News

  • Federal Court Vacates Parts of Obama EPA’s ELG Rule 

    In a legal victory for environmental groups, a federal court has vacated key portions of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) November 2015-promulgated effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) for steam electric power plants, deeming them “unlawful.”  The decision adds a dramatic new element of uncertainty in timing of the rule, which the Trump administration has said it […]

  • GE Marks ‘Ultra Low’ NOx Gas Turbine Technology Triumph

    In a significant technical triumph, GE has completed first installation of a new gas-fired power plant technology that it says can reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to 5 parts per million (ppm).  GE on April 11 completed combustion upgrades on nine GE 9E gas turbines at five power generation enterprises in Shenzen, a major industrial […]

  • Voith Hydro receives major order for Australian pumped storage power plant

    Voith supplies the electrical and mechanical components for the Australian pumped storage power plant Snowy 2.0 – including three innovative variable-speed pump turbines Snowy 2.0 will underpin Australia’s renewable energy future Power plant is one of the largest of its kind in the world HEIDENHEIM/SYDNEY. Voith has been awarded a contract to equip the Australian […]

  • Lessons in Backup Power Generation from South Australia

    Electricity demand spiked considerably in South Australia this past January as residents tried to stay cool in the middle of a record heat wave that brought temperatures up to 46.6°C (or about 115°F). To ensure a stable power supply would be available, the South Australian government fired up two power plants (276 MW) that the […]

  • Duke Energy Projects Lead Carolinas’ Solar Expansion

    Duke Energy on April 17 announced it will develop six utility-scale solar power projects in North Carolina, among 14 solar projects chosen as part of the state’s Competitive Procurement of Renewable Energy (CPRE) program. The 14 projects—10 in North Carolina and four in South Carolina—could cost as much as $772.5 million to build according to […]

  • Leadership Shakeup at ABB Amid Power Grids Business Overhaul

    Only months after ABB announced Hitachi would acquire a majority stake in its flagship power grids business for $11 billion, the company’s board of directors ousted CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer and officially launched a search for a new leader.  The Zurich-based technology giant said on April 17 that the board of directors and Spiesshofer “mutually agreed […]

  • Israel Electric Corporation Awards Contract to GE for HA Gas Turbine Technology

    GE Power will provide the company’s largest and most efficient gas turbine, the 9HA Orot Rabin project will feature Israel’s first HA and convert current coal-fired power station into country’s largest and most efficient gas power plant Additionally, GE will provide services for IEC through a 15-year services agreement IEC will also install GE software […]

  • Holtec Adds Indian Point Nuclear Plant to Decommissioning Portfolio

    Entergy on April 16 said it will sell its Indian Point Energy Center to Comprehensive Decommissioning International, a Camden, N.J.-based jointly owned subsidiary of Holtec International, a company buying nuclear plants that are closed or scheduled for retirement. Holtec in the deal will receive funds that Entergy has invested in a decommissioning trust, currently worth […]

  • Dominion Brokers 10-Year Deal to Keep Millstone Nuclear Plant Open

    Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont on April 15 announced the Millstone Nuclear Power Station will stay open for at least another decade, thanks to a deal between Dominion, the plant’s owner, and utilities Eversource and United Illuminating, a subsidiary of Avangrid. Millstone, like other U.S. nuclear power plants, has been challenged by rising operating costs and […]

  • Northeast Hydro Think Tank Teams Compete – May 20-23

    Niskayuna, NY – The Northeast Hydro Think Tank sponsors–GE Renewable Energy, Brookfield Renewable, New York Power Authority and the Hydropower Foundation–are pleased to announce that the competition begins May 20. The sponsors believe that hydro industry real-world problems can be tackled by the next generation of leaders through education and hands-on experience. This intense four […]

  • GreenFire Energy Completes Construction of the First Field-Scale Demonstration of Closed-Loop Geothermal Power Generation

    Testing of the Demonstration Begins at the Coso, California, Geothermal Field  Emeryville, California – April 16, 2019 – GreenFire Energy Inc. today announced the completion of construction and the beginning of testing of the world’s first field-scale demonstration of a closed-loop geothermal power system. The project uses an inactive well in the Coso, California, geothermal […]

  • Nuclear Subsidy Dispute Now Rests with FERC, Competitive Generators Say 

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to reconsider industry-led challenges to state nuclear subsidy programs in New York and Illinois leaves the contentious matter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  The high court on April 15 declined to accept petitions for review of decisions by the Second Circuit and Seventh Circuit, dealing a major blow […]

  • The Carlyle Group and Schneider Electric extend partnership to develop Critical Infrastructure projects

      The partnership is designed to develop new and innovative infrastructure projects meeting the growing need for sustainable investment in critical assets and services The companies will focus on delivering digitally-enabled and efficient critical assets by combining Carlyle Infrastructure’s investing and asset-operator expertise with smart energy management and automation solutions from Schneider Electric The partnership […]

  • Ohio Lawmakers Announce Plan to Subsidize Nuclear Plants

    Ohio lawmakers on April 12 announced a plan to provide financial support to the state’s two nuclear power plants by adding a surcharge to customers’ electric bills. The bill’s supporters said it also would generate as much as $300 million annually for clean power generation in Ohio, though the measure calls for abolishing mandates for […]

  • Storage ITC Bill Gains Key Industry Backers

    Legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House that would expand the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC) to energy storage technologies has gained the backing of major trade groups  representing the solar, hydropower, and wind sectors. The Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act (H.R. 2096), introduced on April 4 by Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), […]

