News

The Trump administration, which is considering subsidizing baseload coal and nuclear power for resiliency and “national security,” is pursuing an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy that emphasizes natural gas exports, said Energy Secretary Rick Perry at the World Gas Conference this week in Washington D.C. In a keynote speech on June 26, Perry described the shale gas […]

First-of-their-kind ultracapacitor subsystems address the power gap caused by increasing renewable energy generation SAN DIEGO, June 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXWL), a leading developer and manufacturer of energy storage and power delivery solutions, today announced the launch of two new highly scalable products to deliver reliable, fast responding, long lifetime storage […]

A bill codifying the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) role in addressing industrial control systems (ICS) cybersecurity has cleared the U.S. House of Representatives. While H.R. 5733, “DHS Industrial Control Systems Capabilities Enhancement Act,” contains no mandates for the private sector, it directs the DHS’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) to develop and maintain […]

GLASTONBURY, CT, and HERNDON, VA, June 26, 2018 – Gemma Power Systems, LLC (GPS) and Chickahominy Power, LLC have entered into an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services contract to construct the Chickahominy Power Station, a 1,600 MW state-of-the-art natural gas-fired power plant, in Charles City County, Virginia. The facility is being developed by Balico, […]

Leading renewable energy consultancy assesses the likely impact of permitted development rights on Welsh hydro-electric sector Machynlleth, 27 June 2018 – Dulas, a leading renewable energy consultancy, has completed research on behalf of the Welsh Government into the impact of potential changes to permitted development rights for small-scale hydro-electric projects in Wales. The research, recently […]

The company will deliver a total of 471 MW to a wind complex comprising 15 developments Siemens Gamesa is the number-two turbine OEM in Brazil with a market share of 24% Siemens Gamesa has reinforced its position in Brazil having signed its largest ever contract* in this market. The company will supply a total of […]

General Electric (GE) saw its stock price surge more than 7% on June 26 after the company said it would dissolve its stake in oil services company Baker Hughes and spin off its healthcare unit over the next few years. The announcement comes one day after GE said it would sell its Distributed Power business, […]

GE will sell its Distributed Power business, which includes the company’s Jenbacher and Waukesha engines, to Advent International, a global private equity investment company, in a deal worth $3.25 billion. “In Advent, we have a partner that shares our team’s passion for delivering outstanding customer outcomes,” Carlos Lange, president of Distributed Power, said in a […]

Two Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plants being constructed in China have successfully completed significant project milestones. Sanmen Unit 1—the world’s first AP1000 reactor—achieved initial criticality on June 21. Initial criticality is a nuclear industry term meaning the reactor’s neutron population has remained steady from one generation to the next and the nuclear fission chain reaction […]

Siemens and General Electric, two rivals battling financial problems due to fewer orders for their flagship energy products and services, could each announce major restructuring moves in the coming weeks, according to media reports. Reuters on June 21, citing a person familiar with the matter, said Siemens plans to merge or trim some of its […]

Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure must be redesigned and rebuilt with an emphasis on resilience—and that will require wide-ranging, long-term efforts, the Department of Energy (DOE) says in a new report. In its June 20 report, “Energy Resilience Solutions for the Puerto Rico Grid,” the agency lists a number of recommendations for the government of the […]

American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) proposed $4.5 billion Wind Catcher Energy Connection project—the largest single-site wind project in the nation—has garnered approval from the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC).  The LPSC on June 20 approved a settlement agreement related to the project, which is proposed by AEP subsidiary Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO). Under the proposal, […]

For the first time since it began conducting sector outlooks, Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the regulated utility sector from stable to negative. The new outlook reflects a surge in financial risks in the sector as more individual companies in the regulated space funnel funds to debt. Using an analysis of 42 of the largest […]

Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser on June 19 said reports last week that the German engineering company was considering a sale of its gas turbines manufacturing unit are “media speculation.” Kaeser made the remarks during an event in Zurich, Switzerland. He told Reuters that his company wants to improve the performance of the turbine unit, […]

About half the world’s power will be generated by wind and solar resources by 2050. Generation from coal will drop more than 70% from today’s levels. That’s according to research from energy analysts published June 19 in the “New Energy Outlook 2018” (NEO) from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The NEO report outlines information from […]

