News

  • GE Is Banking on Africa’s Burgeoning Power Market

    Sub-Saharan Africa’s power generation capacity is projected to surge 4% annually through 2040, and its current energy mix—which is today dominated by hydro and coal—will likely be more diversified as interest rises in renewables such as solar and wind, General Electric (GE) said in a white paper surveying market opportunities in the region that it […]

  • Dispute Flares About Equipment at Abandoned V.C. Summer Nuclear Project

    The fight about who owns equipment at the now-abandoned V.C. Summer 2 and 3 AP1000 reactors in South Carolina intensified on May 14, as key stakeholder Santee Cooper sued lead contractor Westinghouse for certification documentation related to that equipment.  The lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division, […]

  • Industrial Gas Turbine Demand Grows [PODCAST]

    When it comes to gas turbines, size matters. Although the market for large, heavy-duty gas turbines has been challenging in recent years, demand for industrial gas turbines—generally units with output ranging from about 5 MW to 100 MW—has been growing, according to Reed Lengel, product line manager for SCC-800 solutions with Siemens Energy. “When you […]

  • A Renewed Congressional Focus on Investigating the Energy Industry

    Legislative scrutiny of the energy industry have picked up of late. Here are practical steps from law firm K&L Gates that your company could take to prepare for congressional investigations.

  • PEC Safety and Veriforce Merge to Create Comprehensive Supply Chain Safety and Compliance Platform

    Merger integrates wide-ranging network of safety and risk mitigation professionals, critical compliance solutions delivered on a modern SaaS platform, and industry-leading training services. MANDEVILLE, La. and HOUSTON, May 15, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — PEC Safety and Veriforce, recognized leaders in delivering safety and compliance solutions to industrial markets, today announced that they have merged to create a […]

  • NuScale Power and Enfission Sign MOU to Explore Use of Next Generation Nuclear Fuel Technology

    Agreement could spur new improvements in core design, performance, and levelized electricity cost of NuScale’s small modular reactor PORTLAND, Ore.—Today, NuScale Power and Enfission, LLC, a joint venture of Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ: LTBR) and Framatome, announced a memorandum of understanding to explore the use of next generation nuclear fuel technology in NuScale’s small modular reactors. […]

  • Opole Unit 6 Begins to Deliver up to 900 MW of Power to the Polish Grid

    GE Steam Power, PGE (Polska Grupa Energetyczna) and GE-led consortium partners celebrate the synchronization of Opole Unit 6 to the grid With Opole Unit 5 and 6 synchronized to the grid, up to 1.8 GW of power is being delivered to the grid, enough electricity for two million Polish homes The consortium is on track […]

  • GE Tops MHPS, Siemens in 1Q Turbine Orders

    General Electric, Siemens, and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems confirmed their gas turbine sales for the year’s first quarter, with GE taking the top spot with six orders for its advanced HA-class unit. The three companies on May 14 confirmed the numbers to Reuters. GE, which had no sales in the same period a year ago, […]

  • Utility Group Under Congressional Investigation Will Disband

    A utility industry coalition that has often challenged stricter air pollution and climate rules for power generation said it will dissolve. The Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG), which has been under investigation from the House Energy and Commerce Committee due to its relationship with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) top air policy official and his […]

  • Insights Into Siemens’ Stunning Gas and Power, Renewables Shakeup

    In the days following its May 7 announcement that it will spin off its Gas and Power business, Siemens has fleshed out how and when the carveout will occur, laid out its reasons for lumping its energy businesses together, and put forth a market case for why a business separation may be a “win-win” situation […]

  • EIA: Gas, Renewables Outpacing Coal for Power Generation

    The percentage of coal-fired generation in the U.S. electricity mix will continue to decline, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said May 9, with gas-fired generation accounting for at least 40% of the nation’s power this summer and output from renewables continuing to rise. EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) said coal-fired units will produce only […]

  • ERCOT Warns of Summer Emergency Conditions as Demand Continues to Soar

    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has issued a fresh warning that continued “above-normal” growth in electric demand could require it to enter Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) status to maintain system reliability this summer.  As it released its final Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) for the upcoming summer season (June to September), a preliminary […]

  • Control Your Own Destiny with Combined Heat and Power Systems [PODCAST]

    Combined heat and power (CHP), also known as cogeneration, is the concurrent production of electricity or mechanical power and useful thermal energy (heating and/or cooling) from a single source of energy. Although it may not be widely recognized outside of industrial, commercial, institutional, and utility circles, CHP has been providing highly efficient electricity and process […]

  • Convergent and Shell New Energies Announce Joint Venture to Install 21 MWh of Energy Storage Projects at Shell Facilities

    Companies will also offer Convergent’s energy storage solutions to large electricity users in Ontario (Toronto, ON) May 8, 2019 – Convergent Energy + Power (Convergent), the leading independent developer of energy storage solutions in North America, and Shell *, today announced a joint venture starting with 21 MWh of industrial battery storage systems at two […]

  • Last Reactor at Three Mile Island Will Shut by End of September

    The remaining nuclear reactor at the Three Mile Island Generating Station (TMI) in Pennsylvania will shut down by the end of September. Exelon made that official May 8, setting the closing date for Unit 1 at the financially struggling plant that it first announced it would shutter two years ago. Exelon in 2017 said the […]

