News
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Coal
Reducing Operational Constraints and Emissions by Increasing Flexible Energy Capacity
Today, modern network technology can transform commercial and industrial facilities into power sources that generate, store, and trade clean energy, allowing owners to increase cash flow, achieve
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Sustainability
Five Reasons Why Power Plant Owners Should Consider Repurposing Their Assets
Aging power plants are not necessarily liabilities. Owners must consider all of their options for both sites and equipment before they inadvertently discard valuable assets. The shift toward renewable energies
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Gas
Restoring Power Plants to Dependable Peak Efficiency
Two peaker plants in the southern U.S. found the experience and know-how of a seasoned rotating equipment services provider indispensable during a control system upgrade and a generator rewind project. Every
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News
To Repower or Not to Repower? That’s the Question; Here’s How Asset Owners Can Answer It
Photovoltaic (PV) systems eventually lose their ability to generate power, leaving asset owners with a major decision on what to do next. Whether it’s outright damage from extreme weather events or expected
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Energy Security
Rethinking Energy Reliability with Modern Power Systems
As the energy transition to inverter-based resources continues, reliability risk increases and requires additional investment to mitigate threats. But what measures should be put in place, what are the
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Press Releases
Hydrogen: new “Electrolyzer” module in ProSimPlus simulation software to optimize the design, maximize the efficiency, and reduce the energy consumption of hydrogen production units
Labège, 30 may 2023 – ProSim, a provider of software and services for simulation and optimization of industrial processes, has announced the addition of an electrolyzer module in the new version of its ProSimPlus software. By combining this module with other equipment from the ProSimPlus library, users can simulate the entire process of hydrogen production […]
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Nuclear
Unit 3 at Vogtle Nuclear Plant Reaches 100% Power Output
Georgia Power officials said Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle has reached 100% power output, as the first reactor in a two-unit expansion at the site in Waynesboro, Georgia, nears commercial operation. The utility on May 29 said Unit 3 reached its expected output of about 1,100 MW for the first time, as the reactor continues […]
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Electrification
Major Battery Plant to Support EVs Announced for Georgia
The market for U.S. manufacturing of batteries for the electric vehicle (EV) sector continues to grow. The latest announcement comes from South Korea-based LG Energy Solution (LGES), which together with Hyundai Motor Group has formed a joint venture (JV) for a battery cell factory in Georgia. The announcement on May 26, during a signing ceremony […]
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Nuclear
Westinghouse, Bechtel Form Consortium to Design and Build Poland’s First Nuclear Plant
Westinghouse Electric Co., Bechtel, and state-owned Polish entity Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) will work together to kick off design activity for Poland’s inaugural AP1000 nuclear power plant later this year and potentially ink a construction contract in 2025 in a bid to meet Poland’s goal to begin nuclear power generation in 2033. The companies announced […]
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Coal
Clean Energy Spending Grows, but Big Investments Continue in Coal and Other Fossil Fuels
The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects investment in clean energy technologies, including “renewable power, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emission fuels, efficiency improvements and end-use renewables and electrification,” to exceed $1.7 trillion in 2023, the most ever. Yet, even as clean energy investments grow, more than $1 trillion is expected to be invested in unabated fossil fuel […]
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Nuclear
DOE: MARVEL Microreactor Prototype Installed, Gearing Up for Testing
A full-scale electrically heated prototype of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) 100-kWth MARVEL nuclear microreactor has been successfully installed at a facility in New Freedom, Pennsylvania, and is readying for testing. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) fabricated the full-scale non-nuclear prototype—known as the primary coolant apparatus test (PCAT)—in January 2022 within nine months. PCAT was then […]
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Electrification
U.S. Power Sector Trade Groups Flag Critical Electrical Steel Crunch
Nine trade groups—including four representing the power sector—have urged the Biden administration to prioritize actions that support the domestic production of electrical steel, warning that shortages are contributing to “significant and persistent” supply chain challenges. The groups, which include the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the American Public Power Association (APPA), the National Rural Electric Cooperative […]
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T&D
UK Developing Digital Twin to Better Understand Future Energy Systems
The UK will back a “digital twin” of future multi-vector energy systems, including non-electric ones, that will support the country’s efforts to meet its 2050 net-zero objectives. The UK’s effort echoes several initiatives launched worldwide to deliver new visibility, knowledge, and understanding of future energy systems and integrate real-time modeling. UK transmission and distribution grid […]
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Nuclear
Global Commitments Bolster Romanian NuScale Nuclear Project
A project to deploy the first NuScale 462-MWe VOYGR-6 nuclear power plant in Romania by 2029 has garnered a $275 million public-private funding commitment from the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of a global infrastructure partnership. The Romanian project may be bolstered by an additional $4 billion outlined […]
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Renewables
Growth Slows, but U.S. Renewable Energy Installs at Third-Highest Level in 2022
The American Clean Power Association (ACP) in a new report said installations of energy storage, along with wind and solar power capacity, were at the third-highest level on record in 2022, with more than 25 GW of new clean power installed cross the U.S. But challenges to clean energy deployment remain. The group’s “Clean Power […]
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Nuclear
Oklo’s Next Two Nuclear Power Plants Planned for Southern Ohio
Advanced nuclear reactor technology firm Oklo will build its second and third commercial 15-MWe Aurora Powerhouse reactors on land owned by the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI), a community reuse organization tasked by the Department of Energy (DOE) to re-industrialize land around the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) just south of Piketon, Ohio. Oklo on […]
