International
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Coal
Researchers: Power Plant Carbon-Capturing Calcium Carbonate Looping Technology Almost Market-Ready
A novel demonstration underway at Technische Universität Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt), a research university in Darmstadt, Germany, has shown a calcium carbonate looping (CCL) technology retrofitted at existing
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Legal & Regulatory
A Mixed Bag of Nuclear Developments in UAE, S. Korea, Switzerland and S. Africa
The world’s nuclear sector saw a flurry of activity during April and May, though most of it wasn’t good news. First Unit at Barakah Built, but Regulatory Delays Prevail. Initial construction activities
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Infographics
New Capture Technology Holds Key to Reaching Carbon Emissions Targets
Some naysayers have argued that developing carbon capture technology for use on fossil-fueled power plants is pure folly. But research and pilot tests have continued nonetheless, and various solutions have
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Infographics
How China Is on the Leading Edge of Environmental Technologies
Coal proponents and climate skeptics often cite China’s current and future reliance on coal power to bolster talking points. What is little discussed is the recent, massive transformation of China’s vast
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Legal & Regulatory
EPA Head Leaves Climate Summit Early
The administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reportedly left a Group of Seven summit on climate in Bologna, Italy, after the opening session of the two-day event, just days after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would pull out of the Paris climate agreement. Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general before being tapped […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Offshore Wind Contract Conundrum Heads to Supreme Court
The English Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal on the long-running dispute in connection with the Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm. The decision promises to be significant for the offshore wind industry, its
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Gas
Validation Wraps Up for GE, Ansaldo Gas Turbines
In May, GE’s Power Services and Ansaldo Energia separately completed initial validation of two gas turbines designed for high efficiency and flexibility: the 9EMax and the GT36. GE also announced first fire
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Legal & Regulatory
A Double Whammy for Coal Power in Europe
Coal generation in Europe was walloped—twice—in April. Early in the month, members of EURELECTRIC, a pan-European power sector association of more than 3,500 companies, announced that it would cease
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Coal
POWER Digest (June 2017)
India Joins IEA as an Association Country. India joined the International Energy Agency (IEA) as an association country on March 30, marking a significant move for the country into global energy affairs. The
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Renewables
Geothermal Drilling in Iceland Reaches Supercritical Target
A unique collaborative effort by a consortium of Icelandic power companies and the Icelandic government to determine whether using supercritical geothermal fluids would improve the economics of power
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Renewables
IRENA: Solar and Bioenergy See Record Growth in 2016
Global renewable energy generation capacity surged 161 GW in 2016, marking its strongest year ever for new capacity additions, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said in a new report released at
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Coal
Norwegian CCS Boss: CCS is not BS
Sitting on a panel during the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit in New York City on April 24, Michael Bloomberg proclaimed that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is “total bullshit.” That statement was not received well by Trude Sundset, CEO of Gassnova, Norway’s state enterprise for the development of CCS. “There’s a whole new world […]
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Gas
POWER Digest
UK Gives First Consent for Hinkley Point C EPRs. The UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) on March 27 gave its approval to allow a consortium to begin placing structural concrete for a series of
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Geothermal
One of World’s Largest Geothermal Units Begins Operations in Indonesia
The first of three 110-MW units at the $1 billion Sarulla geothermal power plant in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province commenced commercial operation this March. When the next two units come online as
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Renewables
After Blackout, South Australia Wrests Control of Its Power Security
Freshly reeling from a statewide blackout, South Australia’s government in March released an energy plan that seeks to cut its reliance on an electricity interconnector with eastern Australia that feeds the
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O&M
Newly Designed Deluge Valve Improves Functionality
Stanwell Power Station, a 1,460-MW coal-fired power plant located in Queensland, Australia, faced a dilemma. The reliability of its fire protection system was questionable. Many of the plant’s multiple jet
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Connected Plant
Malware in Modern ICS: Understanding Impact While Avoiding Hype
Understanding the threat posed to industrial control systems (ICSs) by malware is difficult. It requires knowledge of proper ICS functionality in order to identify illegitimate software. One industrial
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O&M
3-D Printing: The Future of Manufacturing and Maintenance
Power plants are complex systems with countless moving parts, and in turn, countless opportunities for things to go wrong. With the advent of 3-D printing technology, repairing or replacing those moving parts
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Renewables
Europe Rebuilds Grid to Accommodate Green Energy Swell
A flood of renewable capacity in the European Union is forcing member countries to consider grid upgrades that offer a more substantial power supply management role to distribution system operators. Lee
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Hydro
Trends Suggest New Directions for Global Hydropower
While hydropower installations worldwide fell slightly in 2016 to 31.5 GW compared to 33 GW in 2015, the sector marked a colossal jump in pumped storage installations last year, the International Hydropower
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Nuclear
Indonesia Considers Thorium Molten Salt Reactors
Power-short Indonesia has been mulling building a nuclear power plant for nearly 15 years, and it is exploring a number of novel options, including high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) and a thorium
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Environmental
Paris Agreement Debate Heats Up
President Donald Trump is getting a lot of advice about the Paris Agreement on climate change lately, though it remains uncertain what he’ll do with it. A group of more than a dozen companies, including some power industry big hitters, sent a letter April 26 to the president calling for continued involvement in the agreement. […]
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O&M
GE Power Inks Its Largest Services Deal Ever
GE Power signed a landmark deal to provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services for 10 power plants with a combined capacity of 11 GW. Sonelgaz SPE, a state-owned utility in charge of electricity and natural gas distribution in Algeria, owns the facilities. The agreement includes technology upgrades designed to enhance energy efficiency—allowing more than 420 […]
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Renewables
Commodity Price Volatility Is Prime Concern Among Global Energy Leaders
An April 6–issued report released by the World Energy Council suggests that the single biggest worry among global energy leaders is commodity price volatility. Prices appear to be a big concern because of the “Grand Energy Transition” toward de-carbonization. Leaders in resource-holding countries, such as Saudi Arabia, are anxious about long-term economic models, if prices […]
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Renewables
Report: Global Renewable Investment Down, Capacity Grows
Global new renewable power capacity grew in 2016 even as global new investment in renewables dropped, according to a report commissioned by the United Nations Environment Program out April 6. The Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2017 report found that global investment in renewables—excluding large hydro—fell in 2016 by 23% to $241.6 billion. That […]
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O&M
Who Has the World’s Most Efficient Coal Power Plant Fleet?
A comparison of coal power plant fleets from China, the European Union (EU), Japan, and the U.S. by the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) Clean Coal Centre yields surprising insights into efforts these
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Renewables
POWER Digest (April 2017)
Russia Marks Milestone with Commercial Operation of Third-Generation Reactor. After nearly a decade of construction, the first advanced third-generation VVER-1200 nuclear reactor began commercial operation on
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Coal
China’s Nuclear Expansion Mired in Overcapacity
China has brought 24 of its 36 operating nuclear reactors online at a breakneck pace since 2010, but there are signs it may roll out future plants that are still under construction more slowly, owing in part