News

As nearly 20 million New Yorkers adjust their lives in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the changing patterns of behavior are reducing and shifting electricity consumption, according to the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). Read more in this blog post from NYISO, and visit the organization’s website. — Follow updates about the impacts to […]

There are parallels between COVID-19 responses and the management of the electrical grid of the future. Concepts like “flattening the curve” and “self-quarantine” are concepts not only crucial in the current pandemic, but in electricity distribution systems globally. While we at Introspective Systems practice social distancing, working remotely, and watching record demands asked of hospitals and the […]

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis grows, our first priority should be to assist those whose health and welfare are at most risk. Access to affordable water and energy is a crucial need at all times, but never more than now as the COVID-19 pandemic grows. NRDC supports calls for utility disconnection moratoriums and other protections for our most vulnerable […]

The U.S. Energy Storage Association (ESA) surveyed members of its industry and found that almost two-third of respondents say they already are experiencing coronavirus-related delays, due to disruptions in the global supply chain, travel restrictions, and the downturn in equity markets that is cutting investment in projects. The ESA said more than one-third of those […]

The agency that regulates nuclear power in the U.S. is preparing to allow reactor operators to work longer shifts, and could also issue new rules that would let facilities put off some maintenance and plant inspections. The actions are in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Comments during a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conference call on […]

Power industry analysts who’ve spoken with POWER agree there will be an impact to power load due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the loss of much of the U.S. commercial and industrial demand for power, and certainly an uptick in the amount of demand from the residential sector as more people work from home, away […]

Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of unlawfully causing a fire after it was blamed for the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, the deadliest wildfire in state history. The utility reached the agreement with the Butte County District Attorney’s office on March […]

U.S. electric utilities and other energy companies are preparing to have key personnel remain at power plants and operations centers to ensure the facilities remain online during the coronavirus pandemic. The federal government considers power plants part of the nation’s critical infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for working with power […]

Energy groups continue to assess the industry disruption caused by the coronavirus, with the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) on March 19 saying the global pandemic is putting  $43 billion of wind industry investments and payments at risk. Utilities, grid operators, and other have been altering their routines as state and local governments call for […]

The power industry and technology worlds are filled with acronyms. It’s often hard to know what they all mean. Mark Reisig, director of Product Marketing at Aras, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. He explained how digital technology is being utilized to bring products to market and track assets throughout their lifecycle. The process […]

Oklo, developer of the 1.5-MW Aurora micro-reactor, has submitted the first-ever combined license application (COLA) for an advanced non-light water reactor (LWR) to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The move formalizes the start of a new era for nuclear regulation in the U.S. The Silicon Valley company, which last year received a first-of-its-kind site use […]

Utilities and power generators worldwide are altering their business practices and developing strategies for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s particularly critical for the power industry, as a reliable supply of electricity is essential to prevent even more economic disruption. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lists utilities among the 16 industries that the […]

A new report from a half-dozen environmental groups says global banks financed $2.7 trillion of fossil fuel projects from December 2015, when the Paris Agreement on climate was reached, through year-end 2019. The report said funding for such projects has increased in each of the past four years. “Banking on Climate Change 2020,” published March […]

The president of the Solar Energy Industries Association on March 17 said the solar industry is seeing “a pretty significant crisis” along with the overall economy due to the global coronavirus pandemic, as the situation likely will limit growth in the solar sector this year. Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the SEIA, told […]

Silicon Valley-based SunPower on March 16 said it has secured grid capacity for about 11 MW of power after a winning bid in ISO New England’s 14th Forward Capacity Auction (FCA), in which companies predict the cost of making power in 2023. The auction, which closed in February, saw a record low price of $2 […]

Energy Harbor Corp., the new name for the former FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) after FES’s bankruptcy, on March 13 said its Beaver Valley nuclear plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, will remain open. FES in March 2018 had told state regulators it would close the plant in 2021 because it was no longer economic to operate. Energy Harbor […]

Power management company Eaton and its partner electrical contractors and distributors recently completed a construction project to build two new field hospitals in Wuhan, China. The project delivered an additional 2,500 hospital beds to the region, which has been considered ground zero for the COVID-19 global pandemic. Eaton’s energy solutions are helping provide electricity to […]

Earlier this year, MITRE—a not-for-profit organization that works in the public interest across federal, state, and local governments, as well as with industry and academia—officially released the long-awaited industrial control systems (ICS) version of its popular ATT&CK knowledge base. ICS ATT&CK is the group’s response to the unique attack surface that industrial networks are trying […]

Modernization of Enel Green Power’s power plant fleet with new turbine governors across the Americas and Europe Voith to deliver, install and commission digital and hydraulic control systems HEIDENHEIM, Germany. Voith and Enel Green Power (EGP) signed an umbrella contract for the supply of complete turbine governor modernization services. Part of this framework agreement is […]

At this year’s ELECTRIC POWER Expo (April 14-17), SIFCO ASC – the world leading supplier of selective plating technology and solutions – will be profiling the SIFCO Process® and raising awareness of the portability of selective plating for surface enhancement within the power industry. ELECTRIC POWER Expo, hosted at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, […]

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI), whose membership includes all investor-owned U.S. power companies, has told its members to prepare contingency plans for their operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several U.S. grid operators already have announced measures designed to keep employees as safe as possible, while maintaining the reliability of the nation’s power supply. The […]

Paris, March 12, 2020 – The development of renewable energy that is intermittent and decentralized requires the security of the electricity grid through flexible electricity storage capacities, especially in the form of batteries. Total launches a battery-based energy storage project in Mardyck, at the Flandres Center, in Dunkirk’s port district. With a storage capacity of […]

While it is currently highly dependent on natural gas generation today, about 95% of ISO-New England’s (ISO-NE’s) interconnection request queue—a proposed total capacity of 20.9 GW—comprises wind, solar, and battery projects. That clearly indicates that developers in New England’s wholesale market “are looking to take advantage of state incentives, declining technology costs, and revenues from […]

Despite adding 513 MW of new capacity this year alone, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) expects tight grid conditions this summer, and it warned it could declare an energy emergency depending on a combination of factors. Citing its newly released preliminary Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) assessment for the summer season (June–September), […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted a 20-year license extension for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3. The extension authorizes the two reactors—both of which began commercial operation in 1974—to continue operating through 2054. “We are pleased with the NRC’s decision to grant a subsequent license renewal for Peach Bottom Units […]

Activities are second phase of a multi-year plant maintenance project. B&W previously contracted to supply boiler equipment and other plant components. AKRON, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: BW) (B&W) announced today that its subsidiary, Babcock & Wilcox Construction Co., LLC (BWCC), has been awarded a project valued at more than $65 million to […]

ROCKVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Argan, Inc. (NYSE: AGX) (“Argan” or the “Company”) announced today that in late February 2020 its wholly owned subsidiary, Gemma Power Systems (”Gemma”), entered into an engineering, procurement and construction (“EPC”) services contract with ESC Brooke County Power I, LLC to construct Brooke County Power, a 920 MW natural gas-fired power plant, in […]

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has bagged an order for the first advanced-class gas turbines designed to transition to renewable hydrogen fuel from Utah’s state-owned Intermountain Power Agency (IPA). MHPS’s Lake Mary, Florida–based subsidiary MHPS Americas (MHPSA) on March 10 said that the contract for two M501JAC power trains are the first in the industry […]

CHICAGO, March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Uptake and Flexco have partnered to launch Flexco Elevate™ Belt Conveyor Intelligence™, a real-time belt cleaner monitoring system that harnesses the power of predictive analytics to remotely gather critical insights that optimize belt conveyor productivity and heighten operational efficiencies. Flexco Elevate™ allows for the remote monitoring of belt cleaners […]

Georgia Power on March 5 announced it has ordered the first nuclear fuel load for Vogtle Unit 4, as work continues on the first new-design reactors in the U.S. in more than 30 years. Fuel for Unit 3 of the two-unit expansion at Vogtle was ordered last summer. The completion of the fuel order for […]