News

  • Covering More with Less: Securing Renewable Energy Sources

    A wide range of industries fall under the umbrella of critical infrastructure, and they are all—as the name implies—critical. From energy production and water treatment to transportation and data storage, everything within critical infrastructure serves an essential purpose when it comes to the continued functioning of the nation. Unfortunately, that makes critical infrastructure sites a […]

  • World Bank Group Financing West Africa Power Project

    An agency associated with the World Bank will finance installation of solar and hydropower systems, and support related transmission and distribution infrastructure, to provide more electricity to areas of West Africa. The World Bank Group’s International Development Association (IDA) is investing $311 million into the Regional Emergency Solar Power Intervention Project (RESPITE), an initiative designed […]

  • Arctic Blast Roiling Reliability in TVA, MISO, SPP, PJM

    An Arctic blast felt by a large portion of North America is causing reliability turmoil within some segments in its bulk power system, forcing reliability coordinators to declare emergencies, issue conservation warnings, or shed load. TVA, Grappling With Demand Surge, Resorted to Load Shed Temperatures averaging the single digits across the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) […]

  • Billionaire-backed ‘Iron-Air’ Battery Maker Picks WV Site for First Factory

    A battery manufacturing company with plenty of high-profile financial backing said it has picked a site for its first factory that will build “iron-air” batteries. Form Energy touts its technology as a breakthrough for long-duration storage of solar and wind power. Form, which counts Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and British tycoon Richard […]

  • NET Power Consolidates Business to Gear Up for Allam Cycle Power Plant Deployment

    NET Power will combine with Rice Acquisition Corp. II (RAC II), a decarbonization solutions special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a new business direction designed to accelerate the deployment of NET Power’s much-watched novel natural gas–fired power plant technology. When the business combination transaction closes as expected in the second quarter of 2023, the new company, […]

  • GE Hitachi Formally Enters BWRX-300 SMR in UK Race for New Nuclear 

    GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) has submitted a Generic Design Assessment (GDA) entry application for its BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) to UK authorities, kicking off a key regulatory process that could give the advanced nuclear technology a competitive edge as the country races to potentially triple its nuclear capacity to up to 24 GW by […]

  • Vattenfall Will Build 1.3-GW Offshore Wind Farm Near Finland

    Vattenfall, the Sweden-based multinational power company, will build and operate Finland’s first gigascale offshore wind farm as part of a joint venture with Finnish state-owned seabed and forest management group Metsähallitus. The project announced Dec. 20 is the 1.3-GW Korsnäs plant in the Bay of Bothnia, which sits between Sweden and Finland in the Baltic […]

  • New Report Shows EU Solar Installations Rise Nearly 50%

    A new report from industry group SolarPower Europe shows that solar installations in the European Union increased by almost 50% year-over-year in 2022, to a record 41.4 GW of generation capacity. “The numbers are clear. Solar is offering a lifeline amid energy and climate crises,” said Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe. “No other energy […]

  • Tri-State returning $10 million in patronage capital to members for 2022

    (December 16, 2022 – Westminster, Colo.) The board of directors of not-for-profit wholesale power supply cooperative Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association have approved the return of $10 million in patronage capital refunds to its members for 2022. Patronage capital represents each member’s equity in Tri-State and is an accumulation over the years of the net […]

  • Hitachi Energy Will Modernize HVDC System, Boost Delivery of Canadian Hydropower to U.S.

    Hitachi Energy will spearhead the modernization of a key high-voltage direct current (HVDC) system in Canada to support the transmission of 1,500 MW of renewable power between Quebec and New York state’s electrical networks. Hydro-Québec, Canada’s largest power utility, on Dec. 15, picked the global technology firm to supply a “back-to-back” converter station at Châteauguay, […]

  • Reliability Threats Continue Because of Premature Coal Plant Retirements

    America’s Power Statement on The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s 2022 Long-Term Reliability Assessment Washington, D.C. – America’s Power president and CEO Michelle Bloodworth issued the following statement in response to the release of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s 2022 Long-Term Reliability Assessment: “We commend the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) for issuing […]

  • GE’s New Energy Business Announces HQ Site

    General Electric (GE), which has restructured its operations in recent years and in July announced its energy and other businesses would have new brand names, on Dec. 15 said its energy group would be headquartered in Massachusetts. GE Vernova, the company’s portfolio of energy divisions, will have its main office in Cambridge, just a few […]

  • Increasing Energy Security: Optimizing Today’s Energy Operations and Investing in Renewables for the Future

    Countries’ timelines to becoming energy secure and reaching net-zero targets have shortened. Major contributing factors include COVID-19’s impact on supply chains and the war in Ukraine. Alongside this are external influences such as COP27, or the landmark U.S. Climate Bill, which will direct almost $370 billion toward rapidly scaling renewable energy production and reducing emissions. Already, intergovernmental […]

  • DOE Confirms Fusion Energy Milestone at California Lab

    The first nuclear fusion reaction to result in a net energy gain has been successfully completed by scientists at a laboratory in California, a milestone in the decades-long pursuit of a way to produce unlimited energy with no carbon emissions or nuclear waste. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm made the official announcement Dec. 13 during […]

  • Emerson Reinvents Pressure Relief Valves to Improve Performance and Reduce Emissions

