Hydro

Annual wind power generation exceeded hydroelectric generation for the first time in 2019, according to data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Feb. 26, making wind the top-producing renewable source of electricity in the country, a position long held by hydro. The EIA’s Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2019 report […]

Researchers at a few prominent universities have published findings on recent power-related projects. At Cranfield University in the UK, hydrogen production technology is advancing with an eye on cost and carbon reductions; researchers at the University of Michigan released best practices for extending lithium-ion battery life; and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study found […]

Responding to a request from a Democrat-led U.S. House committee, the federal International Trade Commission (ITC) is investigating how New England’s increasing renewable targets are economically affecting the region, and what role renewable imports play in meeting those commitments. The ITC, an independent, nonpartisan and quasi-judicial federal agency that also provides fact-finding as it relates […]

Global marketplace for new, used and overhauled Voith Turbo equipment Providing an informative product overview including availability Expansion of the Voith service portfolio HEIDENHEIM, Germany. The new global online platform Turbo Marketplace offers the ability to sell or buy unused, used and overhauled Voith Turbo equipment. Safety stocks, changing conditions and cancelled projects lead to […]

Feb 10, 2020 GE Renewable Energy to rehabilitate and extend the life of the Angat hydropower plant for another 50 years GE Renewable Energy’s new equipment will increase the total capacity of the plant by around 4% bringing more power to the inhabitants in the Philippines Paris, February 10, 2020 – GE Renewable Energy booked […]

Deep decarbonization of the U.S. Northwest can be achieved at “manageable” costs by 2045, but only if utility agency Energy Northwest secures zero-emitting firm capacity, such as by relicensing Columbia Generating Station—the sole nuclear plant in the region—and building small modular reactors (SMRs), a new study suggests. The study by San Francisco-based consulting group Energy […]

Catastrophic wildfires have devastated California in recent years. This article seeks to outline a plan wherein neighboring utilities can send energy to support a utility that has shut down critical paths during wildfire mitigation efforts. On the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, the Camp Fire erupted 90 miles north of Sacramento, California (Figure 1). This fire […]

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Burns & McDonnell will serve as engineer-procure-construct (EPC) contractor for an extensive $134 million electrical control system upgrade and modernization project for the New York Power Authority’s 2,525-megawatt (MW) Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant. The control system project is a crucial component of a recently announced $1.1 billion Next Generation Niagara […]

Financial support for installations of offshore wind projects helped investment in renewable energy capacity hit a record high in 2019, according to data from research company BloombergNEF (BNEF) released Jan. 16. The group said worldwide investment in renewables was $282.2 billion last year, up 1% from $280.2 billion in 2018. Financing of offshore wind projects, […]

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) November 2019–released World Energy Outlook 2019 (WEO2019) is studded with interesting findings about emerging trends in the power sector. Here are 10 from the

When needed, surge tanks can provide a critical feature to the hydraulic design of hydropower projects. Principally, they can mitigate the overpressure effects of pressure transients or water hammer and allow

Over the past decade, there has been a significant change in the U.S. system of power generation in the lower 48 states. The major factors that resulted in these changes were the discovery of new natural gas

Every one of the 13 decades that POWER magazine has been in print has been definitive for electric generation technology, policy, and business in some significant way, but few have been as transformative as the 2010s. The decade opened just as the global economy began to crawl toward recovery from a historically unprecedented downturn that […]

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 […]

The XFLEX HYDRO project demonstrates how modern hydropower plants can provide the vital power grid services required by variable renewables such as wind and solar power The project is a four-year initiative by leading utilities, equipment manufacturers, universities, research centres and consultancies Voith Hydro is in the lead of the development and implementation of additional […]

In a new attempt to secure a concrete role for the international hydropower industry within the decarbonization movement, several utilities, equipment manufacturers, universities, research centers, and consultancies have scaffolded to demonstrate how modern hydropower plants can provide flexibility to markets that are increasingly inundated by variable generation like wind and solar. On Dec. 10, the […]

December 10, 2019 — A major new energy innovation project to demonstrate how smart hydropower technologies can deliver a low-carbon, reliable and resilient power system was launched today. The €18 million initiative was announced by the European Commission and a consortium of 19 partners, including the International Hydropower Association, at the United Nations climate change conference […]

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 […]

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

Falling natural gas prices tamped down annual U.S. wholesale power prices over the last decade by $7/MWh to $53/MWh—to a much higher degree compared to the impact of wind and solar growth—a new report from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) suggests.  The Nov. 20–published report, The Impact of Wind, Solar, and Other Factors on Wholesale Power […]

ABB’s digital solutions and engineering services will improve availability and reliability of power in the State of Paraná, with ABB winning a $US2.5 million contract to upgrade Copel’s Governador José Richa hydro power plant. ABB will provide excitation systems and speed regulation for four generator units at the 20-year-old Governador José Richa[i]  hydro power plant […]

Signing of the contract in attendance of the Federal Minister for Economics and Energy Peter Altmaier and the Minister of Energy of Ethiopia Dr. Seleshi Bekele Stable energy supply as a foundation for further social and economical development Enormous hydropower potential in Ethiopia HEIDENHEIM, Germany. The technology group Voith has signed a comprehensive service and […]

The Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 19 released a draft tax package for clean energy projects that includes a five-year extension of the 30% solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), along with new incentives for energy storage. The legislation also supports incentives for electric vehicles (EVs), offshore and onshore […]

The closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013 left a stranded coastal asset. However, the existing transmission infrastructure, site control, and geographic topology make it an ideal site

Market forces are playing as much if not more of a role than regulatory policy in the transition from fossil-fueled power generation to renewables, as utilities in the U.S. and worldwide establish decarbonization goals. That was the message from Bill Ritter Jr., former governor of Colorado, during his keynote address at POWER’s Distributed Energy Conference […]

Sobradinho hydroelectric plant, located in the state of Bahia, Brazil, is now upgraded with a floating solar system developed by Ciel & Terre® in partnership with SUNLUTION. The combination of the two energies – Solar and Hydro – is an answer to meet the region’s electricity consumption needs. This 1 MWp floating photovoltaic project, inaugurated […]

Four projects have won a competition launched by the Department of Energy (DOE) in April 2019 to help shorten the commissioning time for pumped storage hydropower projects and revitalize the hydropower industry.  The grand prize winners or the Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time (FAST) Prize competition were selected by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) […]

Solar power is expected to take a larger share of global power generation across the next 30 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), as renewable energy continues to be adopted worldwide. The EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019), released Oct. 2, shows 28% of the world’s power came from renewables in 2018, […]

Hydrogen is emerging as a formidable player in the energy transition, owing to its potential to decarbonize a range of sectors and its versatility. According to a June 2019–released report prepared for the G20 by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the government of Japan, 76% of dedicated hydrogen produced today (around 70 metric tons) […]

As of August 2019, 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), and eight others had non-binding renewable portfolio goals. Three states also had clean energy standards, which set targets for low-carbon non-renewables, like nuclear, and two had clean energy goals. Our monthly infographic in September 2019 shows how shares for each […]