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Average natural gas prices at Henry Hub in 2020 could fall to below $2/MMBtu —a level “not seen in decades”—owing to a persistent oversupply, a new report from information and analytics firm IHS Markit suggests.  Prices could fall despite strong demand for natural gas, both domestically, including for power generation, as well as for exports. […]

What is a superconductor? One definition says, “a material that can conduct electricity or transport electrons from one atom to another with no resistance.” “At the base physics level, what a superconductor does is it moves a lot more power per unit volume or per unit weight, so you have a very high energy-dense material […]

Exelon’s Byron Unit 2 nuclear power plant has completed installation of EnCore Fuel, Westinghouse Electric Co.’s accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) solution, marking the start of the first test of uranium silicide fuel pellets in a commercial nuclear reactor.  The installation, completed during the plant’s scheduled 18-day spring refueling outage this April, but publicly announced on Sept. […]

FirstEnergy Solutions (FES), Xcel Energy, and Arizona Public Service (APS) will demonstrate hydrogen production at three nuclear plants they own starting in 2020 and 2021. The projects, selected as part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Reactor Development Project funding pathway, aim to improve long-term competitiveness of the nuclear sector […]

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Glendale Water and Power, through the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), on May 16, 2019, received SCPPA’s approval on agreements with 8minute Solar Energy (8mSE) for the installation of a 300-MW/1,200-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) located at 8mSE’s Eland Solar and Storage Center. […]

With shifts in political winds come shifts in agency legal interpretations. In January 2017, the solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a formal legal opinion interpreting the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to prohibit the incidental take (accidental injury or death) of migratory birds. This “midnight” legal opinion was widely viewed […]

Hawk Measurement releases a new non-contact radar level transmitter that uses FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) technology. Hawk Measurement Systems (HAWK), a global leader in measurement solutions, has announced the release of their new SENATOR™ Radar Level Transmitter product line. The SENATOR™ Radar Level Transmitter is a non-contact sensor that uses FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous […]

Cost. The dirtiest word in clean energy—especially with operations and maintenance (O&M) costs set to rise globally to $17 billion in 2020 in the wind industry. Part of saving on O&M costs means taking a look at the inefficient processes that skilled workers are doing as part of O&M procedures to optimize their time. A […]

It’s been a summer of power outages as extreme weather has been wreaking havoc on the electrical grid. Violent thunderstorms, tornadoes, and record-high temperatures have all taken turns knocking out the power across the East, from Michigan and Wisconsin to Washington, D.C. The lights even went out in Times Square and Manhattan’s West Side due […]

Five-Year Extension of Services Provided to Miami Fort and Zimmer Power Plants in Ohio LOUISVILLE, KY (September 10, 2019) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) (the “Company”), a leading provider of environmental and maintenance services to the power generation industry, today announced that it recently was awarded a contract extension to provide byproduct sales and […]

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) wants to cap its liabilities from damages caused by California wildfires at about $18 billion, according to the reorganization plan filed by the bankrupt utility September 9 in federal court in San Francisco. The amount is less than half what creditors, including insurance companies and wildfire victims, say they are […]

New York City may soon be powered with two new power barges outfitted with eight Siemens 76-MW aeroderivative gas turbines.  Under a Sept. 5-announced contract signed by Astoria Generating Co. (AGC) and Siemens, the power barges—a relatively new Siemens offering based on a concept it calls “SeaFloat”—will replace two of four existing power barges at […]

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) reportedly will soon file a restructuring plan that includes more than $14 billion in equity commitments, as the utility looks to recover from billions of dollars in liabilities tied to its role in California wildfires that caused the company to file the largest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history. Bloomberg on […]

Last year, five of the world’s 449 operable nuclear reactors reached 50 years of operation for the first time, four first-of-their kind reactor designs were brought online, and while the industry showed capacity factor impacts from load-following, the global nuclear fleet performed  at an average capacity factor of about 80%, says a new report from […]

GE introduced the F-class gas turbine to the power industry nearly 30 years ago. Since that time, more than 1,500 F-class machines have operated for more than 54 million hours. With available outputs ranging from 51 MW for a GE 6F.01 simple cycle unit to more than 1,000 MW for a 3×1 7F.05-based combined cycle […]

Power generation from natural gas is expected to rise in Pennsylvania over the next few years, according to the state Public Utility Commission’s (PUC’s) annual report on generation and transmission and distribution capacity released in late August. The PUC’s “Electric Power Outlook for Pennsylvania 2018-2023” report made public last week projects gas-fired power generation will […]

As of August 2019, 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), and eight others had non-binding renewable portfolio goals. Three states also had clean energy standards, which set targets for low-carbon non-renewables, like nuclear, and two had clean energy goals. Our monthly infographic in September 2019 shows how shares for each […]

How power companies are using experience management, or XM, to reshape customer relationships and reveal new revenue opportunities Here was a company with one of the largest investor-owned electric systems in the U.S.—the owner of close to a dozen electricity distribution entities—and a strong desire to pursue new opportunities outside its traditional regulated business. Those […]

As of August 2019, 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), and eight others had non-binding renewable portfolio goals. Three states also had clean energy standards, which set targets for low-carbon non-renewables, like nuclear, and two had clean energy goals. Shown in the bars below are the shares of generation by source […]

Lock in safe, reliable operations by opening the door to third-party expertise There’s still a big takeaway from a 2008 Florida blackout, and it’s not the size of the fine that followed. Although it was the largest penalty levied under the new reliability standards at that time, here’s the bigger elephant in the room: Florida […]

Economic power plant operation includes keeping maintenance costs under control, and operating the plant efficiently. Boiler surfaces need to be kept as clean as possible to increase heat transfer and decrease

Today, drones equipped with sensors and cameras are proving their worth in gathering real-time footage that can be stored for later analysis. Uncrewed aerial systems can detect failing structures and equipment

Hydropower is the oldest renewable energy source, but aging dams require periodic maintenance. A stabilization project that added high-capacity post-tensioned anchors and new concrete enhanced the Bagnell Dam

Sonic sootblowers and acoustic cleaners were once thought to be a last-chance alternative to difficult ash build-up problems. However, the technology has proven to be effective over years of service in

Pairing solar energy resources with batteries is a winning solution. It allows utilities to store excess power when the sun is shining but demand is low, and use it when the sun sets but demand is high. One

Power plant operators are always looking for ways to boost performance. A combustion optimizer designed to improve efficiency and lower emissions could help. It supports more flexible operation of boilers by

A greenfield concentrated solar power (CSP) project with novel parabolic trough technology and a molten storage system has revitalized a remote region. But the project is also laudable for its social

There have been a lot of changes in how power plants do business. As financial pressure mounts and lean-staffing strategies are implemented, finding time to do all the work that needs to be done can be a

The growth of wind power worldwide is literally transforming the energy landscape, with massive turbine blades providing a visual backdrop. Xcel Energy’s Rush Creek project, covering 95,000 acres in eastern

The refurbishment of Storr Lochs, a small hydropower plant built nearly 70 years ago at an isolated location in Scotland’s mountainous Isle of Skye, has given the project new life and purpose. The reason