News

The Samcheok Green Power Plant requires less maintenance and is more cost-effective than conventional coal plants, and more environmentally friendly with its use of once-through ultrasupercritical boilers

Emissions standards have changed a lot since the Shawnee Fossil Plant entered service during President Eisenhower’s second term in office, but the Tennessee Valley Authority has done its part to help the

Horizontal drilling technology and fracking techniques have created a natural gas revolution in the U.S. The future looks bright for gas-fired power generation but there are three potential storm clouds that

A patented Fluidized Bed Steam Reforming (FBSR) technology uses superheated steam—instead of an open flame—and mineralizing additives to treat and immobilize radionuclides in a water-insoluble matrix

Do you drive an electric vehicle (EV)? If you answered yes and live in the U.S., you’re among the roughly 1% of drivers doing so in this country. If not, how soon do you think it will be before you become

Water withdrawn by U.S. steam-driven power generators fell 18% in 2015 compared to 2010, owing largely to plant closures, coal-to-gas fuel switching, and the use of more water-efficient cooling system

High-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology offers several advantages compared to alternating current transmission systems. For example, it allows more efficient bulk power transfer over long distances

Large Energy Storage System Commissioned in Germany. NEC Energy Solutions (NEC) in late June said it had commissioned the largest energy storage system in Europe for Germany-based EnspireME, a joint venture

Wind farms are not all created equal. During the previous 12 months ending February 2018, the average capacity factor for U.S. wind turbines—virtually all of which were located on land—was 36.9%. Danish

Maintaining a reliable supply of power in Delhi, India, has been a major issue for the area as local demand for electricity continues to increase. The city in June repeatedly set new records for electricity

Cheap and abundant electric power from nuclear fusion—power “too cheap to meter”—has been a dream for more than a half-century. But as time passes, practical fusion appears to be moving further into

American Electric Power (AEP) has abandoned its mammoth $4.5 billion Wind Catcher project, one of its largest planned investments, and a key part of its strategy to tamp down carbon emissions by 2030. Under AEP subsidiary Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO)’s proposed Wind Catcher project, AEP would have acquired a 2-GW wind farm—under construction in […]

It’s been 30 years since the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) called a halt to construction of the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant in Alabama. Details of a deal to finish the plant and its two Babcock & Wilcox pressurized water reactors were announced at a news conference near the idled project July 30. Business executives and […]

Two planned solar projects in Nevada would be the first in that state to include battery storage, part of an increasing trend toward such projects to help mitigate issues with integrating renewable energy into the larger transmission grid. Both projects are scheduled to begin construction next year pending regulatory approval, with the Bureau of Land […]

NextEra Energy Resources, the wholesale power generating subsidiary of Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc., announced it has struck a deal to shorten its power purchase agreement (PPA) with Alliant Energy and will retire the Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC)—a 615-MW nuclear power plant located in Palo, Iowa—before the end of 2020. DAEC’s reactor is licensed with […]

California and Texas—two regions where summer reliability concerns were forecast earlier this year—are suffering extreme temperatures and are scrambling to relieve stress on the grid. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO)—the grid operator that serves about 80% of California—on July 24 and 25 issued statewide Flex Alerts, calling for voluntary electricity conservation during peak afternoon […]

Poised to drive the future of coal power, many Southeast Asian countries are considering new coal plants with high-efficiency, low-emissions (HELE) technologies, a new report suggests. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) December-released World Energy Outlook 2017, Southeast Asia, along with India and other developing economies in Asia, will drive global coal demand. The […]

French utility Électricité de France (EDF)on July 25 said it has pushed fuel loading at its 1.6-GW Flamanville 3 nuclear project to the fourth quarter of 2019 and increased cost estimates for the project by another €400 million (USD $467.1 million). EDF said its current cost for the project has ballooned to €10.9 billion (USD […]

More than two dozen people have died in southeastern Laos after part of a newly built hydroelectric dam broke on July 23, flooding nearby villages. Government officials on July 25 said it had confirmed 26 deaths, with fears the death toll will rise with more than 130 people officially listed as missing and heavy rain […]

An internal report from NTPC said an “error in judgment” by plant operators led to an explosion at India’s Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station last year that resulted in the deaths of 45 workers. Reuters news service on July 23 said it had reviewed a summary of the report on the accident that occurred […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has ordered the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) to broaden, within six months, its Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) reliability standards to include mandatory reporting of cybersecurity incidents that could harm the bulk electric system (BES). FERC’s Order No. 848issued on July 19 directs NERC to develop and submit […]

TAE Technologies’ plasma performance is rapidly ramping up in Norman using advanced active feedback controls, further validating the company’s unique approach to fusion energy. FOOTHILL RANCH, CA, July 19, 2018 — Secretary Rick Perry today joined executives of TAE Technologies, Inc., the world’s largest and most advanced private fusion energy company, at its headquarters in […]

The Trump administration has finalized a significantly weakened rule governing the disposal of coal ash in landfills and surface impoundments by coal generators nationwide. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed on July 18 that it signed the first rule of its two-part rulemaking set that overhauls the Obama administration’s final 2015 rules for the disposal […]

Framatome reached a major milestone in its review of Le Creusot Forge’s manufacturing records, finishing the task of identifying and characterizing deviations in all of the records for forgings installed on nuclear reactors in France. A total of 1,925 records were analyzed. At this stage of the process, no serviceability issues have been identified in […]

China’s first reactor adopting its domestically developed evolutionary third-generation ACPR-1000 design has wrapped up trial operation and begun commercial operation. CGN Power, a subsidiary of China General Nuclear Power Corp., announced that the 1000-MW Unit 5 of the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong province completed a 168-hour period of trial operation on July 12. […]

An industrial-scale pilot plant that will use surplus hydrogen from refinery operations to produce power is taking shape in Australia. Industrial alkaline fuel cell power company AFC Energy on July 12 said it received its first commercial order for a hydrogen power generation unit in Australia from Southern Oil Refining, a subsidiary of Northern Oil. […]

NRG Energy will not restart its Dunkirk power plant in western New York, with the company on July 11 saying the cost to reconnect the facility to the state’s electric grid prohibits reopening the retired coal-fired plant as a natural gas-fueled facility. David Gaier, an NRG spokesman, told POWER the project’s increased costs, along with needed […]

The Navajo Nation on July 12 said it has identified a potential buyer for the 2,250-MW Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Arizona, the largest coal-fired power plant in the western U.S. The Navajo Nation Council, in a joint news release with the Navajo Nation’s Office of the President and Vice President, said the Hopi Tribe […]

The Anyang plant uses GE’s 7HA.02 gas turbine, D652 steam turbine, heat recovery steam generators and plant control system The new equipment increases the plant’s efficiency by more than 13% points for electricity generation and 8% points for district heating Commercial operation achieved 2 months earlier than scheduled thanks to the 7HA gas turbine’s innovative […]

GE Power and the government of Bangladesh on July 11 announced two major power generation deals, with GE part of joint ventures involving power plants along with oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. Bangladesh is investing in energy infrastructure to reduce its reliance on imported LNG for energy production. About 30% of the country’s […]