Gas

  • FPL Halfway Through 600-MW Solar Power Expansion

    Florida Power & Light (FPL), which recently sustained a blow to its nuclear expansion plans, on October 19 said it’s about halfway through an ambitious plan to add eight new solar plants in the state by early 2018, as it continues to increase its photovoltaic (PV) generation capacity as part of a larger strategy to […]

  • Siemens Reportedly Downsizing Power and Gas Business 

    Stricken by falling orders for large gas turbines, global technology conglomerate Siemens AG is reportedly moving to downsize its Power and Gas segment. The changes may include closure or sale of major sites globally and result in thousands of job cuts. The company will likely embark on a reorganization plan this November that could result […]

  • NRG Stops Plan for California Gas Plant

    NRG Energy has stopped development of a proposed natural gas plant in Oxnard, California, after two state regulators earlier this month recommended the California Energy Commission (CEC) reject the project. NRG on October 16 asked the CEC to suspend its review of the plans for the Puente Power Project, or P3, a proposed $300 million, […]

  • Droneweek [PODCAST]

    [Ed. note: This post was first published on October 5, 2017, and was updated on October 17, 2017, with embedded video from the DRONEWEEK television show.] DRONEWEEK is a television program that will air on the Viceland network beginning Monday, October 9, 2017, and continuing each night throughout the week. Each episode will feature footage […]

  • Eversource Will Sell 14 New Hampshire Power Plants, Completing Deregulation

    Fourteen power plants in New Hampshire, including nine hydroelectric facilities, will soon have new owners as Eversource Energy divests its holdings in the state to satisfy an agreement with state regulators. Eversource outlined the sale of the hydro assets, along with three fossil fuel-fired plants and two combustion peaker units, in an October 12 filing […]

  • Perry Hammered on FERC Order During House Subcommittee Hearing

    Criticism for Secretary of Energy Rick Perry’s recent notification of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) directing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to show favor to coal and nuclear plants was in no short supply during an October 12 hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy. The hearing, which focused on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) missions and […]

  • California Agency Opposes New Gas-fired Plant

    Two members of the California Energy Commission (CEC) on October 6 said they would recommend the full five-member group oppose construction of a new natural gas-fired power plant in Oxnard. The two commissioners said environmental impacts of the plant could not be mitigated, and the plant would not be able to conform to local ordinances […]

  • How Power Sector Deregulation Is Affecting Mexico [PODCAST]

    Mexico’s energy reform began in 2013. It has opened up key parts of the country’s electricity sector to new market participants, foreign investors, and innovative technology. Prior to the reform, Mexico operated under a traditional, vertically integrated model with the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) responsible for all power supply functions from generation to distribution. […]

  • Monticello Goes Under, More Coal and Nuclear Imperiled in Texas (Updated) 

    A week after the Department of Energy (DOE) proposed a rule to bolster uneconomic coal and nuclear generators in competitive power markets, Luminant announced that an “unprecedented low power price environment” will force it to retire a 1.9-GW coal-fired power plant operating in the Texas market. The plant’s economic woes suggest a larger swath of […]

  • EPA Head Pruitt Ready to Repeal Clean Power Plan

    Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt on October 9 said he will sign a proposed rule Tuesday to repeal the Clean Power Plan (CPP), a signature initiative of former President Barack Obama’s administration that mandated cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants. Pruitt, speaking to a group of coal miners Monday at […]

  • Power Groups Unite to Block DOE Grid Resiliency Rule; FERC Sets Tight Window for Comment

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) set a three-week window for comment on the proposed Department of Energy (DOE) grid resiliency rule that 11 power trade groups—representing natural gas, wind, solar, public power, and power consumers—worry could have serious ramifications for competitive markets because it favors coal and nuclear. The groups filed a joint motion on […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: The History of Power

    During its 135-year history, POWER magazine’s pages have reflected the fast-changing evolution of the technologies and markets that characterize the world’s power sector today. —Copy and artwork by Sonal Patel, a POWER associate editor

  • 135th Anniversary—Excerpts from the pages of POWER (SLIDESHOW)

    POWER magazine—the oldest-running trade publication for power generators in the world—has since its establishment in 1882 been a valuable resource for business and technology developments. Here are compelling excerpts from the magazine’s voluminous pages over the 14 decades it has been published. [Scroll down for full content.] Source: POWER magazine archives. All rights reserved.  —Sonal […]

  • Keeping the Lights On: Power Professionals’ Noble Cause

    Recently, two epic hurricanes—Harvey and Irma—struck North America with extremely destructive force. Harvey first made landfall in the U.S. near Rockport, Texas, about 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi

  • POWER Digest (October 2017)

