News

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued long-awaited proposed revisions of two 2015 Obama-era rules that apply to effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) for steam electric power plants and coal combustion residuals (CCR) management by electric utilities.  The agency coordinated the release of the two related revisions, which apply overwhelmingly to coal-fired steam power plants, after […]

Wisconsin-based Alliant Energy has announced a plan to add 1 GW of solar power generation to its portfolio by 2023. The company on Oct. 31 in its “Powering What’s Next Plan” said it would begin construction of its first “Community Solar” site in Fond du Lac County next year. David de Leon, president of Alliant […]

POWER in 2018 reported on the lasting impact that a dip in training programs has had on the utility workforce. In the 1980s, there were fewer training programs and the impact is still being felt today. There are fewer utility workers able to move into middle- and upper-management positions, contributing to a workforce gap as […]

Dominion Energy announced plans for a new 500-MW natural gas-fired power plant and also has taken over a solar farm project in Pittsylvania County in Virginia, with the company saying it would invest about $330 million in the two projects. The Nov. 1 announcement came one day after Dominion said it would it would add […]

GE will retain its lucrative digital business—not spin it off, as had been planned—but it will sharpen the division’s focus on four key markets, including electric utilities and power generation, GE Digital CEO Pat Byrne told customers in an Oct. 31 letter. “I want to affirm that GE Digital is staying in GE,” Byrne wrote. […]

Drones represent a classic good news/bad news scenario. The good news is great. The bad news is terrifying. On the good news front, drones can keep utility-sector workers safely on the ground, with the

Of the many challenges power and industrial plant maintenance teams face, stretching the capabilities of their ultra-lean staff is one of the most critical. Assets can range from industrial generators, to

Unit 1 at the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in China is the site of a milestone for nuclear technology. It also illustrates cooperation between France and China, using the lessons learned from earlier projects

Solar power continues to make inroads in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and other parts of the Persian Gulf region. The Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) in late September said it

Polish officials have said it is “not possible” for the country to meet the European Union’s (EU’s) goal of cutting net carbon emissions to zero by 2050, and as such the government will continue to

In the September issue of POWER , I wrote about a public utility (JEA) that is exploring privatization, and in October, I looked at a city (Boulder, Colorado) that is exploring municipalization. While I think

The Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant completed an extended power uprate (EPU) that increased the total capacity of the facility’s three units by about 465 MW. The addition is an important part of the Tennessee

Boiler and burner manufacturers, along with suppliers of combustion control systems, work with the power generation sector along with other industries. They provide equipment for low- and high-pressure steam

A historical analysis of nuclear power technology by researchers from the German Institute for Economic Research suggests that none of the 674 reactors developed globally since 1945 were developed based on “economic grounds”—as private investments in the context of a market-based competitive system.  Until the 1950s, only four major countries dominated nuclear technology by establishing independent […]

France’s nuclear research agency, Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (CEA), in September confirmed it abandoned plans to build a prototype Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial

Completion of the first ACPR1000 reactor at Yangjiang 5 within a mere 58 months marks a major achievement for China’s lengthy efforts to commercialize the first-of-its-kind 1,000-MW evolutionary

Wind power has become a major electric generating source in the U.S. and elsewhere, based on the reality that this renewable energy technology, beloved of the environmental community that has long embraced the

Although wind and solar facilities receive most of the renewable power publicity, biomass offers a reliable baseload solution for power generators. State-of-the-art circulating fluidized bed boilers are a

The future of energy is electric. It is a future that is evolving rapidly, bringing significant changes. Traditional suppliers are scrambling to stake their claims and remain relevant. Market trends point

Cycle-chemistry guidelines for combined cycle power plants have changed over the years, with pH frequently maintained between 9.6 and 10.0 today. That can cause problems with condensate polisher operation

Is your plant’s natural disaster preparedness plan leaving your site vulnerable? This article provides some best practices to help you prepare for the worst. At some point in a plant’s life, there will

Fuel- and emission-free generators convert low-grade waste heat from diesel generators into power. In 2014, three organic Rankine cycle (ORC) generators were installed to turn the waste heat from three diesel

The closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013 left a stranded coastal asset. However, the existing transmission infrastructure, site control, and geographic topology make it an ideal site

Good infrastructure is an essential component for the economic growth of a country, and power plays a crucial role in infrastructure development. India is home to 18% of the world’s total population, and it uses about 6% of the world’s primary energy. The total power generating capacity from all sources of power in India has […]

China Begins Operation of Two Innovative UHV Links. China’s state-owned transmission company State Grid on Sept. 26 said it put into operation two ultra-high-voltage (UHV) links: the Zhundong-Wannan 1,100-kV

Coal-fired See our August 2019 issue for stories covering these plants: University of Alaska-Fairbanks combined heat and power plant, Fairbanks, Alaska Tufanbeyli Thermal Power Plant, Tufanbeyli, Adana Province, Turkey Healy Unit 2, Healy, Alaska Four Corners Generating Station, Farmington, New Mexico Rheinhafen Dampfkraftwerk Block 8, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Renewables See our September 2019 issue for stories covering […]

Attorneys general from 11 states ramped up pressure on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to recognize state policy goals as it makes decisions related to market design, siting of new gas pipelines and storage facilities, and grid reliability.  The measure is the latest in a string of recent pushes by states to ensure federally […]

Siemens Gamesa has bagged a lucrative contract to supply 11 8-MW offshore wind turbines to Equinor’s 88-MW Hywind Tampen floating wind farm, a first-of-its-kind project that will power oil and gas platforms 140 kilometers offshore Norway.  Equinor—as Statoil, Norway’s state-owned oil company, is now named—announced a final investment decision to build Hywind Tampen on Oct. […]

Russia has completed the first phase of nuclear accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) reactor testing at a government research facility. The achievement paves the way for ATF testing at a Russian commercial nuclear plant, which could begin in 2020. TVEL Fuel Co. of Rosatom, a company that provides nuclear fuel to 72 reactors in 14 countries, including […]

Malware detected at the Kundankulam nuclear power plant in India’s state of Tamil Nadu has not affected plant systems, an investigation by Nuclear Power Corp. of India (NPCIL), the nation’s nuclear plant operator, confirms.  The entity said in a press release on Oct. 30 that it discovered the malware on Sept. 4 on the personal […]