away from coal generation. IPL has been pressured by state political leaders and environmentalists to close the 1,700-MW Petersburg facility, the largest power […]
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Gas
Siemens supplies gas turbines for peaking power plants in Belarus
Siemens industrial gas turbines will provide peaking power to help improve the reliability and flexibility of the Belarusian power grid Siemens will deliver the power generation equipment for two new peaking power plants in the Republic of Belarus. The customer is the state-owned utility company RUE Vitebskenergo. The new plants will be operated in conjunction […]
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News
PW Power Systems Delivers Brighter Holidays for Puerto Rico
Mobile power generation assets will also secure the electric grid and complement renewables GLASTONBURY, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PW Power Systems (PWPS), the leading provider of aero-derivative power generation energy solutions, announces that PREPA (Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority) has three, PWPS FT8® MOBILEPAC® gas turbines ready for operation. The 30-megawatt mobile gas turbine units are now available […]
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News
EPA Reinterprets ‘Ambient Air,’ Further Tweaks New Source Review
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a change to a long-standing policy interpreting “ambient air”—a foundational concept under the Clean Air Act that applies to all types of air pollution, from ground-level ozone, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. While the agency framed the change as part of a suite of actions to reform New Source […]
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News
Report Says Global CO2 Emissions From Coal Down This Year
Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities fell in 2019, according to research published Dec. 3, though overall emissions of CO2 rose due to the increased use of natural gas and oil for power generation and other industrial processes. The new emissions figures were reported by the Global Carbon Project […]
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Markets
Is Carbon Pricing the Key to a Clean Energy Future? [PODCAST]
The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) has proposed incorporating the social cost of carbon into the wholesale price of electricity. According to an October-released study conducted by the consulting firm Analysis Group, “A carbon price in NYISO’s competitive wholesale power markets can help deliver New York’s clean-energy transition in faster, cheaper, more reliable, more […]
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News
Brouillette Takes Over as Energy Secretary
The U.S. Senate on Dec. 2 confirmed Dan Brouillette as the new Secretary of Energy, tapping the former lobbyist for Ford Motor Company to replace Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who stepped down as Department of Energy (DOE) chief after becoming part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Perry’s tenure was marked by […]
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News
Renewable Power Generation on Rise in Turkey
The market for renewable energy in Turkey has been growing since the country enacted a “Renewable Energy Law” in 2005. Progress has been steady and has ramped up in recent years after renewable energy
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IIOT
Report: Blockchain Not Well-Suited to Transactive Energy
Blockchain—a distributed database technology that allows a network of parties to securely transact with each other—has been hailed as a game-changing innovation in the power sector for its potential to
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News
POWER Digest [December 2019]
Israeli Group Supports Construction of 1.3-GW Gas-Fired Plant. The Israeli National Infrastructure Committee on Nov. 4 approved a plan to build Israel’s largest privately run power plant, saying the facility
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Connected Plant
Unlocking Value at the Grid-Edge: Extending the Reach of the Utility Control Room
Just 10 years ago, the magnitude of behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (DERs) at the edge of the grid was not materially significant. All that has changed, and we’re now at an inflection point: by
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Commentary
International Business: Before You Enter a New Market, Do Your Due Diligence
As an attorney who has spent the majority of his career litigating and settling international commercial disputes, I have experienced several instances where U.S. companies jump at the opportunity to expand
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News
Using Technology to Tackle Power Plant Emissions
Power plant owners and operators have a range of systems available to help reduce pollutants at their facilities, depending on a number of factors. And industry experts agree—there is no “one size fits
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Hydrogen
Why Power-to-Gas May Flourish in a Renewables-Heavy World
While still in its infancy, power-to-gas provides a promising approach to convert renewable power into “green” hydrogen and methane, furnishing the renewables sector with a potentially lucrative array of
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IIOT
New Monitoring and Analytics Tools Improve Plant Performance
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies can help make electric generating plants more efficient while increasing availability. The electric power industry is going through a transformational change
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News
Decarbonizing with Energy Storage Combined Cycles
Low asset utilization is an increasing financial challenge for both conventional and renewable assets, which are sometimes curtailed due to over-generation at various times of day. Integrating large-scale
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News
Culture Is Key to Optimizing Plant Efficiency
The power industry faces many challenges, which require a dedicated workforce to overcome. How can a company get everyone pulling in the same direction? It starts with a strong culture. The electric utility
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Gas
How to Optimize Replication in Power Plant Design & Construction
Constructing a power plant is no small task. Due to the scope of the job, many projects experience schedule delays and cost overruns. However, with the right tools and teamwork, similar jobs can benefit