News

The Department of Energy (DOE) last week offered a $1.45 billion conditional loan guarantee to Spain’s Abengoa to finance the construction and start-up of a concentrating solar power (CSP) generating facility in Solana, Ariz. The facility, which Abengoa claims will be the “largest CSP plant in the world,” will use the first six-hour thermal energy storage system in the U.S.

The DOE awarded a $400 million conditional loan guarantee to Abound Solar Manufacturing for the assembly of thin-film, cadmium-telluride solar modules. The project will allow the manufacturing technology to be commercially deployed for the first time ever.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last week that will strengthen the working relationship between the two agencies regarding future development of commercial renewable offshore energy projects on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

The DOE today announced it would fund 10 projects aimed at developing advanced technologies for capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from coal combustion. The projects, valued at up to $67 million over three years, focus on reducing the energy and efficiency penalties associated with applying currently available carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to existing and new power plants.

A study released last week by the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) concludes that smart metering initiatives alone are not enough to save energy.

Cap-and-trade programs are featured in at least two U.S. legislative proposals to reduce carbon emissions, usually by around 80% by 2050 using a 2005 baseline. The benefits that accrue from the immense investment required to reach these goals are nebulous and don’t occur until decades after the investment. Based on my back-of-the-envelope analysis, the cost-benefit ratio of these proposals does not pass a cursory cost-benefit analysis.

Safety is the imperative for any construction project, and Duke Energy’s 630-MW Edwardsport integrated gasification combined-cycle station in Knox Country, Ind., is no exception.

Re: “Natural Gas Piping: It’s Time for Better Risk Control,” by John Puskar, PE (May 2010) Mr. Puskar’s recommendations to address the hazards associated with purging and blowing natural gas from large industrial piping systems are a significant contribution to the dialogue that is taking place on this important subject. Mr. Puskar correctly identifies two […]

The sturdy design of CONSPEC Controls’ new Allen Bradley PLC-Equipped Multi-Channel controller makes it ideal for coal-fired power plants needing to detect carbon dioxide and combustible gases through a variety of sensor types. Preprogrammed and calibrated at the CONSPEC factory, the controller is capable of multipoint detection on a single power and communication line. This […]

Cyberex CyberWave from Thomas & Betts Power Solutions incorporates the Cyberex patented digital static transfer switch design, which increases redundancy and reliability. Additional benefits include a full-color VGA touch screen, which allows for easy operation and monitoring with minimal engagement, as well as Modbus communications and advanced battery management capabilities to ensure accurate system analysis. […]