News
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Renewables
THE BIG PICTURE: The Need for Power Flexibility
In its November 2019–issued World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that if countries pursue currently stated policies, the combined generation share of wind and solar photovoltaic could surge from 7% today to 24% in 2040. This very steep ramp-up of variable renewables will undoubtedly require an emphatic focus on flexibility—the ability of […]
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Hydrogen
Why Power-to-Gas May Flourish in a Renewables-Heavy World
While still in its infancy, power-to-gas provides a promising approach to convert renewable power into “green” hydrogen and methane, furnishing the renewables sector with a potentially lucrative array of
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Renewables
Redevelopment Project Converts Site from Coal to Renewables
The former Brayton Point coal plant’s transformation into an East Coast logistics and manufacturing center, renewable energy hub, and international seaport is a symbolic milestone representing the first of
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Coal
Is Chasing Grid Demand Killing Your Large Coal Boiler? Here Are Four Concerns to Address
Operating pulverized coal-fired boilers under low-load conditions presents several challenges. This article offers tips to keep units in the best possible operating condition. In today’s energy market with
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IIOT
New Monitoring and Analytics Tools Improve Plant Performance
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies can help make electric generating plants more efficient while increasing availability. The electric power industry is going through a transformational change
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News
Decarbonizing with Energy Storage Combined Cycles
Low asset utilization is an increasing financial challenge for both conventional and renewable assets, which are sometimes curtailed due to over-generation at various times of day. Integrating large-scale
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News
Culture Is Key to Optimizing Plant Efficiency
The power industry faces many challenges, which require a dedicated workforce to overcome. How can a company get everyone pulling in the same direction? It starts with a strong culture. The electric utility
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News
Russia Offers to Expand Nuclear Power in Africa
South Africa is the only country on the African continent with nuclear power generation, but Russia is working to make nuclear power a reality for more African nations. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke
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Renewables
Joining Forces with Europe Brings Learning and Promising Results for U.S. Renewable Energy
One of the most hopeful statistics regarding the world’s energy goals comes from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, whose study explained that it’s possible for America
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News
Floating Offshore Wind Buoyant on New Developments, Projects
Floating offshore wind made a remarkable splash this fall. As two much-watched projects sailed toward construction, optimism about the industry’s accelerated growth was buoyed by projections from the
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Gas
How to Optimize Replication in Power Plant Design & Construction
Constructing a power plant is no small task. Due to the scope of the job, many projects experience schedule delays and cost overruns. However, with the right tools and teamwork, similar jobs can benefit
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News
Renewable Power Generation on Rise in Turkey
The market for renewable energy in Turkey has been growing since the country enacted a “Renewable Energy Law” in 2005. Progress has been steady and has ramped up in recent years after renewable energy
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Safety
Equipment Showcase: Tools and Safety Products
The safety of workers and equipment is an important consideration for power generation facilities, just as it is for other worksites. Power plants feature multiple pieces of complex machinery that can present
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IIOT
Report: Blockchain Not Well-Suited to Transactive Energy
Blockchain—a distributed database technology that allows a network of parties to securely transact with each other—has been hailed as a game-changing innovation in the power sector for its potential to
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News
POWER Digest [December 2019]
Israeli Group Supports Construction of 1.3-GW Gas-Fired Plant. The Israeli National Infrastructure Committee on Nov. 4 approved a plan to build Israel’s largest privately run power plant, saying the facility
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Renewables
Decarbonization: Utilities Leading the Way
Decarbonization is a word that seems to be used quite regularly these days. For the power industry, it refers to the shift in electric generating resources from carbon-heavy coal to carbon-free nuclear or
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Connected Plant
Unlocking Value at the Grid-Edge: Extending the Reach of the Utility Control Room
Just 10 years ago, the magnitude of behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (DERs) at the edge of the grid was not materially significant. All that has changed, and we’re now at an inflection point: by
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News
Worm Gear Technology Helps CSP Plant Stay Locked on Target
