International

  • Iran, Siemens Bring First of Several New Gas-Fired Plants Online

    An official with Iran’s Thermal Power Plants Holding Co. (TPPH) said the country’s first government-owned F-class power plant has entered operation, part of Iran’s continuing plan to add more natural gas-fired power generation. The plant is located in Iran’s southern Hormozgan Province, which is across the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman from Oman and […]

  • 12 Big Power Stories You May Have Missed in 2020

    With COVID-19 filling the news throughout 2020, it’s very likely you missed some of the most important developments that occurred in the power sector this year. Here’s a look at some of the highlights and big stories covered by the POWER staff this year. MOX Nuclear Fuel Loaded In January, Russian engineers announced the loading […]

  • Renewables and Distributed Energy Resources Take Center Stage as Power Is Transferred to the People

    2021 Predictions for Energy, Utilities, and Resources Even if the climate crisis is currently having to share headline space with the global pandemic, it has by no means lost its traction. Nor have the perils of climate change lost any of their urgency. Taking a global stance, I would say that the charge to lower […]

  • 5 Reactors Connected to the Grid, 5 Removed in 2020

    Nuclear power capacity continues to grow worldwide, as larger reactors are added to the grid while smaller units are retired. Furthermore, uprates to some existing reactors have also added to the world’s nuclear power capacity. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports the total net installed capacity is about 393 GW today. Nuclear reactor additions […]

  • Rosatom Will Build SMR Project in Republic of Sakha

    Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom has signed an agreement confirming its participation in construction of a small modular nuclear reactor project in the Russian Republic of Sakha. Officials from Sakha—an area also known as Yakutia—on Dec. 23 signed a deal with Rosatom outlining the formation of “electric power tariff principles” for an SMR power […]

  • China Suffers Widespread Blackouts Amid Coal Supply Shortage

    Provinces across China are reportedly grappling with crippling power shortages prompted by a surge in power demand from a stunning ramp up in industrial activity, an especially harsh winter, and tight coal supplies, which may be exacerbated by a ban on Australian coal.  Power shortages have been reported in Zhejiang province, an economic powerhouse in […]

  • Siemens Gamesa strikes 465 MW mega deal in Brazil for its most powerful onshore wind turbine

    São Vitor Wind Farm is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2022 and will consist of 75 SG 5.8-170 turbines, boasting one of the largest rotors on the onshore market Deal is largest ever for the Siemens Gamesa 5.X platform and for the company in Brazil, and includes a service and maintenance agreement […]

  • Why Under Base Layers Are Important in Arc Flash Hazard Environments

    Electrical environments are extremely dangerous for workers, with arc-flash hazards on the rise due to an increased demand in electricity and energy, meaning that workers are at risk now more than ever. In these environments, personal protective equipment (PPE) such as arc-flash clothing acts as essential protection for workers while performing jobs, from maintenance checks […]

  • Statement: EU sustainable finance rules would undervalue hydropower

    The International Hydropower Association (IHA) has responded to a public consultation by the European Commission on new rules to define sustainable finance. While the association welcomes and supports the need for an EU Taxonomy on sustainable activities in order to drive investment in renewable energy, IHA believes the proposal as drafted “raises serious concerns” for […]

  • The 5 Steps Utilities Should Take in 2021 to Prepare for a Carbon-Neutral Future

    We’re at the electric tipping point as electric stoves, vehicles, and construction equipment displace the fossil fuel guzzlers of the past. Yet, before a carbon-neutral future can truly take off, utilities and the electric grid need to innovate. For the world to hit net-zero emissions targets by 2050, grid investments need to almost triple to […]

  • Solar Takes Lead Role in Latest China Five-Year Plan

    China is the largest manufacturer and installer of solar photovoltaic power systems in the world, and the country appears ready to increase its solar installations based on information contained in the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP). The plan, covering the period 2021-2025, is being developed and expected to be implemented beginning in March 2021. The […]

  • Ansaldo Energia Signs a 50 Million Euro Contract in Poland with Synthos for a New Gas Turbine

    Genoa, 21st December 2020 – Ansaldo Energia has been awarded a contract for the supply of an 80 MW AE64.3 gas turbine and the related maintenance contract for a value of approximately 50 million EUR from the customer Synthos, a Polish chemical company leader in the production of rubbers and polymers. The turbine, being a […]

  • The Airgap Is Not Enough: The Failed Security Perimeter Paradigm in OT Networks

    Operational technology (OT) electronics and networks for manufacturing, energy production, and virtually every other industrial application, are targets for cyberattacks. For infrastructure-related companies, such as power producers, transportation, and water plants, the OT networks are not only the revenue producers, but also important targets for destabilizing national security. Successful attacks can be destructive and costly, […]

  • Voith Hydro awarded contract for 174 MW Asahan 3 hydropower plant in Indonesia

    The project will support Indonesia’s target to achieve renewable energy share of 23 percent in 2025 This order strengthens the position of Voith Hydro in Indonesia as one of the leading hydropower equipment suppliers JAKARTA, INDONESIA. Voith Hydro has been awarded by Mitsubishi Corporation the electro-mechanical equipment contract for the Asahan 3 hydropower project in […]

  • 50 years of turbine lubrication!

    Paris, December 15, 2020 – Total Lubrifiants is delighted to celebrate a memorable milestone paving the way for the future: the 50th anniversary of TOTAL PRESLIA, its range of turbine oils. TOTAL PRESLIA’s range of products is used to produce more than 500 GW/year of electricity worldwide. More than ever, being able to rely on […]

  • IEA/NEA: Renewables, Nuclear, Hydrogen Gaining Cost Competitiveness

    By 2025, the economics of low-carbon generation technologies are poised to disrupt conventional fossil fuel generation so dramatically, onshore wind could have the lowest levelized costs of electricity (LCOE) on average, and nuclear power could emerge as the dispatchable low-carbon technology with the lowest expected costs.  Those are key findings in the Dec. 9-issued 2020 […]

  • GE will supply GE’s 7HA.03, the World’s Largest, Most Efficient, Flexible 60 Hz gas turbine, to Support Heat and Power for Korea’s Administrative Capital Sejong City

    KOSPO’s New Shinsejong Combined Cycle Power Plant will be the first plant powered by GE 7HA.03 gas turbine in Korea. Plant will deliver power to the Korean grid and supply district heating to Sejong City GE’s 7HA.03—an H-Class evolution—is the world’s largest, most efficient, and flexible gas turbine with the lowest cost conversion of gas […]

  • Four SCHADE Semi-Portal Reclaimers at new Samcheok Power Plant for Coal Handling with Minimum Emissions

    Gelsenkirchen / Germany, December 2020 By 2024, POSCO Energy of South Korea will have constructed a new coal-fired power station with two 1,050 MW generating units, in Samcheok in the north-east of the country. SCHADE Lagertechnik GmbH of Gelsenkirchen, Germany will supply four Semi-Portal Reclaimers to Doosan Engineering & Construction for the project. With this […]

  • Green Power Enables Green Hydrogen and Zero-Emissions Mobility

    Wuppertal, in the German state of Nordrhein Westfahlen, is the home to the Schwebebahn. This suspended railway (Figure 1) is unique in Germany and passengers use the transportation system for 25 million journeys per year. Today, 120 years after Wuppertal’s Schwebebahn opened, the city is still innovating. Green hydrogen produced from power generated by incineration […]

  • Engineering Technicians and Technologists Are an Important Industry Pillar

    According to Cheryl Farrow, CEO of the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT), there are three basic pillars that make up the engineering field. They are licensed engineers, technicians and technologists, and skilled trades. “We can’t be successful without all three of these pillars working together effectively,” Farrow said as a guest […]

  • RWE’s 300-MW ‘Grid Stability’ Gas Plant Will Debut GE LM2500XPRESS Technology

    RWE Generation will install 11 units of GE Gas Power’s freshly launched LM2500XPRESS power plant technology to provide a critical gas-power reserve in Germany’s reliability-challenged southern region.  The project will debut GE’s LM2500XPRESS, a “plug-and-play” power plant model it launched in January 2020 that features pre-packaged LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines. Delivered in a simplified set […]

  • Siemens Energy Will Deliver Transformers to Scotland’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm

    MUNICH, Germany (Dec. 1, 2020) — Siemens Energy has been selected by MHI Vestas Offshore Wind (MHI Vestas) to deliver 114 low-loss 66kV distribution transformers for the Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm in Scotland. With an installed capacity of 1,075 megawatts (MW), the wind farm will be Scotland’s single largest source of renewable energy and is […]

  • Five Emerging Risks That Could Hamper Energy Transitions

    At the virtual 2nd Global Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renewables on Oct. 27, several high-ranking policymakers pointed to a number of localized challenges affecting their countries’

  • India Expects to Double Power Consumption

    Global energy demand has waned in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The lingering impacts of COVID-19 are expected to continue into 2021, but energy industry experts predict the world’s need for

  • South Korea Joins Japan and China with Carbon-Neutral Pledge

    South Korea, Japan, and China, countries that rely heavily on coal power generation to fuel their economies, separately announced ambitious goals to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the

  • POWER Digest [December 2020]

    Norwegian Group Buying Vietnam Wind Farm. Norway’s SN Power AS in November agreed to purchase 100% of the shares in the 39.4-MW Dam Nai Wind Power project in Vietnam from Mekong Wind Pte. Ltd., a group owned

  • Projected Development of Renewables in Cuba

    As part of Cuba’s National Economic and Social Development Plan for 2030, the country aspires to increase the share of renewable energy on its electric grid to 24%. To accomplish this objective, the

  • Cybersecurity in and for Large Energy Transmission Projects

    Even before the Stuxnet malware program made international headlines in 2010, cybersecurity was an important issue for utility companies. In the aftermath of one of the largest attacks on supervisory control

  • Enel selects ABB for third-party gas turbine control system upgrade

    Cutting-edge control automation will allow Europe’s biggest utility to extend the lifecycle of its assets at La Casella combined cycle power plant. Italian energy major Enel, through power engineering company Ansaldo Energia, is modernizing its gas turbine control systems at La Casella combined cycle power plant – located in Castel San Giovanni, Piacenza, Italy – […]