News

COMMENTARY With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in December, the U.S. put some real financial muscle behind efforts to combat climate change and incentivize renewable energy with $370 billion in loans, grants, and tax credits to spur clean energy technology development, manufacturing, and job creation. Once the full potential of the bill […]

My job has made me a frequent flyer, but I can’t imagine stepping onto a plane without confidence in the air traffic control system and its complex interplay of regulation, technology, communications, scheduling, and human expertise. Many obstacles were overcome to achieve modern aviation—and the same is true where I work: today’s electric grid. Virtual […]

A Norwegian energy regulator has told officials it has identified at least 20 areas suitable for offshore wind farm development, as the government seeks to meet a target of installing at least 30 GW of offshore wind power capacity by 2040. The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, known as NVE, an agency under the […]

April 25, 2023 – Framatome received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to apply the company’s suite of Advanced Codes and Methods to operating conditions with uranium-235 enrichments above the industry standard of 5 weight percent (wt%). This approval is a critical step toward the company’s goal of reload readiness by 2027 for nuclear […]

New rules, regulations, and legislation are changing the way U.S. utilities generate electricity. First, there was the Clean Power Plan (CPP), which was passed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2015. This was replaced in 2019 by the EPA’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. Both policies aim to reduce and limit carbon dioxide emissions […]

Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) giant Fluor Corp. will serve as an engineering and construction partner to design and plan laser fusion power plants developed by Longview Fusion Energy Systems—a company leveraging the recent fusion breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Fluor on April 18 announced it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with […]

The green transition demands efficient storage of renewable energy, to which end a number of Power-to-X plants are under construction in Denmark. They are designed to convert green electricity to another form of energy, such as green fuels. And in the vanguard of this new technology is Lemvig, where the construction of the world’s first […]

Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Catalytic Oxidation Reduction (COR) systems are now available on GE LM2500XPRESS* aeroderivative gas turbines COR emissions control technologies were installed for the first time on GE’s LM2500XPRESS* units in Colorado to reduce emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) up to 50%. ATLANTA, GA — April 20, 2023 —GE (NYSE: GE) today […]

Sunnova Energy Corp., an energy-as-a-service (EaaS) provider, has snagged a first-of-its-kind conditional federal loan guarantee commitment of up to $3 billion for a project that could further future virtual power plant (VPP) deployment. The Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) on April 20 said it would provide a partial loan guarantee for up […]

Rayburn Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Rockwall, Texas, announced on April 19 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ownership of the Panda Sherman Power Plant. The Sherman facility is a 758-MW natural gas–fueled combined cycle unit located in Grayson County, about an hour north of Dallas. The plant will be renamed Rayburn […]

It’s no secret that leaders around the world are searching for ways to decarbonize their electric power grids. While solar panels and wind turbines have been the main options utilized in this effort in recent years, both are intermittent resources. Therefore, backup generation is required to keep power grids reliable. In many situations, that means […]

Midwestern utility DTE Energy announced its 225-MW Meridian Wind Park project has entered commercial operation. The group on April 18 said the wind farm, located in Merrill and spanning parts of Midland and Saginaw counties in central Michigan, features 77 turbines and operates on land leased from farmers in the region. A DTE spokesperson said […]

Hybrid generation and storage is key to rapid low-carbon transition. COMMENTARY When asked why he robbed banks, the infamous Willie Sutton is said to have replied, “Because that’s where the money is!” So, when trying to decarbonize California’s electric power sector, we should follow Sutton’s Law and focus on where the carbon is. To decarbonize, […]

COMMENTARY In the 1950s, a geologist named Marion King Hubbert caused quite a stir when he predicted that the U.S. would reach peak oil production in less than 20 years. Fossil fuels are a finite resource, after all, and Hubert reasoned that oil production in the U.S. would begin to decline around 1970. While parts […]

Though discussions of fugitive emissions are not new in power and processing facilities, they remain a focal point of most plants’ operational plans because they can harm profitability if they are not addressed. As governmental agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) aim to curb fugitive emissions, it becomes ever more important to make […]

COMMENTARY The American grid is reaching a tipping point. With electric vehicles (EVs) making up 5% of all new vehicle sales last year, there is an urgent need to prepare for the unprecedented strain that will be placed on the U.S. power grid as adoption continues to ramp up—and this is to say nothing of […]

Perhaps the most devastating thing that could happen in any developed country would be widespread catastrophic damage to its electric power grid. Nearly everything in an industrialized nation relies on electricity to function. Without it, normal water supplies, sewer systems, and communication services are cut off. Furthermore, things like food and transportation are quickly affected […]

General Electric (GE) said it will supply its H-Class turbine technology for the expansion of a natural gas-fired power plant in Brazil, part of that country’s strategy to add baseload generation to the nation’s power grid to support the integration of renewable energy. It is GE’s second order for turbine technology at the site in […]

A joint venture (JV) created to develop large-scale offshore wind projects said it plans to use what at present would be the world’s largest wind turbines at two projects located between Spain and Portugal. IberBlue Wind, a JV that includes Ireland’s Simply Blue Group along with Spanish companies Proes Consultores and FF New Energy Ventures, […]

A judge in Montana has canceled the air quality permit for a natural gas-fired power plant under construction in the state, citing concerns about emissions of greenhouse gases from the facility. State District Judge Michael Moses on April 6 said government officials needed to more adequately consider the plant’s emissions during its lifecycle. The judge […]

A proposed rule unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 5 could considerably tighten the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for power plants, with specific repercussions for coal- and oil-fired generation. The proposed rule seeks to significantly update the 2012–finalized National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Coal- and Oil-Fired […]

The Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM), a real-time energy market operated by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), has gained three new participants, including its first generation-only entity. CAISO on April 5 announced the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Desert Southwest region, El Paso Electric (EPE), and AVANGRID have formally begun participation in the WEIM. […]

The nuclear power industry is banking on development of small modular reactor (SMR) technology to support global growth. Canada is at the forefront of the SMR market, with at least four Canadian provinces involved in a joint strategic plan to advance the deployment of SMRs. ARC Clean Technology Canada recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding […]

The spectrum of geothermal technologies is quickly evolving. This supplement to POWER’s April 2023 feature, “Startups Are Shaking Up Geothermal Power’s Potential,” briefly explains the differences between some engineered geothermal systems. Conventional geothermal energy is largely produced by hydrothermal systems, which consist of hot water circulated in deep-seated permeable rocks. Resource temperature ranges from high (greater […]

India’s government is pushing for construction of more nuclear power plants as the country looks to increase its supply of cleaner energy. Officials have made some ambitious pronouncements, calling for as

A project led by two major European gas transmission system operators (TSOs) has successfully tested blending rates of up to 25% hydrogen on a Titan 130 SoLoNOx Solar Turbines gas turbine, which serves as a

The term “nuclear renaissance” was very popular in the early 2000s. Nuclear power plant operators had substantially improved existing plant performance, and many new plants were being considered around the

A seismic shift is ongoing in the energy space, as transportation, industry, and other sectors turn toward electricity and away from fossil fuels to supply their power. The push for decarbonization of the

Driven by ripe market conditions, technology startups are injecting investment and innovation into geothermal power to unlock novel applications that could substantially scale up the niche renewable power

Natural gas–fired power generation has seen its ups and downs over the past couple of decades. In some cases, highly efficient combined cycle units were taken offline because they just weren’t needed. But