News

In 2019, global liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports reached 482 billion cubic meters, up 13% from 2018, according to BloombergNEF figures cited in the International Gas Union’s August–released Global Gas Report 2020. Last year, the world also saw a definitive shakeup in rankings of importers and exporters. Compared to 2018, LNG imports by Japan and […]

DTE’s new Central Energy Plant will energize a flexible and high-tech revamp of Ford Motor Co.’s Research and Engineering campus in Dearborn, Michigan. Because it goes beyond the envelope of modern

The growing adoption of distributed energy resources presents another challenge for utilities and grid operators as they design and plan for how electricity is produced and delivered. The past few years have

Though a lesser discussed power-to-x solution, power-to-heat technologies are already mature, commercially available, and market competitive. And they are already making an impact on the power sector. Much

It’s been nearly 35 years since the Philippines mothballed the country’s only nuclear power plant, declaring the 621-MW Bataan facility would not be commissioned despite the country spending $2.3 billion

Swedish energy company Vattenfall, mining company LKAB, and steel manufacturer SSAB in September started the world’s first pilot plant to produce “fossil-free” steel in Lulea, Sweden (Figure 3). As part

Countries in Latin America did not feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic until several weeks after Europe and the U.S., but the impacts of the coronavirus when it arrived were swift on the region’s

Enel Ready to Close Italian Coal Plants. Enel, Italy’s largest power generator, said it wants to close three coal-fired units in the coming months as part of the company’s complete exit from coal. Enel

Managing demand on the power grid, at best a never-ending balancing act between generation and load, has become an increasingly complex and challenging responsibility. Along with the urgent need to reduce

Commercial and industrial businesses can get a boost from their electrical infrastructure by making their systems more dynamic, enabling new capabilities and control. What do you need your electrical

President Trump’s action to ban oil and gas drilling off the East Coast and through much of the Gulf of Mexico also eliminates leases for offshore wind farms, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Trump earlier this month issued two memos withdrawing the potential to lease land for oil and gas extraction on […]

Developing a power plant safety culture takes time and constant effort, but the payoff is priceless, safety leaders at three major power companies said during a morning session at the Experience POWER virtual event on Sept. 30.  Jeffrey Mullins, safety and health consultant for the 2.6-GW coal-fired Gavin Power Plant owned by Lightstone Generation, kicked […]

Vistra has announced seven new renewable energy projects that will add about 1,000 MW of solar and energy storage to the company’s generation fleet. The company also said it would retire its coal-fired power plants in Illinois and Ohio as part of an effort to reduce carbon emissions as it established new long-term emissions reduction […]

The digitalization of power generation includes many new technologies, all designed to increase efficiency, along with reliability and resiliency. A group of energy industry experts came together Sept. 30 at Experience POWER, the virtual event supported by POWER magazine, to discuss “Microgrids and DERs—Leveraging the Benefits.” The session explored how data analytics and the Industrial […]

The U.S. power industry lacks forward-looking ways to measure grid resiliency and traditional reliability metrics could become irrelevant as more intermittent generation inundates the bulk power system. But rather than continually looking backward to learn from ever-increasing emergencies or close-shaves, power system operators must work to cultivate a balanced portfolio that considers all aspects of […]

Distributed energy resources (DERs) have become a major part of today’s power generation landscape. DERs are physical and virtual assets that are deployed across the grid. They are typically close to load, and can be deployed both in front of and behind the meter. Bill Strohecker, Country Managing Director, Canada, for Hitachi ABB Power Grids, […]

Technological innovation has forever been part of the power generation sector, as electricity producers strive for more efficient and more economic ways to deliver power. The POWER magazine editorial staff, in a “State of the Industry” presentation on Sept. 28 to open the virtual 2020 Experience POWER conference, identified four trends in power generation that […]

Marking another major federal effort to address potential supply chain risks to the bulk power system (BPS), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Sept. 17 sought industry’s perspective on a number of important considerations, including possible actions the regulatory body could take to address security gaps. The U.S.-based power sector, meanwhile, has moved quickly […]

A California company is gathering funding for development of a portable nuclear microreactor, designed for use in areas where other forms of power generation are not practical. Radiant, founded by former SpaceX engineers, on Sept. 22 said it has raised $1.2 million from angel investors as it designs what the company calls a “clean energy […]

The use of coal for North American power generation will continue to decline, natural gas will continue as the leading source of power, and the use of renewable resources to provide electricity will continue to grow, according to a report from Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The outlook, titled “North America Power Reference Case: Spring 2020” […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order that advocates for distributed energy resources (DERs) say will enable DERs, including renewable energy such as solar, wind, and battery storage, to compete on a more-level playing field in the organized capacity, energy, and ancillary services markets run by regional grid operators. FERC Order No. 2222, […]

Hitachi will formally end business operations on the Horizon Nuclear Power Plant in the UK, citing an “investment environment” that has become “increasingly severe due to the impact of COVID-19.”  The Tokyo, Japan–headquartered conglomerate’s move comes 20 months after it first suspended plans to build the plant in Wylfa Newydd in Wales as part of […]

A California energy company is collaborating with its parent and the University of Texas on a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) project to show that renewable hydrogen can be a cost-effective fuel with several applications, including for both the transportation and power generation sectors. Frontier Energy, headquartered in San Ramon, California, and a subsidiary of […]

The move by major oil and gas exploration companies into renewable energy has taken another significant step, as BP announced a $1.1 billion deal to buy the U.S. offshore wind power assets of Norway’s Equinor. BP in announcing the deal on Sept. 10 said it is taking a 50% stake in Equinor’s Empire Wind project […]

New Jersey on Sept. 9 opened a second state offshore wind solicitation that could triple its committed capacity from 1.1 GW to 3.5 GW. The state this week also laid out a final strategy for how it will achieve its November 2019–expanded offshore wind target of 7.5 GW by 2035.  New Jersey’s five-member Board of […]

A German plan to provide coal-fired power plant operators with money to offset financial losses, part of the country’s plan to incentivize the closure of coal plants as part of Germany’s plan to exit the fuel, has led energy giant Vattenfall to say it could close its 1.6-GW Moorburg coal plant in Hamburg by the […]

South Korea’s president said the country will shutter 30 more coal-fired power plants by 2034, and bring additional solar and wind power resources online in the next five years in order to meet emissions reductions targets. President Moon Jae-in made the announcement Sept. 8 in a speech he delivered virtually for the United Nations’ International […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Sept. 6 took the rare but drastic action of issuing an emergency order under the Federal Power Act (FPA) to authorize the maximum operation of three natural gas–fired facilities on the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO’s) grid whose full capability had been stranded by federal air quality and […]

General Electric International Inc. (GE) and consortium partner Taiwanese engineering services firm CTCI have bagged a multi-billion-dollar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for five combined cycle gas-fired power units in Taiwan.  The consortium will build three new units at the 3.9-GW Hsinta Power Plant and two new units at the 2.6-GW Taichung Power Plant. […]

The target in-service dates for two new reactors at the Vogtle nuclear power plant site in Georgia remain November 2021 and November 2022, respectively, Georgia Power said in a filing this week with the state’s Public Utility Commission. The utility on Aug. 31, in its “Twenty-third Semi-annual Vogtle Construction Monitoring Report,” said work on the […]