News

Wisconsin-based Alliant Energy on May 22 said it would retire the coal-fired Edgewater Generating Station in Sheboygan by year-end 2022, an announcement coming just one week after the utility said it had placed the new 730-MW West Riverside Energy Center, a natural gas-fired combined cycle plant in Beloit, into commercial operation. Alliant, which also has […]

South Africa has the largest carbon footprint in Africa and contributes 40% of the total CO2 emissions in the continent. As the world evolves in response to climate change concerns, the way business is done in South Africa will need to change. In addition to the critical need for every business to contribute to broadly […]

The Texas-based company that owns a coal-fired power plant in Maryland announced it will retire the facility’s three generating units, which have been in operation for about 60 years. GenOn Holdings said Units 1, 2, and 3 at its Dickerson Generating Station will be closed due to “unfavorable economic conditions and increased costs associated with […]

The Edenville dam, which failed on March 19 flooding Midland, Michigan, and forcing as many as 10,000 residents to evacuate their homes, had its license revoked by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Sept. 10, 2018, due to a “longstanding failure to increase the project’s spillway capacity to safely pass flood flows,” among other […]

Global energy company SGH2, part of Washington, D.C.-based Solena Group, said it has a deal with Lancaster, California, to build what the company calls the world’s biggest green hydrogen production plant, set to be in full operation in early 2023. The company on May 20 said the plant will feature SGH2’s technology that uses recycled […]

Polish energy companies Enea and Energa late on May 19 announced they were ending their involvement with construction of the Ostroleka C coal-fired power plant, after new co-owner PKN Orlen said it would not be involved in the project if it utilizes coal. PKN Orlen, a Poland state-owned energy company that recently acquired Energa, said […]

Renewable power sources will mark their first annual decline in new additions in 20 years, owing to delays in construction activity, supply chain disruptions, lockdown and social distancing measures, and emerging financing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the sector has showed “impressive” resilience, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a new […]

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., with the support of its technology partner, Südkabel GmbH, to deliver the highest voltage 525-kV XLPE(*1) Insulated High-Voltage DC (HVDC) underground cable system for German Corridor Project to supply renewable power generated in the North Sea of Germany to the central and southern part of the country. Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. […]

Siemens on May 15 began moving what the company calls its “largest, most powerful, and most efficient heavy-duty gas turbine” from Germany to the UK, where the company will test the equipment for use in a combined cycle power plant. The SGT5-9000 HL turbine, built by Siemens Gas and Power in its Berlin factory, will […]

Heavy shipment of the first HL-class with 50 Hertz frequency sets sail for the UK Powerhouse unit from Berlin heads for one of the world’s most efficient combined cycle power plants The largest, most powerful, and most efficient heavy-duty gas turbine that Siemens has produced to date was loaded onto an inland cargo ship today […]

Traditional plants are turning to automatic self-cleaning strainers to provide more reliable cooling, reduce required maintenance, and improve uptime. With greater intrusion into the market from renewables, traditional power generation plants are under pressure to produce more efficiently and cost-effectively. Consequently, more than ever, there is no room for any unscheduled downtime. While not the […]

Engineer, attorney, author, and former head of some of the largest public power utilities in the U.S., S. David Freeman passed away on May 12 outside of Washington, D.C., following a heart attack at the age of 94. Freeman was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and received a degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute […]

Four groups analyzing data from the U.S. Dept. of Labor said more than half-a-million jobs in the clean energy sector were lost in March and April due to shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The losses, representing about 18% of the industry’s total workforce, were detailed in a report released May 13. The groups said […]

GE Steam Power receives new order for two synchronous condensers and flywheel units for the Brindisi Terna substation in southern Italy Will supply a combined 500 MVAr reactive power and 3500 MWs inertia to help stabilize Italy’s grid and support the integration of more renewable energy Powered by GE’s portfolio of renewable steam power offerings, […]

Cutting-edge technology will help electric utilities in Texas maintain electrical assets AUSTIN, Texas, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (TEC) and Exelon Clearsight, LLC (Exelon Clearsight) announced they have formed a partnership to bring advanced UAS (drone), robot, and software enabled inspections to utilities in Texas. Under the agreement, TEC will […]

