International

Legal battles to stall the 11-GW Belo Monte hydroelectric dam—being built on the Xingu River in Amazon forest for one of the world’s largest power plants—are raging on in Brazil (Figure 1). In January

Tremors in China’s economy rattled its power sector last year. For the first time since the Cultural Revolution in 1968, the country’s power generation dropped from the previous year—modestly, by 0.2%

Gas power technologies set new benchmarks over the past few months as gas turbine “gorillas” Siemens, General Electric (GE), and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas (MHPSA) all reported new

The world’s first 1,400-MW Advanced Pressurized Reactor (APR1400), a South Korean Generation III design, has now been connected to the grid. Nearly eight years since construction kicked off in October

Germany’s Energiewende (energy transition) was adopted as policy beginning in September 2010, some six months before the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, and full legislative support was

Exelon Completes Peach Bottom Reactor Uprate. An extended power uprate (EPU), begun in 2009 to increase the output from the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station by 270 MW, was completed in January, said the

A proposal put forth by China—and one that it says has received “positive responses” and substantial backing from international groups, including the United Nations—foresees a global smart ultra-high-voltage (UHV) grid that transmits only “clean energy.” The Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) outlined by State Grid Corp. Chairman Zhenya Liu on February 25 at the IHS CERAWeek […]

The OPEC secretary general and Saudi Arabia’s minister of petroleum shared their views on low oil prices, shale, and climate change at IHS CERAWeek.

We live in a world of “slow growth and volatility,” said Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, but there’s an opportunity to “make a lot of money” if you have courage in such times.

Mexico’s ongoing energy reform is a “paradigm shift” in the way the country obtains, transforms, and exploits its energy resources, President Enrique Peña Nieto told attendees at IHS CERAWeek on February 22. The reform allows the state to maintain ownership of hydrocarbons underground, but it also encourages private participation in the entire hydrocarbon value chain […]

Despite the positive attributes of nuclear power—zero carbon emissions, reliable generation, low fuel costs, and a small footprint—the outlook for new nuclear in the United States is “bearish,” said Anthony Ianno, a Morgan Stanley managing director who follows the electricity business as an investment banker and dealmaker.

Duke Energy is considering the sale of all or most of its international power plants, about 4,400 MW dispersed throughout Central and South America. The company’s international business segment, Duke Energy International (DEI), was forced to make the disclosure in light of a required statement from its Brazilian subsidiary, Duke Energy International, Geração Paranapanema S.A. […]

Canadian utility Fortis wants to acquire ITC Holdings Corp., the largest independent electric transmission company in the U.S., to benefit from “low-risk” regulated power markets. The deal valued at about $11.3 billion will allow Fortis to enter the U.S. regulated power market overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), providing a “unique, highly diversified, […]

INDUSTRIAL WATERMPW’s emergency response pays off for Virginia Challenge:
When a Virginia power station had an issue with its existing Reverse Osmosis [RO] process, it called on MPW to supplement its water needs during an excessively cold winter.
The plant lost RO functionality at one of its four power-production units, which would severely damage its ability to

Europe’s largest generator of renewable power will no longer invest in new offshore wind projects and may postpone some international hydro plants. Norwegian state-owned power company Statkraft will stop

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

RWE Abandons Hard Coal Construction Project. RWE scrapped plans to complete the 800-MW Block D of the Hamm hard coal plant in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on December 18, citing damage and delays

A unique wind funnel–based power generating system that is quickly garnering interest from investors could see first construction kickoff in the first quarter of 2016. The INVELOX (short for “increased

In a leap for fast neutron power technology, Russia’s Rosatom has connected Unit 4 of its Beloyarsk nuclear plant in the Urals region to the grid. The 880-MW BN-800 unit–the latest generation of fast reactors

Plans to build a pumped-storage hydroelectric plant in the world’s driest region won the approval of environmental regulators in Chile this December. The unique 300-MW project proposed by Valhalla Energia

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 […]