Siemens still hasn’t commented on reports it could be looking to sell its gas turbine business. But the managing board member responsible for the company’s power and gas division reportedly issued a memo to staff in the wake of those reports, saying Siemens remains committed to its long-time flagship product. Bloomberg, which on June 13 […]

A Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) executive on June 14 said the utility is prepared to decommission the four idle units at its Fukushima Daini nuclear plant in Japan. The comments come as TEPCO continues to struggle with large compensation payments and cleanup costs associated with the March 2011 accident at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear […]

Siemens AG, the parent company of Siemens Power and Gas, is contemplating the sale of its lucrative but lately troubled gas turbine business, according to one major news outlet. Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg on June 13 reported that the German giant may be considering the sale of its power and gas business, possibly to a […]

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on June 11 slapped sanctions on five Russian firms and three Russian individuals for several “significant” malicious cyber-enabled activities, including cyber intrusions in the U.S. energy grid. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanctions are authorized under President Obama’s Executive Order 13694, “Blocking the Property of Certain […]

President Trump wants to provide financial support to struggling coal and nuclear power plants. He’s told the Department of Energy (DOE) to make it happen. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, along with commissioners from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), made it clear June 12 they don’t support federal government intervention […]

VÄSTERÅS, Sweden–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Westinghouse Electric Company today announced the signing of a contract for manufacture and delivery of boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel to Cofrentes Nuclear Power Plant (CNC) in Spain in 2019 and 2021. CNC is wholly owned by Iberdrola Generación Nuclear S.A. “The reliability and excellent performance of our fuel products are the main […]

TORONTO and SPOKANE, Wash., June 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hydro One Limited (“Hydro One”) (TSX:H) and Avista Corporation (“Avista”) (NYSE:AVA) today announced that the Montana Public Service Commission (“the Commission”) has voted to approve the proposed merger, with conditions. “Hydro One is very pleased that the Montana Public Service Commission has voted favourably on […]

General Electric’s (GE’s) power unit has said it will end manufacturing operations at its plant in Salem, Virginia, next year, with more than 260 workers losing their jobs, according to union officials. Officials noted that 42% of the affected workers are eligible for retirement. The plan announced June 8 said the Salem plant, which opened […]

St. Michael, MN (June 2018) – U.S. Water announces that on May 25, 2018, the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin overturned a decision by a unanimous Federal Court jury that U.S. Patent Nos. 8,415,137 and 8,609,399 relating to U.S. Water’s pHytOUT® deposit control technology were valid. U.S. Water plans to […]

Employees at Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s 385-MW coal-fired Dry Fork Station are all safe after a tornado touched down at the plant’s site in Gillette, Wyoming, on June 1. The company described the harrowing hour before and after the tornado hit the plant and surrounding area. Though the plant “mostly avoided damage,” employee safety protocol […]

A suburban Chicago-based energy company executive on June 7 told Arizona officials his group is putting together a proposal to purchase the Navajo Generating Station (NGS), the largest coal-fired power plant in the western U.S. The plant’s current owners have said they will close the 2,250-MW facility by year-end 2019 unless a buyer is found. […]

A long-stalled plan to repower NRG Energy’s coal-fired 435-MW Dunkirk power plant in Chautauqua County, near Buffalo, New York, to natural gas may be scrapped, owing to uncertainty involving New York Independent System Operator’s (NYISO’s) interconnection process, the company said. NRG mothballed all four units at the plant by January 2016 during four years of […]

Xcel Energy, citing “historically low” costs for wind and solar power, said it wants to double its generation from renewable sources. Colorado’s largest utility also said it will retire two coal-fired units representing 660 MW at its Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo at least 10 years ahead of schedule. The changes were outlined in a […]

The Trump administration’s attempt to prop up uneconomic “fuel secure” generators in competitive markets is just the latest in a string of recent “extra-market” interventions that experts said imperil independent organized markets for electricity. In a recent white paper, Raymond Gifford and Matthew Larson, energy partners at Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, said the restructured administrative […]

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI), an industry association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies, made a point during its annual convention of recognizing the mutual assistance workers who labored tirelessly to restore power to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Nearly 200 personnel, who had worked on the ground in Puerto Rico, gathered on stage […]