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O&M
Solenoid Valves: Choosing the Right Option for Power Generation Applications
Solenoid valves play a crucial role in power generation applications, providing reliable and efficient control over fluid and gas flow. Their ability to operate quickly and precisely makes them indispensable in power plants, ensuring seamless operations and enhanced safety. In this article, we will look into the fundamentals of solenoid valve operation, explore their significance […]
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Nuclear
New Steam Generators Help Extend Operation of Surry Nuclear Power Plant
Dominion Energy will replace the steam generators at its Surry Nuclear Power Station in Virginia. The project further supports the company’s Subsequent License Renewal (SLR) program to extend the long-term operation of Surry Units 1 and 2 through 2052 and 2053, respectively, when the units’ current licenses expire. Westinghouse Electric Co. will design and manufacture […]
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Nuclear
TVA Head Wants Nothing to Do with Building One Reactor Unless He Can Build 20
Building a nuclear power plant is a difficult job. It takes years of planning and sometimes more than a decade to complete. The risk of schedule delays is great, especially on first-of-a-kind projects, and the financial implications of such setbacks can ruin a company. Yet, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) president and CEO, Jeff Lyash, […]
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Nuclear
Siting a Nuclear Power Facility Is Both Art and Science
With governments and industry engaging more frequently and decisively on how nuclear energy can help meet their climate, electrification, and economic goals, attention is now turning to how we get the needed capacity built. While extending the operating lives of existing nuclear plants, some countries will need to build new nuclear capacity to meet their […]
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Press Releases
NuScale Power and Nucor Corporation Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Explore Deployment of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors to Power Nucor Electric Arc Furnace Steel Mills
PORTLAND, Ore. – NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE: SMR) and Nucor Corporation (Nucor) today announced the two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore co-locating NuScale’s VOYGR™ small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) power plants to provide clean, reliable baseload electricity to Nucor’s scrap-based Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel mills. The companies will also […]
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Nuclear
NEI Head: ‘This Is the Biggest Moment for Nuclear Energy Since the Dawn of the Atomic Age’
“Everywhere we look, we’re seeing demand surging,” Maria Korsnick, president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), said. “When we talk about demand for nuclear, we’re talking about the future of our planet, the future that our children will inherit.” Korsnick spoke those lines on May 15 as part of her “State of the […]
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Nuclear
Emerging Opportunities for Nuclear in the Energy Transition
Nuclear has re-invented itself as a compelling pathway to achieving net-zero. It is said that everything is cyclical—where there are periods of expansions and contractions. Could this be true of nuclear energy? Can the benefits outweigh the fears and flip the switch from decommissioning to accelerated growth? In the late 1960s, federal nuclear energy programs […]
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Legal & Regulatory
NRC Issues License for Holtec’s New Mexico Consolidated Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted Holtec International a license to build and operate a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel in southeastern New Mexico, despite the state’s opposition. Granted on May 9 after an eight-year process, the NRC’s license allows Holtec to “receive, possess, transfer, and store” 500 canisters holding […]
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Nuclear
X-Energy, Dow Unveil Texas Site for ARDP Nuclear Demonstration
X-energy and Dow will site a proposed four-unit 320-MWe Xe-100 advanced nuclear reactor facility at Union Carbide Corp. Seadrift Operations, a sprawling Dow chemical materials manufacturing site in Seadrift, Calhoun County, Texas. The companies on May 11 said the small modular reactor (SMR) project, part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Reactor Demonstration […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Carbon Capture Key to EPA’s New Power Plant Emissions Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has unveiled new greenhouse gas (GHG) standards for the nation’s power plants, moving to require both existing and new facilities to capture emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) for the first time. The rule announced May 11, if implemented, would mean coal- and natural gas-fired power plants would have to […]
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Nuclear
Microsoft Has Deal to Buy Fusion Power from Helion
Software giant Microsoft on May 10 announced it has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with nuclear fusion startup Helion Energy to buy electricity from Helion as soon as 2028. Andrew Holland, CEO of the Fusion Industry Association, said Microsoft’s deal is the first time a fusion company has signed a deal to sell electricity. […]
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Gas
New York Group Acquiring More Than 2.1 GW of Texas Gas-Fired Capacity
New York-based energy investment firm LS Power on May 8 said it has reached an agreement with Brazos Electric Power Cooperative to acquire 2,145 MW of natural gas-fired power generation in the ERCOT North region of Texas. The deal comes six months after a federal bankruptcy court judge approved Brazos’ reorganization plan, which includes a […]
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Nuclear
Westinghouse Unveils the AP300—A Miniaturized AP1000 Small Modular Nuclear Reactor
Westinghouse has officially unveiled the AP300, a “downsized” version of the company’s flagship AP1000 Generation III+ pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology. While the small modular reactor (SMR) will enter a nuclear market already rife with development, the AP300’s “nth-of-a-kind” basis positions it as a strong competitor, the company told POWER. The 300-MWe/900-MWth AP300, launched on May 4, […]
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Wind
Hitachi, Quanta Will Build Major U.S. Transmission Line
A massive wind power project in New Mexico will include a transmission line to deliver the installation’s electricity across the southwestern U.S. Pattern Energy Group, a California company that develops renewable energy projects globally, on May 4 said it has chosen Hitachi Energy and Quanta Services to build the SunZia Transmission and Wind project, which […]