News

  Defense-in-depth is a concept that is already widely deployed by many organizations within their IT infrastructures. However, many organizations do not apply it to their industrial control system (ICS) operations, owing mostly to obscure protocols. But as IT and ICS architectures converge and high-profile cybersecurity incidents mount, a robust, holistic defense-in-depth solution may be […]

The nation’s paramount nuclear power trade group has launched a wide-ranging strategy to help generators stay profitable in tight markets, the head of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) told Wall Street analysts on April 12. In an address broadcast on Facebook, Maria Korsnick, NEI president and CEO, said that nuclear plants that operate in competitive […]

New Jersey’s Assembly and Senate are both poised to vote on controversial bills that seek to subsidize the state’s nuclear power plants, modify the renewables portfolio standard, and support a pilot offshore wind farm. Lawmakers on April 12 could pass the package of bills, which includes S-2313, a bill directing the Board of Public Utilities […]

Debate continues over a proposed $1.5 billion power plant that would be built in North Bergen, New Jersey, and would send electricity to New York City. The project includes a 1,200-MW combined cycle facility, along with a 6.5-mile 345-kV underground and submarine cable that would go through Bergen County, under the Hudson River, and connect […]

Santee Cooper executives doubted SCANA Corp.’s ability to properly manage the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project for years before the project was ultimately abandoned in July 2017, according to an article published by The Post and Courier, a Charleston, S.C., newspaper. Santee Cooper—a state-run utility—partnered with SCANA as owners of the project; SCANA holds a […]

A showcase of winners of POWER magazine’s highest accolade over the past decade (2017 to 2006). If you think your plant or project compares to these winners, submit a nomination form for the 2017 Plant of the Year or Top Plant awards to POWER‘s editors before the April 13 deadline. POWER magazine, which turned 135 years old this year, […]

A report from groups including the United Nations environmental arm and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) shows renewable energy installations were responsible for 61% of the world’s net power capacity additions in 2017, more than double the new-builds from fossil fuel-powered generation. The Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2018 report, compiled by BNEF, the […]

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) CEO Bill Johnson in an exclusive interview with POWER suggested that the power industry continues to face an uncertain future.  Johnson said that during his 40-year career, he has seen more change in the last five years than in the previous 35 combined. Several indicators imply that will continue going forward. […]

Data from regional transmission organization (RTO) PJM Interconnection shows about 630 MW of power generation will be taken offline in the grid operator’s territory in April, with more than 3,600 MW scheduled to be retired this year, according to the organization’s website. This month’s deactivations are scheduled to begin April 16. Last week, Ohio power […]

Duke Energy Florida will commission both units of its new 1,640-MW Citrus gas-fired combined cycle power plant (Figure 1) by the end of 2018. The company on April 3 said the 820-MW Unit 1 will come online in September, with a second 820-MW unit entering service in November. Construction of the $1.5 billion plant began […]

Two recent project announcements indicate that the U.S. offshore wind sector is burgeoning, bolstered by falling prices and ramped-up political support. A credit ratings agency warns, however, that the sector’s growth could increasingly pressure profit margins of merchant generators in New England, New York, and New Jersey. On March 14, Danish offshore giant Ørsted and […]

Even in the absence of climate policy, customer adoption of electric end-use technologies over the next 30 years is expected to spur steady growth in energy consumption, a new report assessing U.S. electrification from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) suggests. The April 3–released report, “U.S. National Electrification Assessment,” is based on findings by EPRI’s […]

FirstEnergy Corp.’s competitive arm FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) and several key subsidiaries, including FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. (FENOC), on March 31 sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. FirstEnergy said the move would facilitate an “orderly financial restructuring” and accelerate its strategy to become a fully regulated utility. FES—the parent company of FE Aircraft Leasing Corp., FirstEnergy Generation, […]

The generating fleets owned by some of the largest companies in the U.S. (ranked here by capacity in 2017) have transformed over the past four years, in some cases dramatically, as total revenues fluctuated. Sources: Fidelity Investments (revenue data standardized by S&P Capital IQ); EIA-860 detailed data; SEC 10-K filings, and company websites. —Copy and artwork by Sonal Patel, a […]

Clay Electric Cooperative was determined to dramatically improve its logistics, reliability, and productivity, even before the Florida member-owned utility set out to build a new warehouse to consolidate

As another hurricane season approaches, the lessons learned by energy companies that have repaired power infrastructure in Haiti, Puerto Rico, and other areas provide a path forward for reducing the impact of

The growth of renewable energy, and with it the need for reliable backup generation, along with the increase in combined heat and power applications, is contributing to a rise in the use of reciprocating

A hybrid fire protection system has the ability to discharge a cloud of hybrid media into protected spaces to extinguish fires without the use of dangerous chemicals. The hybrid cloud is based on cyclonic

Skill levels generally differ between plant operator shifts. Further, these differences often cause divides among the shifts that result in unequal divisions of responsibility. Comprehensive, performance-based

Though critical to the nation’s power grid, large power transformers are some of the most vulnerable components in the system. Armed with a shared determination for resiliency, government, industry, grid

The Geothermal Resources Council, a California-based trade association, said Kenya ranks eighth in the world in geothermal energy production. And the country is poised to add substantially more

Chile joined the ranks of nearly two dozen countries that have announced a phaseout or a moratorium of coal generation, pledging not to continue building coal-fired power plants unless they are equipped with

Following a planned outage, Unit 1 at the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant near Baxley in southeastern Georgia returned to service in early March outfitted with first-of-their-kind accident tolerant fuel (ATF)

China’s Installed Capacity Grows 7.6% in 2017. China’s installed power capacity in 2017 grew 7.6% compared to the end of 2016 and now stands at 1,777 GW—higher than U.S. installed capacity of 1,198 GW as

The South Korean government said the country’s coal-fired power generation hit a new high in 2017, helped by three thermal power plants that came online with combined generation capacity of 5.3 GW. The

Just a decade ago, a hydroblasting contractor was considered cutting-edge if he owned a spinning nozzle for his shotgun and a 2-D tank cleaning tool. Now, the next evolution in hydroblasting technologies is

A day after FirstEnergy Corp.’s competitive arm notified PJM Interconnection it would close four uneconomic nuclear units—a total of 4 GW—in Ohio and Pennsylvania between 2020 and 2021, it urged Energy Secretary Rick Perry to issue an emergency order directing the regional transmission organization (RTO) to secure nuclear and coal capacity for long-term reliability. FirstEnergy […]

Following the lead of Illinois and New York, which have enacted policies supporting nuclear power plants, the Minnesota Legislature is weighing a bill that could help the owner of two nuclear facilities within its borders. Minnesota is home to the single-unit 671-MW Monticello nuclear plant and the dual-unit 1,100-MW Prairie Island plant (Figure 1). Xcel […]

FirstEnergy Corp. will close four uneconomic nuclear units—a total of 4 GW—in Ohio and Pennsylvania between 2020 and 2021, the company’s competitive arm notified PJM Interconnection on March 28. FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) told the regional transmission organization that it will close the 908-MW Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, by 2020; the twin-unit […]

Waste Control Specialists (WCS) and Orano USA intend to revive licensing of a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in Andrews County, Texas, where spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from reactors across the country can be stored until a permanent repository is developed. The companies said on March 13, 2018, they intend to form a joint venture […]