International

Nathan Myhrvold, the long-time polymath idea man for Bill Gates, his former boss at Microsoft, on March 12 told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) annual regulatory information conference, “Energy is the fulcrum that gives leverage to human ingenuity.” Nuclear, he said, must be a large part of providing that leverage to the world. Myhrvold, speaking […]

PORTLAND, OREGON (March 7, 2019) — ESS Inc., the leading manufacturer of safe, low-cost and long-duration energy storage systems, announced that it is now including 10-year insurance coverage on its long-duration energy storage products through Munich Re, one of the world’s leading insurance companies. The innovative policy provides warranty backstop for ESS Inc.’s proprietary flow battery technology, supporting the system […]

Eight Years of Operating Experience with 99.3% Fleet Reliability Lake Mary, Florida – (March 11, 2019) Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS), the 2018 global market share leader in orders for Heavy Duty Gas Turbines (100 MW and greater), today announced that their global fleet of J-Series gas turbines had amassed over 750,000 hours of commercial […]

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the Japanese utility that took on the behemoth task of controlling and decommissioning the six-unit Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture after the March 11, 2011, accident, recently released a video showing progress at the site.  Source: https://www4.tepco.co.jp/en/news/library/archive-e.html?video_uuid=t820ghcq&catid=61795 The disaster began as a 15-meter (49-foot) tsunami inundated and disabled the […]

Exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. continue to rise, as the use of natural gas for power generation increases in countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico. Data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) shows that four U.S. LNG export facilities combined to ship 483 LNG cargoes in 2018, a […]

GE Blends Hardware and Software Technologies to Improve Performance at Sorgenia Power S.p.A.’s Combined-Cycle Power Plant in Termoli, Italy Project Provides Greater Operational Visibility, Flexibility and Plant Reliability to Enhance Sorgenia’s Existing Energy Infrastructure Project Aligned to Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Development Principles Underpinning Sorgenia’s Growth Both as a Producer and a Supplier of Electricity […]

The technology group Wärtsilä has been contracted to deliver a power plant to the Commonwealth of Bahamas. The 132-MW engine power plant has been ordered by the local utility, Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), on a full engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) basis. The plant will be delivered as a fast-track project as it is […]

HOUSTON, March 11, 2019 — McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) and Baker Hughes, a GE company (NYSE: BHGE) have announced today that they have been awarded subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) and subsea production system (SPS) equipment contracts by BP for the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim natural gas project, located offshore Mauritania and Senegal. BP, […]

A Wyoming bill designed to keep coal-fired power plants operating in the state was signed into law by the state’s governor last week, one of several developments worldwide that impacted the power generation landscape in early March. Also in the U.S., the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) defended its hiring of a contractor that led the […]

Royce Peters, senior technical coordinator for the Carpenters International Training Center (ITC) in Las Vegas, Nevada, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. The ITC is the largest and most-comprehensive training facility of its kind in the world. Following the completion of phase six of construction in 2018, the center now has more than 1.2 […]

Brüel & Kjær Vibro (B&K Vibro) announced that it had received an order for the supply of VC-8000 SETPOINT® systems and services for monitoring a 250 MW gas/coal fired steam turbine, generator and main boiler feed pump at the Huntly power station, the largest in New Zealand. Huntly is owned by Genesis Energy, the third […]

DNV GL launches Joint Industry Project to analyse damage caused to wind turbine blades from the high-speed impacts of foreign objects Group of industry experts will jointly develop Recommended Practice for designing a protection system against rain erosion, to be published in 2020 Project partners include Vestas, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, LM Wind Power, Ørsted, […]

Moscow, Russia. RusHydro announces commissioning of the third hydropower unit at Ust-Srednekanskaya hydropower plant, the country’s largest hydropower plant currently under construction located on the Kolyma River in the Magadan region of the Far Eastern Federal District. The plant’s installed capacity increased almost two fold – from 168 MW to 310.5 MW. Nikolay Shulginov, Chairman […]

Several developments worldwide impacted the power generation landscape in the past week, including more news about the closure of a coal-fired power plant in Alabama, the restart of a geothermal facility in Hawaii, and construction of a biomass-fueled power plant in Japan. In addition, a company said it plans a $150 million investment in three […]

Johannesburg, South Africa (March 2, 2019) – Zimbabwe recently resumed the construction of the $1.5 billion Hwange Expansion Project for Units 7 and 8 as it aims to progressively implement the Vision 2030 which will transform Zimbabwe into an upper middle class economy. The $1.488 billion project is being funded by China Exim Bank, Sinohydro […]

After the Great Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami, and ensuing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March 2011, Japan issued stringent safety regulations and reviews that affected its entire 50-reactor fleet. It meant that as each Japanese nuclear reactor entered its scheduled maintenance and refueling outage, it could not returned to operation until restart […]

The Distribution System Is Newest Energy Transition Frontier in Europe. The European power sector is urging member states and regulators within the European Union (EU) to speed up development of

The January agreement between GE and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. for a 1.8-GW combined cycle power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is part of the country’s commitment to increasing its power generation

Rosenergoatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear plant owner and operator, said it set another nuclear power production record in 2018. The company generated 204 TWh from its 35 reactors—1.4 TWh more than in

Eight years after Germany decided it would halt nuclear power production by 2022, the country that relied on lignite and hard coal for 38% of its generated power in 2018 will phase out coal by 2038 or earlier

The SES Saran solar power plant entered commercial operation in late January in Saran, in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, an area long known for its coal production. Government officials said the plant is

One of the oldest energy efficiency ideas—combined heat and power—is prospering in the U.S. and looks promising elsewhere as the world searches for low-cost energy by increasing efficiency while lowering

After Hurricane Maria left the island of Puerto Rico in ruins, the ProCaribe liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) hub continued to operate, ensuring vital energy resources were available even in the wake of this

Fast neutron reactor systems have the potential to extract 60 times more energy from uranium compared to existing thermal reactors, and they contribute to a significant reduction in the burden of radioactive

As the world grapples with climate change concerns, carbon capture and storage could be the holy grail for continued fossil fuel use. Projects have come online that prove its feasibility, but costs can be

Battery storage technology has moved in fits and starts, but today experts note that rapid advances make it difficult for safety standards to keep pace. Developers of storage systems are designing projects to

Gas turbines come in a variety of sizes. While large combustion turbines seem to get the bulk of the publicity, with the likes of Siemens, GE, and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems making the most noise

The source of energy for driving wind turbines is the wind, and in this context, it is important to remember the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on February 28 said nuclear power and the use of clean coal technology are the way to combat climate change and reduce emissions from the energy sector. Perry, speaking at a joint press conference in Washington, D.C., with Fatih Birol, director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said, “We believe […]

Multinational power and gas giant ENGIE, which embarked on an aggressive transition toward zero-carbon three years ago, saw tempered revenue growth over 2018, owing in part to its disposal of thermal generation businesses in the UK and Poland, and the 1-GW Loy Yang B coal-fired power plant in Australia. ENGIE CEO Isabelle Kocher, who outlined […]