    Construction Scheduled for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plant in South Korea. Hanwha Energy  on August 25 approved formation of a subsidiary,  Daesan Green Energy , to build a 50-MW hydrogen fuel cell plant in the

  • Tackling NERC CIP and Cybersecurity at America’s Largest Gas-fired Cogeneration Plant

    The Midland Cogeneration Venture (MCV) in Midland, Michigan, is the largest natural gas-fired combined electrical energy and steam energy generating plant in the U.S. It is capable of continuously producing

  • Gas and Electric: How Disparate Industries Are Working Together

    Electric generation and natural gas, both important to each other, have differing cultures, vocabularies, and histories, so making them work together has been a challenge. Glut. That word describes the state

  • Natural Gas Infrastructure Is Much More Concerning Than a Solar Eclipse

    Recently, many articles in a variety of publications speculated on how the August 21, 2017, solar eclipse would impact the electric grid. Most utility people expected no serious outages or disruptions, and

  • Vibration Monitoring Best Practices [PODCAST]

    Most large power plants have continuous vibration monitoring systems installed on turbine generators and other critical equipment. The systems have evolved greatly since the 1970s. In this episode of The POWER Podcast, Steve Sabin, SETPOINT product manager for Brüel & Kjær Vibro, offers some tips to get the most out of these systems. He talks […]

  • EIA: Chinese Coal Use Will Plateau as Renewables Gain

    Chinese coal-fired electricity generation is expected to flatten through 2040 as renewables fill the gap caused by increased energy demand, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) International Energy Outlook 2017. According to the study, coal accounted for more than 72% of China’s energy generation in 2015. By 2040, however, coal’s share of generation […]

  • CAISO Expansion, 100% Zero-Carbon Bids Flatline, But Bills for Energy Storage, DERs Thrive

    California’s legislature last week wrapped up its 2017 session without authorizing the broad expansion of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) into other Western states or passing a zero-carbon bill, which would have put the state on a path to 100% clean energy by 2045. It did, however, succeed in passing bills to encourage development […]

  • CAISO to Extend Contract for Oil-fired Units in Bid to Ensure Reliability 

    Three 55-MW oil-fired units at Dynegy’s Oakland plant in renewables-heavy California will be needed through 2018 to ensure reliability in a region served by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the grid entity has deemed. CAISO’s board of governors on September 19 extended a “reliability must-run” (RMR) contract for the three Oakland units. An RMR […]

  • House Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Expand Carbon Capture, EOR Tax Credits

    The U.S. House has introduced bipartisan legislation to promote the commercial deployment of technologies to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from power plants and industrial facilities and use it for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or geologic storage. The Carbon Capture Act introduced on September 13 by House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) along with 29 co-sponsors […]

  • DOE Rolls Out Funding for Turbines, Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is kicking off September with a couple of significant funding announcements. The department announced September 6 the selection of 16 projects to receive a combined total of more than $10 million in funding to advance solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology. That announcement was followed up September 7 with […]

  • FirstEnergy Cuts Sale Price in Revised Deal to Shed Assets

    Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. has dropped the price of several assets as it continues to work toward closing a deal to sell five of the company’s natural gas-fired power plants, along with a hydroelectric facility, to an equity group that specializes in energy investments. FirstEnergy this week said it had cut the price of the facilities […]

  • Utilities Prepare as Hurricane Irma Approaches Florida

    Utility workers from across the country have been in Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and crews are now staging in Florida in preparation for Hurricane Irma as the storm crosses the Caribbean, with officials expecting property damage and power outages from the massive tropical system. Crews from several areas are converging on the […]

  • Grand Resilience: How a State Agency Pioneered Gas Technology and Bolstered Critical Supply 

    Unit 3 at the Grand River Energy Center in Chouteau, Oklahoma, was the Grand River Dam Authority’s first construction project in 30 years. Yet, the team put this distinct project—one of the largest and

  • Model of Gas-Fired Efficiency Rises in Heart of Coal Country

    A partnership between one of the nation’s largest utilities and one of the world’s largest construction contractors resulted in the 1,100-MW Paradise Combined Cycle Plant in Drakesboro, Kentucky, next door

  • Growing Community Seeks Attractive Power Plant

    Nestled near the center of Shakopee, Minnesota, is the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency’s (MMPA’s) Shakopee Energy Park. The plant, a 46-MW natural gas-fueled reciprocating engine facility, powers the city

  • Two SCE Gas-Battery Hybrid Projects Revolutionize Peaker Performance

    For deploying a novel, groundbreaking gas-battery hybrid technology along with environmentally significant upgrades within a tight installment window, and despite logistical hurdles, Southern California