Gas

Reports on Jan. 13 said giant California utility PG&E Corp. could notify its workers as soon as Jan. 14 that it’s preparing to file for bankruptcy. Bloomberg on Sunday said the San Francisco-based utility, which faces billions of dollars in liabilities as investigations into its role in a series of deadly wildfires continues, will notify […]

Colorado-based Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a group cited in an analysts’ report last year for its high wholesale power costs and its reliance on coal-fired units, on Jan. 11 announced a 100-MW project that will more than double its solar power portfolio as it continues to add to its renewable power resources. Tri-State in […]

Siemens was recently selected to provide one feed and sales gas train and one refrigeration compression train for Encana’s Pipestone Processing Facility in Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada. Designed to accommodate future capacity expansion, the Pipestone Processing Facility will provide Encana with 19,000 barrels per day of net raw condensate processing capacity plus 170 million cubic […]

In a letter addressed to Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) CEO Bill Johnson, Kentucky Gov. Matthew G. Bevin said it “would be a huge mistake” to permanently shut down Paradise Unit 3—the last operating coal unit at the Paradise site in Muhlenburg County, Kentucky. According to the governor, “the impact on our economy and our region’s […]

Glancing back to the 1970s, those of us in the power sector can remember when polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were the cooling liquid of choice for transformers in locations where fire risk was a critical consideration. Then it happened — PCBs were classified as carcinogenic and persistent organic pollutants. A safer replacement liquid was needed, and […]

A new study from an economic research group shows that U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) rose about 3.4% last year, including a 1.9% rise in emissions from power generation. The New York-based Rhodium Group, which released its findings on Jan. 8, said its study used data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and […]

January 8, 2019 — The technology group Wärtsilä commenced site work for a new 378 MW power plant being supplied on an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract in El Salvador. This facility, ordered by Energía del Pacífico, will be the largest and most efficient power plant in El Salvador, and one of the first […]

Kevin McIntyre, who briefly served as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), died Jan. 2 at age 58. He had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 and had surgery to remove a tumor. President Trump nominated McIntyre, a Republican, in August 2017 to serve as FERC chairman. He was confirmed by the […]

Renewable energy sources increased their share of the UK’s electricity supply in 2018, with new wind farms and biomass plants helping renewables contribute a record 33% of the country’s power in the past year. Coal-fired units, meanwhile, saw a 25% drop in their output, with coal providing about 5% of the country’s total generation. The […]

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., Jan. 2, 2019—The new year brought a new source of cleaner, more efficient power to the Carolinas, when four new communities began receiving power from NTE Energy. January 1 marked the beginning of 20-year power purchase agreements between NTE and the North Carolina communities of Concord and Kings Mountain, and the South […]

The International Energy Agency forecasts that based on current and proposed policies, global power generation will grow about 15,000 TWh (about 60%) from 2017 to 2040. About 70% of additions will be supplied by natural gas, wind, and solar photovoltaics in nearly equal shares. But despite a drop from its current share from 38% to […]

Digital technology is everywhere today including in most power plants. Computer hardware and software are changing the way plants are operated and maintained. Many technology experts will tell you that

EDF Inks Agreement for O&M Services at UAE Nuclear Plant. French nuclear power plant operator EDF will operate and maintain the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under a

The International Energy Agency (IEA) deemed growth and disruptions of the world’s power sector so significant to the future of energy, it dedicated—for the first time—a four-chapter “special focus”

Control rooms are vital for organizations to efficiently and effectively monitor multiple information streams and make accurate mission-critical decisions. With an ever-increasing number of content sources and

Cheap natural gas and social pressure to reduce carbon emissions give gas-fired power plants and renewable energy resources a competitive advantage over traditional coal and nuclear generation. Energy storage

What began in the world of finance has moved into the power sector. Blockchain, a nascent technology most often associated with cryptocurrency, is a new frontier in the energy space, changing the way power is

Many combined cycle power plants have established a pH guideline between 9.6 and 10.0 to minimize corrosion in heat recovery steam generators and condensers. Neutralizing amines are used to achieve these pH

Heavy loads must often be moved at power plants of all types. Air bearing-based vehicles can make the process safer, faster, and cheaper. Cask relocation at a nuclear waste facility offers one successful

With many challenges facing both fossil fuel and nuclear power generation facilities, training and workforce development has never been more important. Establishing a culture of continuous improvement is

What is the best way to construct a complete chemical-feed system for use in a power plant—piecing together equipment acquired from a hodgepodge of suppliers or creating a system with components sourced from

The Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station began commercial operation on Dec. 21, the latest natural gas-fired facility to enter the PJM market. The 940-MW Tenaska plant, located near Smithton in South Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland County in southwest Pennsylvania, was built in just more than two years, though its planning and permitting process took several years […]

For decades the U.S. has relied on coal for much of its energy supply. States with abundant coal—Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and others—have towns and cities whose economies are driven by the coal industry. Now, as the coal industry declines and those areas struggle, the Trump administration wants to use taxpayer money to save coal […]

The accelerated retirement of coal-fired and nuclear generation by 2022 could adversely affect reliability in four regions, including in the East and over parts of the central U.S., the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) warned as it released findings from a “stress-test” scenario.  But the entity tasked with ensuring reliability and security of the […]

There’s never a dull moment in the power industry, and like most years, 2018 was filled with many interesting developments. As it has been for more than 135 years, POWER was there to break the news. The following 10 articles were the most-read online stories of the year. #10: New York Denies Air Permit for […]

Dominion Energy’s bid to purchase SCANA Corp. and its South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) utility, approved by South Carolina regulators on Dec. 14, could bring some stability to SCANA. Shareholders hope that’s the case; they’re excited about swapping their devalued SCANA shares for more valuable Dominion stock. Workers, though, remain uncertain about their futures, […]

Hitachi Ltd. and ABB on December 17 announced that Hitachi will acquire 80.1% of ABB’s Power Grids unit in an $11 billion deal. Reports of the possible acquisition surfaced December 16, with several media outlets including POWER  discussing the agreement, citing sources familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified. Hitachi plans to […]

CPV and Osaka Gas USA solidify shared commitment to helping meet energy demands in the U.S. Silver Spring, MD, Dec. 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) has finalized the sale of 25 percent of its ownership interests in the CPV Towantic Energy Center (CPV Towantic) to Osaka Gas USA (OGUSA). CPV and […]

Hitachi Ltd. and ABB could announce an $11 billion deal as soon as December 17 in which Hitachi will acquire 80% of ABB’s power grids unit. Reports of the possible deal surfaced December 16, with Bloomberg and others citing sources familiar with the agreement who asked not to be identified. Neither ABB nor Hitachi commented […]

In a move widely applauded by the power industry, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Army proposed a new definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) that could exempt groundwater and ditches from regulation under the Clean Water Act (CWA).  The measures follow other recent significant regulatory actions by the agency. On […]