International

Nuclear ambitions fostered by some countries were tested by a variety of events at the end of 2015. Work Continues on Turkey’s Russian-Built Akkuyu Plant. Reports that Russia has halted construction of

Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its “new source performance standard” on August 3, 2015, requiring new coal power plants in the U.S. to emit no more than 636 kg (1,400 lb) of

Advances in firing biomass, including bagasse, in Cuban sugarcane operations.

When it comes to a transition away from coal, TransAlta Corp. is playing political defense. The Canadian province of Alberta contains among the richest fossil energy resources in the world, including oil (and

In its recently released Energy Technology Perspectives 2015, the International Energy Agency (IEA) noted that innovation in the energy sector differs from progress in other sectors in that it tends to move

Fusion provides the energy of the sun and all stars, but harnessing fusion for civilian electric power has proven exceptionally difficult. For over 50 years the U.S. government has pursued

Malware has apparently been used for the first time to prompt a large-scale power blackout. An attack was tied to a Dec. 23 blackout affecting about 1.4 million Ukrainians living in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, reported Ukrainian news media outlet TSN. However, Slovakian information security firm ESET later confirmed that the reported case “was not an […]

The autonomous region of Xinjiang has an important strategic position in China’s economy—which consumes more energy than any other nation—yet several conditions limit the most effective use of its fuels. This article provides an overview of the situation. Since ancient times, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) has been in a particularly important position in […]

The autonomous region of Xinjiang has a strategic position in China’s economy, yet several conditions limit the most effective use of its fuels. This article provides an overview of the situation. A more detailed version, with maps and tables, appears here under the same title. Since ancient times, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) has held […]

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a country flush with fossil fuels, so why does its government want nuclear power to form the backbone of its electricity supply? POWER interviewed Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. CEO Mohamed Al Hammadi to find the answer and to learn more about the world’s largest in-progress nuclear construction project. Located […]

In mid-November, current members of POWER’ s Generating Company Advisory Team responded by email to a set of questions about their concerns, challenges, and new initiatives as they plan for the year ahead

From issuance of the final Clean Power Plan to mammoth mergers, 2015 will be remembered as a tumultuous year. Twelve months ago, as folks were emerging from an eventful 2014, POWER made some bold predictions, including that fuel economics will drive 2015 U.S. power markets, and the labor crunch will complicate the gas turbine arms […]

POWER‘s monthly infographic sheds light on power sector trends globally, and in 2015, it highlighted changes in plant retirements, sector revenues, rule costs, workforce, emissions technologies, and electricity costs, among other subjects. January 2015: Baseload Retirements How coal plant retirements compare with retirements of other baseload generation sources. February 2015: Power Revenues How revenues for fossil power […]

Ghana’s Ministry of Power released a statement on Dec. 30 proclaiming the end of the country’s load-shedding program. The news may not be welcomed by all of the nation’s residents however, as many Ghanaians were reportedly looking forward to the power minister’s self-promised resignation, if load shedding had not been terminated by year end. Citi […]

The Wylfa Nuclear Power Station—the last operating Magnox reactor in the world—came offline permanently on Dec. 30. Located in Anglesey, an island off the northwest coast of Wales in the UK, the plant entered service in 1971. Originally constructed with two 490-MW units, only Reactor 1 has been operating since 2012. The UK pioneered the […]

Portland General Electric (PGE) assumed engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) responsibility for the Carty Generating Station on Dec. 18, following the original EPC contractor’s default on its construction agreement. Construction began on the Carty plant on Jan. 9, 2014. It is being built in Oregon next to PGE’s existing Boardman Plant, which is scheduled for […]

A status update and forecast for solar photovoltaic power in Greece, Croatia, and Italy.

Russia and India will finalize a deal for Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam nuclear plant during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow this week, according to reports in the Indian media. Russia has been on a major drive to sell its nuclear technology abroad, while India has been on a similar campaign […]

Delegates of 195 nations, including the U.S., on Dec. 12 reached a landmark deal at the Paris COP21 conference that commits the world to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in an effort to combat the effects of climate change. Though scientists have said global temperature increases need to kept below 2 degrees C to avoid […]

This story is being written as world leaders gather in Paris for the COP-21 climate summit. Much of the reason they are meeting is because of the widespread burning of coal and the resulting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that are altering the planet’s biosphere. Though the burning of coal is not the only reason the […]

Germany’s largest power generator RWE, following in the footsteps of its competitor E.ON, plans to split its company to bank on renewable energy and grid operations, which it says is the future for utility companies. If approved by RWE’s supervisory board, the Essen-headquartered company that produces more than 40% of its power from hard coal […]

Editors note: Corrected (Dec. 7). A previous version of this infographic listed Russia’s nuclear total as 1.9 GW. It is 2.9 GW.

The world has a problem. According to the World Bank, 1.1 billion people lack access to any form of modern energy service, and more than double that number lack access to adequate, reliable, affordable, and

You can’t spell C-S-P without S-P-A-I-N. Though there are now many nations with concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in operation, and nations with larger ones than Spain possesses, it’s difficult to

In water-stressed regions outside the U.S., power producers and other industrial water users are incorporating higher levels of water reuse, some to the point of zero liquid discharge (ZLD), due to heightened

Ethiopia’s generation capacity got an immense boost as operations began at the 1.87-GW Gibe III hydroelectric power plant in the middle reach of the Omo River basin this October. The plant—Ethiopia’s

Germany’s nuclear power–producing companies will be able to shoulder the costs of the nuclear phase-out—including costs for decommissioning and the disposal of radioactive waste. That’s according to

Siemens, the only provider of direct-current (DC) offshore wind connection projects, in October unveiled a potentially game-changing technology that it says enables cheaper and simpler grid connection of wind

GE Completes Alstom Acquisition. GE announced on Nov. 2 that a $10.6 billion deal to acquire Alstom ’s power and grid business is complete. Alstom will now entirely refocus its activities on rail transport