  • Wind Industry Prepares for Massive Expansion

    Construction activity on wind projects across the U.S. surged to a record level of more than 20 GW in the third quarter of 2018, and about 35.1 GW of new wind capacity was under construction or in advanced development at the end of 2018, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).  In 2018, the […]

  • Pressure Mounts as Legislators Try to Save Nuclear Plants

    Time is winding down for lawmakers interested in enacting legislation to save the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear plant. That message was amplified on April 5 when Exelon Corp. filed the federally required Post Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The PSDAR details plans for TMI Unit 1 after its final […]

  • New Cyberattack by Group Behind TRITON/TRISIS Reported

    Cybersecurity firm FireEye has uncovered and is responding to a new intrusion at an unnamed critical infrastructure facility that it suggests in an April 10 blog post was perpetrated by the group behind the TRITON attack, which prompted a process shutdown at a Middle Eastern facility in 2017. But while details of the new attack are sparse, […]

  • PJM Will Hold Capacity Auction Under Current Rules in August

    PJM Interconnection said it will hold its 2022–2023 capacity auction under current market rules on Aug. 14, 2019, though the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has yet to issue a decision on the grid operator’s plan to revamp its Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR). In an April 10 filing, however, PJM asked FERC to clarify that […]

  • A Real Green New Deal? A Look at the Past for Today’s Energy Policy Solution

    Despite years of escalating natural disasters and dozens of reports examining the science and economic cost of climate change, the Green New Deal framework now languishes as a result of political backlash and its outsize ambition to remake the American economy. But dismissing the issue, and this opportunity, is unnecessary and dangerous.

  • TrendMiner Introduces New Capabilities and Extended Integration with PI System at OSIsoft PI World 2019

    The long-term OSIsoft partner will unveil extended capabilities to support PI Event Frames and preview their latest software enhancement, DashHub, at the flagship event. Houston, TX, USA – April 9, 2019 – TrendMiner NV, a Software AG company and provider of the leading self-service predictive analytics software, announced today that they will be previewing the […]

  • POWER Notebook: New 1,600-MW Coal Plant in India; Low-Price Solar Deal in Idaho

    Financing has reportedly been secured for a 1,600-MW coal-fired power plant in India’s eastern state of Jharkhand. Qatar’s Gulf Times newspaper reported April 6 that Power Finance Corp., a state-run lender in India, and its subsidiary REC approved a $1.5 billion loan for the project. The report said the new plant would be funded through loans […]

  • Vogtle 2 Installs World’s First Full Accident-Tolerant Fuel Assemblies

    The world’s first complete advanced nuclear fuel test assemblies containing accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) have been installed at Southern Co.’s Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant’s Unit 2 in Georgia.  Nuclear giant Framatome delivered four GAIA lead fuel assemblies containing enhanced ATF (EATF), including both pellets and cladding, to the plant owned by Georgia Power in […]

  • Framatome delivers GAIA fuel assemblies containing the first complete Enhanced Accident Tolerant Fuel concept

    Framatome delivered the industry’s first full-length Enhanced Accident Tolerant Fuel (EATF) concept containing both pellets and claddings to Georgia Power’s Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant. Southern Nuclear, operator of Plant Vogtle, inserted the GAIA lead fuel assemblies containing EATF during the Unit 2 spring refueling outage. Framatome delivered the fuel to the plant in […]

  • CenTrax belt tracker for RWE Eemshaven power plant

    RWE Generation’s Eemshaven power plant is the largest coal and biomass power plant in the Netherlands. Covered conveyor belts ensure dust-free transport of the coal from ships to the power plant or the storage yard. This process was always accompanied by jerks and jolts due to frequent belt mistracking. The constant downtime of the conveyor […]

  • For First Time, IEA Quantifies Coal’s Dominant Role in Global Temperature Increase

    Coal combustion was responsible for more than 0.3 degrees C of the 1-degree C surge in global average annual surface temperatures above pre-industrial levels—and that makes coal the single largest source of the global temperature increase, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in a new report.  The finding, outlined in the IEA’s Global Energy & […]

  • Former TVA CEO Will Take the Reins at PG&E

    PG&E Corp. announced on April 3 the appointment of William “Bill” Johnson as the company’s new president and CEO. It also announced the appointment of 10 new directors to its board of directors. The board appointments will be effective as of the next in-person board meeting, which will be held as soon as practicable, the […]

  • How the DOE Is Looking to Save Hydropower

    The Department of Energy (DOE) unveiled a slate of measures to help U.S. hydropower thrive as costs for wind and solar plummet. Measures will include a roadmap to identify hydro’s value in a future grid, and a first-of-its-kind prize designed to encourage innovative and faster pumped storage construction techniques. In her opening speech at Waterpower […]

  • FPL Will Build World’s Largest Battery Storage System

    Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) has been building new solar farms and bringing gigawatts of new natural gas-fired generation capacity online in recent years. Now the utility has announced what it calls the world’s largest solar-powered battery storage system. FPL on March 28 said the Manatee Energy Storage Center, a 409-MW/900-MWh battery storage facility, […]

  • N.C. Officials Order Duke Energy to Excavate Coal Ash Ponds

    North Carolina officials have ordered Duke Energy to excavate all its coal ash storage ponds in the state, saying the utility’s current plan for its coal ash sites does not sufficiently protect groundwater. The directive issued April 1 comes after regulators in other states, including Virginia, issued similar rulings regarding coal ash disposal in those […]