  • UK Milestone: One Week Without Coal-Fired Generation

    The UK has gone a week without using electricity from coal-fired generation, according to the National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO), which oversees the power network in England, Wales, and Scotland. Government officials said it’s the first time the UK has gone without coal in a week-long period since 1882, when a coal-fired plant opened […]

  • FLIR Launched Addition to High-Performance T-Series Thermal Camera Family

    FLIR T840’s Integrated Color Viewfinder Simplifies Inspections Outside in Bright, Challenging Light Conditions WILSONVILLE, Ore., – FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) launched the FLIR T840, a new thermal camera in the high-performance T-Series family. The high-resolution T840 offers a brighter display and an integrated viewfinder to help electrical utility, plant managers, and other thermography professionals […]

  • Monitoring Solutions Acquires Optimal Air Testing Services

    Announces Expansion into Source & Compliance Testing Services May 7, 2019, Indianapolis, Indiana: Monitoring Solutions, Incorporated is excited to announce the acquisition of Optimal Air Testing Services (“Optimal”), a Casper, Wyoming based provider of stack and source testing to support compliance, guarantee, and engineering services. Addition of the Optimal staff brings tremendous industry knowledge, experience […]

  • Siemens Will Exit Power, Gas, Renewable Businesses

    Siemens will spin off and give up its majority stake in its lucrative Gas and Power division—comprising its conventional power generation, power transmission, oil and gas, and related services businesses—and transfer its current majority 59% stake in Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) to the new business. The company’s supervisory board announced the spinoff on May 7 […]

  • EPA Will Issue Final Carbon Rules for Power Plants in June

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to take final action to repeal the Clean Power Plan in June 2019, a federal court filing shows. The agency told the D.C. Circuit—in a May 6 status report—review of the Obama-era rule that sets the first carbon dioxide limits for existing power plants “continues to be a high […]

  • EMP Threat Real but Limited, EPRI Says in Much-Anticipated Report

    Depending on the hazard field, electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) resulting from detonation of a nuclear weapon at high altitude or in space could cause significant damage to electronics on the bulk power system and even prompt a regional voltage collapse, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) says in much-anticipated findings from its three-year study on high-altitude […]

  • NuScale Gains Potential Financial Backing for Worldwide SMR Deployment 

    NuScale Power, the front-runner in the race to commercialize small modular reactors (SMRs), has bagged another major backer that could broaden its nuclear supply chain base and expand its financial standing.  On April 29, NuScale signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction (DHIC), a South Korean–based engineering, procurement, and construction […]

  • NRC Certifies South Korea’s APR1400 Nuclear Reactor Design for U.S. Use

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has certified the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400), a third-generation design developed by deployed by South Korean state-owned companies Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP). The U.S. nuclear regulatory body on May 1 said it will issue a direct final rule certifying the reactor […]

  • Safety a Major Focus of CTOTF Conference

    Marc Yeston kicked off the Combustion Turbine Operations Technical Forum (CTOTF) spring conference on April 29 in St. Augustine, Florida, with a keynote presentation focused on safety, and how power plant managers and supervisors can improve safety programs. Yeston (Figure 1) has worked as a flight paramedic, a federal and state law enforcement officer, a […]

  • Q&A With Geothermal Experts

    Geothermal energy has been around forever, used as a heating source across the world. Today it has surfaced as another renewable resource, with advancements in drilling technology bringing down costs and opening new areas to development. In conjunction with the feature article on geothermal in the May 2019 issue of POWER, we sought opinions from […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: 30 Innovations Revolutionizing the Power Industry

    Between 2005 and 2016, the global installed capacity of solar PV increased more than seven-fold, and the capacity of onshore wind increased nearly three-fold, and owing to plunging costs, variable renewable energy (VRE) capacity is set to expand dramatically, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). To accommodate soaring shares of VRE generation, innovations […]

  • Clump Weights in Offshore Mooring Systems

    Offshore moorings have a long tradition in the oil and gas industry. Even though most offshore mooring systems feature similar components, they differ a lot in design, depending on the bathymetries, the metocean data, and the design of the platform they support. But despite the wide range available in the market, the fast development of […]

  • Modifying Behavior to Protect Systems in a Malicious Threat Landscape

    The malicious threat landscape for industrial control systems (ICSs) is constantly evolving and getting more sophisticated, thereby raising the need to have visibility, implement protective controls, and perform continuous monitoring. As a result, it is important to take a look at the attack vectors of some malware/malicious events—such as Triton—that have occurred over the last […]

  • Certifying Precision Timing in the Smart Grid

    Utilities deploying precise timing in their networks have an additional choice in evaluating solutions based on whether or not the devices are IEEE certified for compliance to the appropriate IEEE 1588 Power Profile. To reach this point, years of effort from the IEEE, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and […]

  • Enhanced Wastewater Treatment Technology for Ash Transport Water

    Evolving environmental regulations have forced many coal power plant operators to re-evaluate how they handle water and ash. Many units have been retrofit with dry handling systems, but there are other