Gas

General Electric’s (GE’s) new flagship HA turbines, which will be the largest and most efficient in their class when deployed, will see their first delivery at EDF’s Bouchain combined cycle plant in France this summer. The first U.S. order, from Exelon for four 7HA turbines intended for expansions at the Wolf Hollow and Colorado Bend […]

 While fuel switching may be the easiest option for hitting the 2020 and 2030 goals set by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed Clean Power Plan, it may impede reaching longer-term climate targets said experts at an April 8 symposium hosted by the Central Texas Association for Energy Economics and the Energy Institute at the […]

A Gallup poll completed last month found that only 32% of adults in the U.S. worry a “great deal” about global warming or climate change, while 45% worry “only a little” or “not at all.” The survey was taken via telephone interviews conducted during the first week of March using a random sample of 1,025 […]

Everyone loves efficiencies. Combining generation technologies can create a plant that’s more than the sum of its parts, but engineering challenges mean these projects are not for the faint of heart. When you think of “hybrids” these days, your first thought is probably of automobiles. But hybrids—hybrid power plants, that is—are starting to emerge in […]

It’s been called “filling the duck pond,” and it’s the increasingly common challenge worldwide of balancing supply and demand when variable renewables are not feeding power to the grid. Gas-fired generation is often filling the pond, but the technology mix matters. The growing portfolio of renewable power generation around the world has made the selection […]

The ongoing record drought in California has caused significant changes in the state’s power mix as water available for hydroelectric generation becomes increasingly scarce, according to a recent report from Oakland-based nonprofit the Pacific Institute. The California Independent System Operator warned last year that water shortages were likely to substantially impact the state’s generation, with […]

The Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) in Sharm El-Sheikh resulted in some big agreements for the Egyptian government including a reported $10.5 billion deal with Siemens and a $1.7 billion order with GE. The conference was held March 13–15, 2015, and was purported to be a key milestone of the government’s medium term economic development […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released 2015 scheduled capacity additions and retirements on Mar. 10, and the news was not good for the coal industry. As has been the trend for several years, coal-fired generation accounts for the majority of expected retirements (12.9 GW of the nearly 16 GW total). However, most of the […]

GE Power & Water announced Mar. 5 that it had achieved 50.1% gas-fired J920 FleXtra reciprocating engine during a test run at the Jenbacher facility in Austria. This is the first time a reciprocating engine has reached 50% efficiency. The 9.5-MW J920 FleXtra, introduced for 50-Hz applications in 2013 and 60-Hz in 2014, is the […]

Florida Power and Light (FPL) wants to buy a 250-MW coal-fired facility in Florida to shut it down. The Juno Beach, Fla.–based company filed a petition with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) on Friday requesting approval to acquire the Cedar Bay Generating Plant for $520.5 million. FPL has had a long-term power purchase agreement […]

Integrating more variable generation and storage, but no new nuclear units, are among the characteristics Exelon sees in the utility of the future, as outlined by Chief Strategy Officer William A. Von Hoene Jr. at the MIT Energy Conference, held Feb. 27–28. He began his Saturday address by saying that innovation is “absolutely indispensible.” Old, […]

The Lodi Energy Center (LEC) is a 296-MW 1 x 1 combined cycle plant in Lodi, Calif., just north of Stockton and east of the San Joaquin River delta (Figure 1). From the outside, there’s little to distinguish

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems installed in steam generators for NOx reduction are ordinarily designed for full boiler load conditions, when SCR inlet temperatures normally exceed unit-specific

Sometimes, circumstances have a way of developing in such an unexpectedly serendipitous way that they practically force one to take notice. So it is with Cuba and its power sector. Coincidence It all started

Methane emissions are garnering increasing attention because of their potential impact on the climate. Though far less methane is released to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, methane has 20 to 25 times the

Cheryl A. LaFleur One of the most controversial issues facing the energy world today is how our electric sector will respond to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed Clean Power Plan

The South African power system is severely constrained and will remain tight until at least the end of April, according to Eskom. The company generates approximately 95% of the electricity used in South Africa

Entergy Louisiana’s two-unit, 560-MW combined cycle plant in Westwego, La., just outside New Orleans, completed construction on Dec. 26, both under budget and several months ahead of its original schedule

TIC to Build First U.S. J-series GT Plant. The Industrial Co. (TIC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kiewit Corp. ,was recently awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction contract to build a gas

Originally, the modern combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) unit was developed to act as a largely baseload source of generation due to its high thermal efficiency and low initial capital cost. But as markets

On Monday, the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) approved the siting certificate for Moundsville Power LLC to construct a 549-MW combined cycle natural gas power plant in Marshall County. It will be the first to also burn ethane. The company is also touting the project’s role in helping to offset the effect of area […]

Pennsylvania seems poised to levy a severance tax on natural gas extraction after new Governor Tom Wolf proposed a change in the state’s treatment of gas production that could produce as much as $1 billion a year in revenue. The proposal would levy a 5% tax on the value of the gas at the wellhead, […]

“The coolest thing on Earth” is, according to its new director, a young federal agency that has a unique focus on pushing technology frontiers and an “unblinking attention” to market realities. One thing you can say for sure about the energy world, said Dr. Ellen Williams (Figure 1), incoming director of ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects […]

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is considering a bill that would enact sweeping changes in the state’s energy mix, among them a tax to support construction of new natural gas pipelines. The bill is being pushed by legislators and business interests alarmed by the state’s rapid loss of coal and nuclear generation, and equally rapid […]

Combining electric power production with use of steam for heating, cooling, and industrial processes is an old idea that had a brief boom in the U.S., kicking off the rise of non-utility generation. Since then, combined heat and power, or cogeneration, has become a niche market player. What happened? In the late 1990s, the University […]

Despite its efficiency and environmental benefits, combined heat and power (CHP) generation has languished at around 10% of worldwide capacity for more than a decade. But a global review shows growth in some sectors and promising new technology on the way. The statistics are both eye-opening and somewhat depressing. Globally, according to the International Energy […]

As it struggles to grow its economy while improving air quality in urban areas, China is updating its energy delivery infrastructure. A key part of that plan is switching from coal-fired to gas-fired combined heat and power plants. To push efficiency even further, some plants are turning to synchronous clutches. The developed world has done […]

The dramatic collapse in the price of oil—currently flirting with sub-$40/barrel levels—has naturally produced an explosion of commentary on its short- and long-term effects. One curious, though predictable, narrative is starting to emerge from the environmental left: The price collapse is the death knell to shale oil, and the U.S. oil boom—which was never a […]

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced a series of deals designed to eliminate a costly utility rate payment in the state’s Upper Peninsula (UP), while providing long-term, cost-effective energy reliability for the region. The solution was developed through four principle agreements. In one, the electric utility businesses now owned by We Energies and Integrys (doing business […]

The Obama administration announced on Jan. 14 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will propose new regulations to cut emissions of methane from the oil and gas industry, as well as other measures, with a goal of reducing total U.S. methane emissions 40% to 45% by 2025. The proposed rule is expected this summer. Emissions […]