News

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a proposal from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) to add a new affiliate sector to its Advisory Committee that will provide formal representation for the coal sector, thus enabling coal interests to provide their perspective on important policy issues as part of MISO’s […]

Hecate Grid Awards 20 Megawatt Storage Contract for Southern California Project LAKE MARY, Fla., July 29, 2020 — Hecate Grid, an energy storage company formed by Hecate Energy and InfraRed Capital Partners Limited (acting in its capacity as manager of InfraRed Infrastructure Fund V), has awarded Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MHPS) the Johanna […]

A new battery energy storage system (BESS) at an electric substation in California is expected to be one of the world’s largest utility-owned, lithium-ion storage systems when it begins operating next year. The 182.5-MW BESS is being built by Tesla and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) at the utility’s substation in Moss Landing in Monterey […]

Officials with the ITER project in France said work has started on the assembly of giant components needed for construction of an experimental nuclear fusion reactor, a project designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful use. The ITER group, in a ceremony July 28 that was broadcast online (see […]

A global environmental group that works to protect land, water, and wildlife said states in what it considers the U.S. “wind belt” can develop wind power generation to meet renewable energy goals without presenting a significant risk to surrounding areas. An analysis from The Nature Conservancy, focused on the central U.S. where there is vast […]

Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear energy company, said it is ready to receive a shipment of the first full reload batch of fresh uranium-plutonium mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for the BN-800 fast reactor at the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station, the nation’s oldest operating  nuclear energy facility. The company on July 23 announced the Mining and Chemical […]

New Multi-Year Agreement (MYA) includes generator maintenance services over the next three years at the Khmelnitskiy and Rivne nuclear power plants Supports Ukraine’s energy strategy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction objectives by helping to deliver 5.5 gigawatts of reliable, CO2-free power for six million residents Builds on GE’s proven services capabilities across more than 130 […]

MONTREAL: July 23, 2020 – SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC) has been awarded a contract for detailed design, fabrication/manufacturing and first commercial deployment of the newly developed PRECISE (Pressure Tube Circumferential Sampling Equipment) tool at OPG’s Darlington Nuclear Generating Station starting early 2021. This contract win is aligned with the Company’s new strategy moving forward towards engineering services […]

Ansaldo Energia has been awarded EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) and LTSA (Long Term Service Agreement) contracts for the design, supply, installation and servicing of an open-cycle power plant with installed power of 300 MW in Marbach, Baden-Württemberg (Germany). The “Marbach 4” plant will be equipped with an AE94.3A gas turbine, the related generator and […]

The two VECO-Drives have been running successfully for more than 6,000 operating hours, after being installed in February. The customer, Guangzhou China Resources Thermal Power Co., Ltd. is particularly impressed by the increased efficiency. Efficiency can be improved significantly compared to the replaced variable speed solution and reaches approximately 97 percent. YORK, Pa./GUANGZHOU/SHANGHAI. (July 23, 2020) […]

The DIII-D National Fusion Facility, operated by General Atomics for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is the largest magnetic fusion research facility in the U.S. The mission of the DIII-D research program is to establish the scientific basis for the optimization of the tokamak approach to fusion energy production. The DIII-D program is a […]

Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have been dabbled with throughout the power industry for years. POWER featured a drone on its cover in April 2014, and has published many articles on drone technology since then. Yet, the technology has been used more as a novelty in the power sector up to this point. As […]

Duke Energy Progress, the Duke Energy subsidiary that serves about 1.6 million customers in the Carolinas, announced the completion of its new Asheville Combined Cycle Station in Arden, North Carolina. The company said the $817 million combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) facility (Figure 1) includes two power blocks with a total of four generators and […]

German energy supplier E.ON is collaborating with UK energy firms Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and Costain Group to roll out an innovative business model that monetizes resilience and grid stability services to remote areas.  E.ON Innovation, one of Europe’s largest distribution system operators (DSOs) and the transmission and distribution arms at SSEN and […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) wants the electric power industry to help the DOE draft rules that will prohibit the U.S. bulk-power electric system from using equipment sourced from, or otherwise susceptible to, harmful influence by “foreign adversaries.” Asset owners, utility operators, equipment vendors, and other interested parties can voluntarily provide information to the DOE […]