A first-of-its-kind nuclear reactor that will use a 3D-printed core, advanced materials, and integrated sensors and controls is on track for completion by 2023. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, work is ramping up to demonstrate the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR), an innovative micro-reactor program spearheaded by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and project partners, to include […]

A Nevada installation that would be the largest solar power project in U.S. history was approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior on May 11. The estimated $1 billion, 690-MW Gemini solar photovoltaic electric generating facility is sited on 7,000 acres about 30 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Interior Secretary David L. Bernhardt signed […]

U.S. coal-fired power generation last year was at its lowest level since 1976, according to data released May 11 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook report said energy from renewable resources could this year for the first time surpass coal-fired generation in the U.S. The agency […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is planning a technical conference this summer that would look at long-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the energy industry. The discussion would look at how the industry should approach investments and infrastructure development should the trend of lessening demand for electricity, and oil and gas, continue. Industry […]

It’s spring outage season in the power industry. A time when plants of all types typically shut down and perform scheduled maintenance to ensure all essential equipment is as ready as possible to run reliably at full load for days on end during the peak summer season. This year, outages have been complicated by the […]

BOEBLINGEN/HEIDENHEIM. The global technology company Voith Group and Moog Inc., both developers, manufacturers and suppliers of electric, hydraulic and hybrid drive solutions, have signed the contracts to form the joint venture HMS – Hybrid Motion Solutions GmbH based in Rutesheim on 29 April 2020. The joint venture provides for a strategic partnership to expand the […]

The largest coal-fired power plant in North Dakota is scheduled to close in 2022, with the Minnesota-based wholesale electric power cooperative that operates the facility saying the lost generation will be mostly replaced by wind power. Minnesota-based Great River Energy, which supplies electricity to the suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul, along with other parts […]

The Minnesota-based power cooperative that on May 7 said it would close a large Midwest coal-fired power plant also noted it has a contract with Form Energy, a Bill Gates-backed company that offers a long-duration energy storage solution, one that the group says could provide 150 hours of continuous power. Form Energy has been a […]

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) has released a report focused on how distributed energy resources (DERs) and microgrids can improve the resilience of the power grid. The report, Advancing Electric System Resilience with Distributed Energy Resources: A Review of State Policies, is designed in part as a guide to help state regulators […]

California officials on May 7 approved a $1.9-billion penalty against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) for the company’s role in a series of wildfires that left more than 100 people dead and caused billions of dollars in damage in 2017 and 2018. The damage claims led PG&E to file for bankruptcy in January 2019. PG&E, […]

The Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) has released guidance on what the power sector should prioritize as it prepares to shift from remote operations to having employees return to the workplace.   In the seventh version of the “ESCC Resource Guide—Assessing and Mitigating the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19),” the power industry’s collaborative body identifies four strategic priorities […]

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas is produced as a result of the microbial breakdown of organic materials in the absence of oxygen. It can be found in tanks, vaults, voids, and other confined spaces at industrial facilities including power plants. Besides being flammable and corrosive, H2S is also colorless and toxic, even in relatively low concentrations, […]

Declaring a national emergency over threats to the U.S. bulk power system (BPS), President Trump in an executive order (EO) on May 1 issued a sweeping ban on transactions by U.S. persons for electric equipment sourced abroad if the U.S. government determines they pose undue security risks. Because foreign adversaries are “increasingly creating and exploiting […]

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) on May 6 said delays to its renewable energy projects, in part due to supply chain disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, will continue to negatively impact the company’s earnings this year. The company reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings on Wednesday and said the COVID-19 outbreak “had a direct negative impact […]

39-year industry veteran to lead technical society serving tribologists and lubrication engineers. Park Ridge, Illinois (May 5, 2020) ─ The Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) — the technical society serving individuals, companies and organizations that comprise the tribology and lubrication engineering business sector — today announced that Paul Hetherington, CLS, manager, technical services, […]