Solar power generation continues to increase, with forecasts from BloombergNEF (BNEF) calling for global solar generation to make up 22% of the world’s electricity by 2050, up from about 2% today. BNEF has
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Coal
Smarter Monitoring for Coal Ash Remediation
Total suspended solids probe can help coal-fired power plants reduce compliance risks and avoid additional sampling. Water plays an essential role in coal ash remediation, but managing that process often comes
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News
Using Technology to Tackle Power Plant Emissions
Power plant owners and operators have a range of systems available to help reduce pollutants at their facilities, depending on a number of factors. And industry experts agree—there is no “one size fits
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Gas
EDISON INVESTS 370 MILLION EUROS IN CAMPANIA IN SUPPORT OF THE COUNTRY’S ENERGY TRANSITION AND SUSTAINABILITY
The investment is targeted at the construction of a natural gas-powered thermoelectric power plant in Presenzano (CE) and has a total value of 370 million euros. The project involves the partnership between Edison and Ansaldo Energia, as the assignee of the contract for the construction of the power plant, two of Italy’s leading industrial companies […]
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News
China Ramping Renewables, and Building More Coal Plants
Officials in China in 2017 said the country—the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases—would move away from coal-fired power generation. They promptly canceled more than 100 coal power plant construction projects. But coal remains king in China, which in the past two years has added 43 GW of coal-fired generation capacity, according to a report […]
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News
What’s Driving Wholesale Power Price Changes? Not What You Think
Falling natural gas prices tamped down annual U.S. wholesale power prices over the last decade by $7/MWh to $53/MWh—to a much higher degree compared to the impact of wind and solar growth—a new report from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) suggests. The Nov. 20–published report, The Impact of Wind, Solar, and Other Factors on Wholesale Power […]
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O&M
Experts Share Insight on the Industry at Recent Power Event [PODCAST]
POWER was at the POWERGEN International exhibition and summit, which was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, Nov. 19–21, 2019. Among the experts we met with at the show were Paul Browning, CEO of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas; Chris Mieckowski, director of global solutions marketing and strategy with Siemens; Robert Yeager, president of Emerson’s Power […]
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News
300-MW Natural Gas Allam Cycle Power Plant Targeted for 2022
Testing continues at NET Power for a much-watched project that is demonstrating production of low-carbon natural gas power. The project is using a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) cycle, and its developer is confident that the technology will be commercially deployed in 2022. Mike McGroddy, principal at 8 Rivers Capital, the venture capitalist firm that is […]
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O&M
6 Takeaways from POWERGEN International 2019
The POWERGEN International exhibition and summit—one of the world’s largest power-industry events with more than 750 exhibitors—was held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, Nov. 19–21, 2019. POWER was there (Figure 1) to connect with leaders from the industry and report on the latest news from the show. Hot topics […]
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Gas
Siemens Delivers World’s First HL-Class Gas Turbine to North Carolina Site
Siemens has delivered its first-ever HL-class gas turbine to Duke Energy’s Lincoln County Combustion Turbine generation station, located near Denver, North Carolina. The HL-class gas turbine was derived from proven Siemens H-class technology in what the company calls “an evolutionary development step.” The advanced air-cooled gas turbine is a next-generation design that uses a series […]
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News
Report: Global Coal-Fired Generation Down 3%
A report from a UK-based online journal that covers climate and energy policy said that coal-fired power generation worldwide will fall by 3% this year, to about 54% of global electricity output. The report from Carbon Brief, released Nov. 25, was written by researchers from climate research groups including the Centre for Research on Energy […]
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Hydro
ABB wins contract to upgrade Copel hydroelectric power plant in Brazil
ABB’s digital solutions and engineering services will improve availability and reliability of power in the State of Paraná, with ABB winning a $US2.5 million contract to upgrade Copel’s Governador José Richa hydro power plant. ABB will provide excitation systems and speed regulation for four generator units at the 20-year-old Governador José Richa[i] hydro power plant […]
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News
State Regulators Warn of More Delays at Vogtle
A filing by Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) staff and consultants on Nov. 22 said Georgia Power’s expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant is falling further behind schedule. The filing Friday came the same day that the utility announced the sixth and last containment ring for the two-unit expansion was set in place. The […]