    New Crosby Balanced Diaphragm and Bellows Leak Detection pressure relief valve solutions improve performance, safety, and reliability while reducing emissions HOUSTON (December 13, 2022) – Emerson has announced the release of two new-to-the-world technologies for the Crosby™ J-Series pressure relief valve (PRV) product line. The first is a Balanced Diaphragm, which eliminates the need for […]

  • U.S. Officials Set to Announce Fusion Energy Breakthrough

    U.S. scientists reportedly have carried out the first nuclear fusion experiment to achieve a net energy gain. The Department of Energy (DOE) is expected to announce the breakthrough on Dec. 13, according to news reports late Sunday. The nuclear power industry has pursued fusion technology for decades, with a renewed emphasis for those efforts in […]

  • Four Forces Shaping U.S. Utilities in 2023

    In 2023, U.S. utilities have a multipronged ambition to realize: how to provide customers with reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy, and safe water. However, increased pressure around decarbonization and the adoption of cleaner energy sources, electrification, and related infrastructure needs, and customer-driven disruption will make this energy trilemma even more difficult to balance. Management at […]

  • Jacobs Wins Contract to Support UK Nuclear Regulator

    Deep technical knowledge underpins country’s energy security and net-zero carbon ambitions DALLAS – Jacobs (NYSE:J) was selected to provide the U.K.’s nuclear regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), with specialist engineering and technical support services. The four-year framework covers the ONR’s activities in new build, power generation, decommissioning and defense. Jacobs has supported the […]

  • GE Grid Solutions and LineVision Partner to Deliver Comprehensive Dynamic System Rating Platform

    Boston, Massachusetts, USA – December 7,  2022 – GE Grid Solutions (NYSE: GE), and LineVision, the global leader in Dynamic Line Ratings (DLR), have formed a partnership to deliver the world’s first integrated suite of Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs), providing utilities with an end-to-end Dynamic System Rating (DSR). GE and LineVision will combine Dynamic Line Ratings […]

  • Small Modular Reactors Aren’t Difficult Nuclear Waste Generators

    Many experts believe small modular reactors (SMRs), which are generally classified as nuclear power reactors with an electrical output of 300 MW or less, offer great promise for supplying the world with carbon-free energy. Several SMR designs are under development by companies around the world including NuScale Power, GE-Hitachi, Terrestrial Energy, TerraPower, Toshiba, X-energy, and […]

  • Co-Firing with Ammonia Project Set for Chilean Coal Plant

    Power generators are exploring how they can retrofit coal-fired power plants to enable co-firing with ammonia, part of their strategy to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). The latest project to look at the concept is led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), which on Dec.  7 announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) […]

  • GE Releases New Option to Cut Emissions on Its Mobile Gas Turbines

    GE Gas Power announced on Dec. 6 that it has deployed an “innovative technical solution” on four TM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines at the California Department of Water Resources’ (DWR’s) sites in Yuba City and Roseville, California (Figure 1). The solution reportedly reduced nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by more than 90%, surpassing […]

  • Iran Building New Nuclear Plant; Indonesia Seeks Investors for its First

    Two countries seeking to expand development of their nuclear power programs have announced new projects. Iranian officials on Dec. 3 said construction of what would be that country’s second nuclear power plant has begun. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s government on Dec. 4 said it is looking for investors to support development of what would be the country’s […]

  • NuScale Power Announces Fuel Handling and Storage Rack Contracts with Framatome

    Contracts include important design and future fabrication activities, critical to NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) technology delivery PORTLAND, Ore. – NuScale Power, LLC (NuScale) announced today it has awarded two new contracts to Framatome to design fuel handling equipment and fuel storage racks for NuScale’s VOYGR™ SMR power plant. This marks a critical supply chain […]

  • The Tales of Battery Energy Storage System Permitting Process

    According to Elon Musk, solar and batteries go together like peanut butter and jelly. The sustainability of renewable energy relies on the deployment of energy storage systems for the storage of energy harnessed by renewable sources. The reduction in the cost to manufacture battery energy storage systems (BESSs) has catapulted the use of these types […]

  • Hybrids Combine Technologies to Enhance Electricity Production

    Solar + wind, solar + storage, wind + storage—even fossil fuels combined with renewable energy—are supporting the growth of hybrid power plants that are breaking the norms of traditional power generation

  • Nuclear Power Is Finally Poised to Ramp Up Again in Japan

    The Japanese have been hesitant to re-embrace nuclear power following the triple reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011, but there are indications that nuclear power could ramp up again in

  • War and Nuclear Power: Stakes Are High for People, Environment, and Industry

    John Stevens Cabot Abbott, the 19th century American historian perhaps best known for writing History of Napoleon Bonaparte and History of the Civil War in America , is attributed with the quote, “War is the

  • Large Hydro Station Wins POWER’s Highest Honor, 21 Additional Outstanding Projects Recognized in 2022

    It’s always difficult to select winners from the field of nominations submitted to POWER for its annual awards, and this year was no exception. The Wudongde Hydropower Station was the big winner, while

  • POWER Digest [December 2022]

    Qatar Inaugurates the Country’s First Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant. With Essa bin Hilal Al-Kuwari, president of Qatar General Electricity & Water Corp. (Kahramaa); Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi