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Do you want to solve important problems, contribute to society, and help people? Well, then, you may want to become an engineer. At least that’s why some successful engineers have said they entered and persist in the occupation, according to a recent study published by DiscoverE, an engineering outreach organization based in Alexandria, Virginia. The […]

Yucca Mountain, the 1987 Congressionally appointed deep geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel (SNF), may be officially dead; transmission assets held by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and three Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs) will be put up for sale; and hundreds of millions of dollars in unobligated balances for flagship programs like the Advanced Research […]

Pilsen (02/11/2020) Pilsen steam turbine manufacturer Doosan Škoda Power will supply a steam turbine to Japan for the first time. Doosan Škoda Power has signed a contract to supply a two-core steam turbine for a new biomass-fired power plant in the city of Sodegaura in Chiba Prefecture. It is the company’s first project in Japan, […]

Digitization in the power generation sector continues to expand. Its goal in simple terms—providing easy access to data for power plant operators and engineers, enabling the use of advanced analytics to improve equipment performance and efficiency—has resulted in reduced operating costs for utilities, and also has enhanced plant safety. POWER’s upcoming Connected Plant Conference, set […]

Feb 10, 2020 GE Renewable Energy to rehabilitate and extend the life of the Angat hydropower plant for another 50 years GE Renewable Energy’s new equipment will increase the total capacity of the plant by around 4% bringing more power to the inhabitants in the Philippines Paris, February 10, 2020 – GE Renewable Energy booked […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has earmarked $64 million in additional funding for research and development of smaller, more efficient, and cleaner coal plants. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette on Feb. 7 announced the money would be part of the DOE’s “Coal FIRST Initiative,” telling the audience at an Atlantic Council meeting Friday in Washington, […]

The past week saw interesting developments worldwide for nuclear new builds, small modular reactors (SMRs), and advanced nuclear fuel. Highlighted here: A third U.S. utility will use Framatome’s ATRIUM 11 fuel design; Barakah 1 in the United Arab Emirates is on the cusp of startup; South Africa’s Eskom said it wants to dispose of PBMR […]

The generator breaker for Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Paradise Unit 3 was opened on Feb. 1, removing the coal-fired power plant from service for the final time after 50 years of operation. Notably, TVA retiree Jim Chappell performed the task. Chappell was the electrical control wing operator who originally placed Unit 3 in service. The […]

Energy Storage startup SPARKZ Inc. has exclusively licensed five technologies from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) designed to eliminate cobalt in lithium-ion batteries. The development portends a significant new direction for battery storage technology, which has been hindered by costs and availability of the rare metal. ORNL, which announced the […]

A primitive but unique ransomware variant that emerged in mid-December can forcibly stop a number of processes, including multiple items related to industrial control system (ICS) operations, industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos warned in a detailed report on Feb. 3. The ransomware known as “EKANS” (or “Snake,” which is “EKANS” spelled backwards) is “relatively straightforward” as […]

Streaming OSIsoft PI System data into Hexagon PPM’s HxGN SDx® simplifies path to more comprehensive digital twins 04 February 2020 HUNTSVILLE, Ala., and SAN LEANDRO, Calif. – Hexagon’s PPM division, the leading global provider of engineering software for the design, construction and operation of plants, ships and offshore facilities, announces the availability of HxGN SDx® […]

Proficy Operations Hub helps customers to simplify plant operations and digitize processes with an industrial-grade solution that aggregates data from multiple sources SAN RAMON, Calif. – February 4, 2020 – GE Digital today unveiled Proficy Operations Hub 1.5 to provide users with a centralized environment that enables greater operational efficiency and collaboration within industrial organizations. […]

New technology center in The Woodlands, Texas to support the development of a new standards-based, open, secure and interoperable process control architecture and host ExxonMobil’s Open Process Automation Test Bed HOUSTON, Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Yokogawa is pleased to announce the opening of the Open Process Automation (OPA) Test Bed Collaboration Center, located six miles […]

Deep decarbonization of the U.S. Northwest can be achieved at “manageable” costs by 2045, but only if utility agency Energy Northwest secures zero-emitting firm capacity, such as by relicensing Columbia Generating Station—the sole nuclear plant in the region—and building small modular reactors (SMRs), a new study suggests. The study by San Francisco-based consulting group Energy […]

The technology behind solar power is changing rapidly. Researchers at the University of California, Davis have said so-called “anti-solar” panels could even generate power at night. But even as solar deployments grow worldwide, more innovative solar products are launched, and more governments enact clean energy mandates, political headwinds threaten to slow the progress of the […]

Experion® PKS IT Highly Integrated Virtual Environment (HIVE) centralizes up to 80% of IT infrastructure, reducing costs and freeing engineering talent to focus on higher-value activities HOUSTON, Feb. 4, 2020 — Honeywell today announced the release of Experion® PKS IT Highly Integrated Virtual Environment (HIVE), a transformative new technology that centralizes up to 80% of IT […]

Catastrophic wildfires have devastated California in recent years. This article seeks to outline a plan wherein neighboring utilities can send energy to support a utility that has shut down critical paths during wildfire mitigation efforts. On the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, the Camp Fire erupted 90 miles north of Sacramento, California (Figure 1). This fire […]

Utilities are becoming increasingly skilled at adapting to changes brought on by the digital age: pressure from automation, disruption from new technology, and challenges with how to ingest, manage, and utilize mountains of data. Viewing “data as an asset” is becoming the new industry norm and utilities are beginning to invest heavily in digital tools […]

As more intermittent renewable energy resources are added to the power grid, generator connectivity during a grid fault becomes ever more important to mitigate the risk of cascading blackouts. An innovative

The Connected Plant Conference allows for interaction with the industry’s early adopters. Attendees will meet generators who are using the latest connected plant tools. The speaker lineup (Figure 1) provides

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage and automate many business functions related to operations, technology, services, and

An Electric Power Research Institute study has developed a systematic process for introducing sequence automation to fossil power plants. Researchers are now exploring its implementation in case studies. As

Power plant operators are turning to predictive maintenance applications to monitor equipment and collect performance data. Asset management systems, using artificial intelligence and other methods, are part

There is a widespread movement to reduce carbon emissions around the world. One way to do so is by improving plant efficiency, but that can be easier said than done. However, self-service analytics could play

With subsidies running short and emissions regulations still a challenge, the promise of biomass as a sustainable source for utility-scale power generation remains elusive. Yet, there are novel applications

In a rapidly changing energy market, the competitiveness of any power producer increasingly depends upon the reliability, efficiency, and flexibility of its power plants. As the share of renewable energy

In a modern economy increasingly dependent on electric power, blackouts can wreak havoc when the loads are critical to life, business, and even a comfortable lifestyle. The problem may be growing, but there

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a term power professionals are seeing increasingly to describe sophisticated digital technologies. Could it be the breakthrough that is so highly hyped? There is no argument

When a global leader in the design, manufacture, and maintenance of binary Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power systems entered the geothermic energy market, company engineers knew its existing turbines would be

For personnel in nuclear power plants, time and distance are critical measurements when it comes to safe inspections. When workers need to enter a high-radiation area to examine a potential problem or make a