News
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Press Releases
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 […]
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News
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 […]
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Nuclear
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 […]
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Press Releases
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 […]
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Press Releases
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 […]
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News
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 & […]
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News
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 […]
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News
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 […]
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News
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, […]
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News
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 […]
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Press Releases
MHPS Receives Order for Two H-25 Gas Turbines at Distributed Power Plant in Zhuhai, China
Equipment for the Fushan Industrial Park in Zhuhai City, with operations to begin in the latter half of 2020 Highest output with an H-25 system, utilizing IGCC combustion technologies to meet strict local regulations on NOx emissions YOKOHAMA, Japan, Apr 3, 2019 – (JCN Newswire) – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has received an […]
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Press Releases
Siemens Gamesa advances with its onshore portfolio, launching the new Siemens Gamesa 5.X platform, with a 170 meter rotor — the largest in the industry
Introducing two new turbines, SG 5.8-155 and SG 5.8-170, that increase the AEP by over 20% and 32%, respectively, compared with the SG 4.5-145 Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) continues to advance its product strategy by introducing a new onshore platform: the Siemens Gamesa 5.X platform, which encompasses two turbine models: the SG 5.8-155 and […]
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Press Releases
Sharp Introduces New High Efficiency (19.1%) Mono PV Modules
3 April 2018 – Sharp today launches three new monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) panels to the NU product family. The renewed line-up of high performing modules offer customers a solution for every application, from residential projects up to large-scale commercial installations and free-field power plants. The following three modules are available to buy now from […]
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Connected Plant
Hackers May Already be in Your Infrastructure—Now What?
Cyber-attacks on industrial control systems (ICSs) are no longer a hypothetical. As pieced together by the Wall Street Journal, in 2017, Russian hackers attacked a small construction company, exploiting the organization’s connections with utilities and government agencies. Through an integrator, the hackers accessed computer-network credentials, giving them the ability to get into computer systems that […]
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News
Introducing the Spectrum of Utility Solar Actions
Consumer interest in rooftop solar is higher than ever. The most recent numbers from Pew Research show 89% of U.S. adults favor the expanded use of solar power, while only 9% oppose. Historically, this interest has only been met by solar salespeople, which can create a consumer protection risk. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken notice: […]
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News
New Gas-Fired Plants Come Online in Michigan
Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corp. (UMERC) placed two new natural gas-fired generating stations into commercial operation on March 31, part of the company’s plan to reshape its generation fleet as it seeks to “balance reliability and customer cost with environmental stewardship.” UMERC, a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group, also retired the coal-fired 430-MW Presque Isle […]
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Press Releases
Vestas turbines to feature nacelle Lidar
01 April 2019: Fred. Olsen Renewables places order with ZX Lidars for integrated nacelle wind Lidars on every turbine at the 105 MW Högaliden Wind Farm Fred. Olsen Renewables, a leading global developer, owner and operator of renewable energy assets has confirmed its most recent order of turbines features nacelle Lidar for both wind farm […]
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Press Releases
DNV GL supports Equinor with verification study for Hywind Tampen floating wind farm
Oslo, Norway– 1st April 2019 –DNV GL, the world’s largest independent energy advisory and certification body, today announces that it is working with Equinor to undertake a third-party verification study of the Hywind Tampen floating wind farm in Norway. Hywind Tampen is expected to be the world’s first offshore wind farm powering oil platforms. Situated […]
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Press Releases
SeaPlanner Awarded Contract to Support Triton Knoll Construction
SeaPlanner Ltd has been awarded the contract by Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm Limited, to provide its Marine Management System, SeaPlanner, and SeaHub communications solutions to support construction of the 857-MW offshore wind farm, Triton Knoll. The SeaPlanner Marine Management System will be deployed for use by the construction project team to coordinate all personnel […]
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News
Inside NET Power: Gas Power Goes Supercritical
A project to demonstrate a novel power cycle that promises to produce low-cost, reliable, and flexible power from natural gas—while generating no atmospheric emissions, and fully capturing carbon dioxide—is inching closer to commissioning. Its developers are now actively assessing siting for the first commercial-scale 300-MW NET Power facility. NET Power’s 50 MWth Demonstration Plant in La […]
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Technology
What Are Supercritical CO2 Power Cycles?
While conventional power plant cycles produce power from turbines using water or steam as the working fluid, supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) cycles use CO2 that is in a supercritical state—at a temperature and pressure above its critical point where liquid and gas phases are not distinguishable. CO2 has a relatively low critical pressure of 7.4 megapascal […]
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Business
States Seek Financial Tools to Replace Coal with Clean Energy
Colorado lawmakers are considering legislation (HB19-1037) designed to help the state’s investor-owned utilities gracefully back out of non-economic coal-fired power plants. Colorado is at the forefront of
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O&M
Managing Thermal Quench Damage at Power Plants
Attemperation equipment is necessary to control steam temperatures at many power plants. However, when the equipment functions improperly or the design is flawed, thermal quenching/shock can damage piping
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Plant Design
Proper Valve Trim Extends Life of Boiler Feedwater Valves
Boiler feedwater valves operate under severe service conditions and are subject to premature failure from seat leakage, cavitation, particulates, and frequent cycling. However, once the type and root cause of
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News
Improving Safety and Efficiency with Reality Capture
Reality capture uses laser scanning hardware to record the as-built conditions of any environment in a series of scans. These scans, once stitched together, create a holistic picture of structures, equipment
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News
Plenty of Natural Gas to Go Around—It Just Needs a Market
Demand growth for natural gas for power generation may have slowed in the U.S., as renewable resources continue to take market share. With U.S. production continuing to hit record highs, and new gas-fired
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Hydro
Optimizing Kaplan Turbine Efficiency with Minimal Cost, Effort, and Time
When the blades of individual Kaplan turbines are not continuously adjusted to achieve peak efficiency, the result is non-optimal performance and unnecessarily high mortality of downstream migrating fish
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T&D
Is a Faster-Than-Real-Time Energy Management System Within Reach?
Creating a faster-than-real-time Energy Management System (EMS) is a huge challenge for the power industry. In order to be considered faster-than-real-time, the EMS must be capable of executing within a
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Instrumentation & Controls
Controlling Boiler Level When Operating Conditions Change
The right level instrumentation is key to keeping boilers on an even keel. Guided-wave radar offers a critical combination of capabilities. If asked to make a short list of factors able to improve heat rate