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is working feverishly to get a provision into the next COVID-19 stimulus package that would allow electric cooperatives to reprice loans from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) at current low interest rates without penalties. The change could save co-ops more than $10 billion. The RUS, which is a […]

A microgrid project pairing natural gas with solar power is taking shape at Pittsburgh International Airport, with the installation expected to be the primary source of electricity for the property by the summer of 2021. Construction of the microgrid (Figure 1) began a few weeks ago with site preparation work, which included rerouting an electrical […]

Is gas generation quickly going down the same path as coal? Will gas power generation built today be abandoned in 30 years? How can you be serious about climate change and still build gas power generation? As governments, utilities, and private enterprises continue to set aggressive net-zero emissions goals, these are the hard questions being […]

July 20, 2020, Somerville, MA – LineVision, a provider of solutions to monitor, optimize, and protect the world’s critical energy delivery infrastructure, today announced the launch of a new partnership with OSIsoft, a leader in operational intelligence for critical operations. The relationship includes tight integration between LineVision’s V3 overhead line monitoring solution and OSIsoft’s PI […]

July 20, 2020 – Framatome delivered its first nuclear fuel reload to the largest power producer in the U.S. The 100 fuel assemblies were manufactured at Framatome’s fuel fabrication facility in Richland, Washington, and inserted into the reactor at the nuclear energy facility as part of the spring refueling outage completed in May. Framatome delivered […]

BayWa r.e. has begun construction on the Witnica solar park, which will be by far the largest solar power plant in Poland. The 64.6 MWp project, which is due for completion by the end of 2020, is being built without the need for any government subsidies, and the electricity generated will be sold locally to […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finalized a long-awaited rule revising regulations that govern qualifying small power producers and cogenerators under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). While FERC said the rule was necessary to respond to significant market changes, the action drew mixed reactions from industry.  FERC’s final rule issued on […]

With the advantages of clean, renewable energy, wind power has become one of the fastest-growing energy sources and one of the most economical solutions for electricity generation. There are already 350,000 wind turbines installed globally, with more than 650,000 MW of  installed generation capacity. In light of climate change, demand continues to grow. However, to […]

Summertime heat is cresting at the same time many economic restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic are easing in communities across the United States.  Meanwhile, as extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, much of the country is on alert as forecasters predict severe hurricane, tornado, and wildfire seasons will continue.   Utilities know they need […]

Pilsen (07/09/2020) – A pair of two cylinder DST-S10 condensation turbines with no reheating and with axial output have been operating since March 2020 at the Fadhili steam-gas power plant near the Jubail industrial city in Saudi Arabia on the Persian Gulf. The Fadhili steam-gas combined cycle plant, with a total capacity of 1,509 MW, […]

California is widely regarded for environmental leadership, especially around clean energy policy. The state has set an ambitious goal of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045. Decarbonizing its electric power sector requires new approaches and ways of thinking to meet carbon reduction goals, all while minimizing land use, emissions, and cost. One promising approach is […]

The five owners of a 410-MW coal-fired unit at the Craig Generating Station in Colorado have said they will retire the generator on Sept. 30, 2028, about one year before what will then be the last operating unit at the facility will be shuttered. Owners of the Yampa Project—Units 1 and 2 at the site […]

A government-run development bank is expected to end its ban on investment in nuclear energy, a move that could allow U.S. companies to take a greater role in foreign nuclear power projects. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) as early as this week could lift its prohibition on supporting nuclear power. The DFC on […]

Ahwatukee-based Athena 3D Manufacturing and face-scanning app company Bellus3D worked with SRP to deploy an alternative innovation to the N95 mask With Arizona’s COVID-19 cases still on the rise, and a global shortage of N95 masks, Salt River Project (SRP), along with the help of local and national partners, developed state-of-the-art, 3D-printed mask solutions for […]

Hitachi on July 1 commandeered a majority share of ABB’s lucrative Power Grids business and officially launched a joint venture company—Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The new company, which already has a volume of about $10 billion, is expected to provide financial muscle to support ambitious projects and new business opportunities as the sector embraces decentralization […]