News

Countries are increasingly embedding green hydrogen’s potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors within ambitious strategies. In December, Canada joined a long list of countries, which includes France

Mini-grids—smaller off-grid electricity distribution networks—are being recognized as a cost-effective solution to bring power to rural communities that often have no access to a traditional power grid

The changing profile of the power system has added new stressors on conventional power generation and may have raised the potential for forced outages. Addressing them requires a closer look at traditional and

Wood-burning facilities have seen a spike in refractory problems due to operating units at higher temperatures and at increased capacities than in the past. Refractory professionals offer three recommendations

Flame-resistant (FR) garments are an important safety item for workers in the power industry. However, protection varies based on the arc rating of the clothing. Wearers must understand how the FR clothing

Power generation news briefs from around the world.

The electrification of the transportation sector has received a boost as General Motors (GM) said it “aspires” to exclusively offer electric vehicles (EVs) by 2035, ending production of its cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) with diesel- and gasoline-powered engines. The company has said it wants to be carbon neutral by 2040 across its […]

In a milestone settlement that could resolve Duke Energy’s “last remaining major issues” on coal ash management in North Carolina, the utility has agreed to absorb $1.1 billion in cleanup costs anticipated between 2015 and 2030.  The proposed settlement, which Duke Energy filed with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) on Jan. 25, is a […]

National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry during a wide-ranging press briefing on Jan. 27 detailed the Biden administration’s next steps to embed climate policy into foreign policy and national security initiatives. Climate action, envisioned for a quick rollout, may entail new clean energy targets at home and abroad.  […]

The developer of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project said impacts from the coronavirus pandemic may delay construction of the new reactors by six months, and raise the project’s costs by nearly £500 million ($700 million). EDF Energy in a Jan. 27 update on the plant’s progress said the total cost for the […]

President Biden has signed executive orders designed to move the U.S. to carbon neutrality by midcentury, part of a $2 trillion plan that would overhaul the nation’s electricity and transportation sectors. The president’s plan, outlined Jan. 27, focuses on climate change and includes a White House task force that would direct policies on greenhouse gas […]

The coronavirus pandemic and resulting global economic slowdown curtailed some energy projects in 2020, but corporations worldwide still bought a record 23.7 GW of clean power through long-term purchase agreements. That’s according to research published Jan. 26 by BloombergNEF (BNEF). The group in its “1H 2021 Corporate Energy Market Outlook” said more than 130 companies, […]

A report from a major environmental group said that coal-fired power generation will continue to play a large role in U.S. electricity production for at least another 10 years. The Sierra Club report published Jan. 25, based on a review of integrated resource plans (IRPs) from the 50 U.S. utilities most invested in coal-fired and […]

The POWER Podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, iHeart, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and some other podcast apps. Follow the links below to subscribe via your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube YouTube Music Amazon Music iHeart TuneIn SoundCloud The POWER Podcast Archive (March 19, 2020 – Jan. 21, 2021) Is […]

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) new leadership team is a diverse group of individuals with a wide range of experience across the power sector and academia. The names announced Jan. 21 include Kelly Speakes-Backman, who has served as the first CEO of the Energy Storage Association (ESA) and was a keynote speaker at POWER’s […]

President Joe Biden just hours after his inauguration effected an immediate freeze on several Trump-era deregulatory actions that directly affect the power sector, and revoked a long list of rules and executive actions affecting the bulk power system. The president on Jan. 20 also kickstarted America’s return to the Paris Agreement, sending a brief letter […]

A federal appeals court has vacated the Trump administration’s rollback of Obama-era greenhouse gas emission standards for power plants. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Jan. 19 said the measure intended to replace those standards, the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, “rested critically on a mistaken […]

A British company announced it is joining with U.S.-based NuScale Power to develop a hybrid project using wind energy and small modular reactor (SMR) technology to produce power and green hydrogen. Shearwater Energy, a global energy services company, on Jan. 15 said it and NuScale have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on […]

General Electric (GE) has filed a lawsuit accusing “willful and malicious misappropriation of GE’s trade secrets” by Siemens Energy, charging that a current Siemens employee “knowingly and surreptitiously” received GE intellectual property, which led to Siemens using the information to improve its own bids for lucrative contracts supplying gas turbines to utilities. GE in the […]

A natural gas exploration company working in the Bakken Shale has announced plans to build a $400 million power plant in North Dakota that would run on ethane. Bakken Midstream Natural Gas (BMNG) on Jan. 12 said it hopes to begin construction of the Williston Basin Energy Center in 2022. The company in a news […]

French energy major Total has signed an agreement to develop 12 utility-scale solar and energy storage projects in the U.S., announcing the deal Jan. 14, the same day the company said it has joined with Spain’s Iberdrola in a bid for one of the world’s largest offshore wind projects. The moves continue Total’s diversification from […]

Vistra Energy, the nation’s largest competitive generator, has begun operating a 300-MW/1,200-MWh lithium-ion battery storage system on its 1,020-MW combined cycle gas turbine Moss Landing power plant site in Monterey County, California. The battery storage system is the largest of its type in the world in terms of size and scale, and it towers over […]

Georgia Power is adjusting the work schedule for the expansion of the Vogtle nuclear plant, with the company saying hot functional testing and fuel loading of the new Unit 3 will be delayed due to “a significant increase in COVID-19 cases” at the worksite near Waynesboro, Georgia. The utility, part of Southern Company, on Jan. […]

As it readies for a leadership shuffle, the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) has rolled out an ambitious “blueprint” that urges continued technology innovation for existing nuclear, advanced nuclear, nuclear waste, and fuel cycles by the incoming Biden administration.  At its core, the NE’s “Strategic Vision” released on Jan. 8 posits […]

Turkey’s first nuclear power plant reached a milestone with delivery of the first steam turbine module for the project, four months ahead of schedule. GE Steam Power, which is supplying all the major equipment for the plant’s four turbine islands, on Jan. 12 announced it had delivered the module to Atomenergomash, an engineering company and […]

NuScale Power, Fluor Corp., and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) have executed a series of major agreements to prepare for licensing of the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, effectively driving forward the nation’s first small modular reactor (SMR) plant.  Fluor Corp., the majority investor in NuScale […]

Wrapping up an eventful year for advanced nuclear, the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy announced $20 million in awards for the third of three pathways under its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP).  The ARDP program, which the DOE officially launched on May 14, will leverage Congressionally appropriated funding to enable actual construction of […]

The energy industry in Africa is staging a comeback after the pandemic’s significant economic impact over 2020. In 2021 and beyond, according to the Africa Energy Chamber (AEC), the revival will focus heavily on gas for power. While much progress has been achieved in the region’s vast and diverse power space, Africa’s power sector continues […]

Lawmakers in Massachusetts have passed a bill that eyes net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions statewide by 2050, setting interim GHG reduction targets to achieve reductions of least 85% below 1990 levels within the next 30 years. On Jan. 4, both chambers of legislature passed S.2995, “An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy,” […]

Affiliates of one of South Korea’s largest business conglomerates announced they no longer will provide financial support for coal projects, putting in jeopardy plans to finish a 2,100-MW coal-fired power plant project that has been expected to come online in 2024. The six financial affiliates of the Hanwha Group, during a video conference on Jan. […]