News

  • POWER Digest [June 2022]

    Twenty20 Energy Will Build Gas-Fired Plant in Papua New Guinea. Singapore-based Twenty20 Energy Systems in April announced it would design and build a new gas-fired power plant in Hela province, Papua New

  • Worsening energy crisis is a major opportunity for investors

    The global energy crisis will continue to deepen and should act as an alarm call now about the decent long-term future rewards in sustainable investments, says the CEO of a leading global financial giant. The analysis from Nigel Green, CEO and founder of deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory, asset management and […]

  • India Plans to Reduce Coal-Fired Generation, and Mine More Coal

    India’s Power Ministry, despite the country facing shortages of electricity in recent years and as recently as the past month, said it plans to reduce the amount of power generation from at least 81 of the country’s 173 coal-fired power plants over the next four years. The agency, in a letter dated May 26 that […]

  • Headway for Potential Deployment of BWRX-300 Nuclear Reactor in Saskatchewan

    The potential deployment of a BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan gained a boost with a cooperation agreement between GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) Canadian subsidiary GEH SMR Technologies Canada and the Saskatchewan Industrial and Mining Supplier’s Association (SIMSA). GEH SMR Canada on May 26 said a memorandum of understanding […]

  • Palisades Nuclear Power Plant Closes After 50 Years of Operation, Employees Leave with Pride

    After more than 50 years of operation, the Palisades nuclear power plant was taken offline for the final time on May 20. The station was scheduled to be permanently shut down on May 31, but plant operators “made the conservative decision to shut down the plant early due to the performance of a control rod […]

  • Wartsila Engines Will Power New Wisconsin Gas-Fired Plant

    A new natural gas-fired power plant project being developed by Wisconsin-based WEC Energy Group will use seven Wärtsilä 50SG gas engines. The Finland-based technology company on May 24 announced the equipment order, with the engines expected to be used at a planned 128-MW facility located near Wausau, Wisconsin, that would be built at the site […]

  • Honeywell Introduces Emissions Control & Reduction Initiative to Support Customers’ Sustainability Goals

    Initial offering to focus on the detection and reporting of fugitive methane emissions to help users reduce production losses, improve productivity and comply with ongoing legislation  ORLANDO, Florida, May 24, 2022 – Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) today announced an Emissions Control & Reduction Initiative designed to help customers achieve carbon neutrality in a wide range of areas. […]

  • Philippines May Restart Bataan Nuclear Plant Project

    The winner of the Philippines’ presidential election earlier this month has made another move in support of reviving nuclear power in that country, holding talks with South Korea about enlisting help to restart a nuclear power plant project that was abandoned nearly 40 years ago. President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Kim Inchul, South Korea’s […]

  • Solving the Intermittency Problem with Battery Storage

    The perfect storm of crises and policy directives have converged to create the energy storage moment. Between the drive to reduce carbon output to “net zero” over the coming decades and the commodity crisis created by the conflict in Ukraine (including its impact on the supply and price of oil and natural gas), the pressure […]

  • Hydrogen, Ammonia–Fired Gas Turbine Development Gets U.S. Government Fast-Track Boost

    The U.S. government has set out to fast-track technology development enabling hydrogen and ammonia combustion in power-generating gas turbines, furnishing six novel industry-led projects with a combined $24.9 million on May 19. Projects include development of hydrogen-ready combustion technologies for F-class retrofits, more efficient hydrogen and ammonia burners, and a potential demonstration of a rotating […]

  • NERC Warns of Mounting Reliability Risks, Urges Preparation for Challenging Summer

    An unprecedented array of risks—ranging from capacity shortfalls, extreme weather, extended drought, supply chain issues, cybersecurity, solar PV tripping, fuel constraints, to wildfires—could imperil the reliability of nearly every North American bulk power system (BPS) region west of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) this summer, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) warned in […]

  • SNC-Lavalin to carry out performance optimization work for CANDU nuclear reactor in Romania

    MONTREAL: May 19, 2022 – Candu Energy Inc., a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group (TSX: SNC), has been chosen by Nuclearelectrica S.A. (SNN), operator of the Cernavoda Nuclear Generating Station in Romania, to conduct optimization work on the Unit 1 CANDU® reactor at the facility. SNC-Lavalin will perform axial channel shifting for several fuel channels in […]

  • Russians Achieve Milestone with New Nuclear Fuel

    Rosatom announced that it has started the fourth irradiation cycle of fuel assemblies with VVER-type fuel rods in the MIR research reactor (Figure 1) at the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk Region. The reactor tests have been ongoing since early 2019. The rods have four combinations of cladding and fuel matrix materials. […]

  • SRP Warns Arizona Regulator Reliability at Risk by 2024 Without Gas Plant Expansion

    Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District (SRP) is seeking a rehearing and reconsideration of the Arizona Corporation Commission’s (ACC’s) denial of a major gas power plant expansion, which the public power utility has stressed will be crucial for near-term system reliability and long-term renewable integration.  In a filing on May 16, SRP urged […]

  • Jacobs Selected by TEPCO to Support Fukushima Clean-up

    Framework to tackle environmental challenges at world’s most complex decommissioning site DALLAS – Jacobs (NYSE:J) was selected by Tokyo Electric Power Company Inc. (TEPCO) to support decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Under a five-year framework agreement, Jacobs will draw on deep domain knowledge and decades of experience on major U.S. […]

  • MAN PrimeServ Commences Service Contract for German Power Plant

    MAN Energy Solutions’ after-sales brand aids reliable operation of 51 MW gas-engine power plant MAN PrimeServ, the after-sales brand of MAN Energy Solutions, has begun a five-year service contract for a new 51 MW gas-engine power plant in the German city of Frankfurt (Oder). Operated by Stadtwerke Frankfurt (Oder), the CHP plant is powered by […]

  • Enel Launches Gridspertise Business to U.S. Market, Expects to Accelerate Digital Transformation of Power Grids

    Enel, a multinational power company with operations in 30 countries and more than 90 GW of power generation capacity in its portfolio, is leveraging its global expertise as the world’s largest privately owned operator of digitally managed power distribution grids, by expanding its Gridspertise business to the U.S. market. First launched in Europe and Latin […]

  • DOE’s Decision to Build Versatile Test Reactor Coming Soon

    (Updated—May 19, 2022): The Department of Energy (DOE) is poised to decide whether it will build the 300-MWth Versatile Test Reactor (VTR), a fast neutron national user facility that could provide the nuclear industry with a much-needed high-performance testing capability for advanced reactors and existing commercial reactors. The DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) on […]

  • How Developments in Electrical System Design Are Helping to Tackle the Challenges of Wind

    As a clean and renewable power source, wind offers massive potential for alleviating some of the growing challenges that countries worldwide are looking to address through the development of new forms of energy generation. At ABB, we look at how developments in electrical system design are helping to turn wind into a major source of […]

  • Climate Change Policy Belongs in Congress, Not State Courts

    Crafting solutions to address the pressing challenges of our time is Congress’s foremost job. There is no doubt that policy-making can be messy, take time, and require compromise. But, overall members and their staff do incredible work for the American public. During my tenure serving Indiana’s 9th Congressional District, I prided myself on working with […]

  • GE Turbines Will Equip Vietnam’s First LNG-Fueled Power Plant

    Two units of a new gas-fired power plant in Vietnam will feature the first use of General Electric’s (GE’s) H-Class turbine in the country. GE on May 16 announced that PetroVietnam Power Corp.’s (PV Power’s) Nhon Trach 3 & 4 Power Plant, with 1.6 GW of generation capacity, will use two GE 9HA.02 gas turbines. […]

  • How Fuel Cells Are Creating Sustainable Data Centers

    In this day and age, there’s more of a need for data centers and cloud computing than ever before. They’re actually one of the fastest growing businesses out there right now. While they are essential, they’re also a drain on the planet. Powering these centers can take up to 50% of their operating costs, and […]

  • California, Again Facing Summer Supply Vulnerabilities, Eyes 20-GW Offshore Wind Goal

    The California Energy Commission (CEC) is mulling a preliminary planning goal for 3 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and potentially expanding it to 10 GW to 15 GW by 2045. If finalized, California’s offshore wind goals would be the most ambitious in the U.S., surpassing even New York’s, which calls for 9 GW by […]

  • DOE Launches $2.5B Fund to Upgrade and Build New Transmission Lines

    The Biden administration has launched efforts to shape the $2.5 billion Transmission Facilitation Program (TFP), a key Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) initiative dedicated to building out critical new transmission lines and related facilities across the country. The Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office on May 10 issued a joint notice of information (NOI) […]

  • Blue Star and Volvo Penta Build Successful Business Partnership Based on Shared Values

    Close collaboration plays key role as companies achieve growth milestones and tackle new opportunities. When Volvo Penta first approached Blue Star back in 2011, the companies immediately found common ground in their commitment to business ethics. These were the seeds of a fruitful partnership that has only grown stronger over the past decade. “Right from […]

  • Quantum Technology: Applications in Cybersecurity for Power Utilities

    With the advent and implementation of smart grid infrastructure across power utilities, there has been a paradigm shift in the efficiencies of the grid. The use of digital communication technology has led to high-speed communication enablement across various components as well as better data analysis and real-time control. This has proven to be advantageous not […]

  • Vogtle Nuclear Expansion Price Tag Tops $30 Billion

    An updated financial report from one of the owners of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia shows the cost to build two new reactors has now topped $30 billion, more than double the original price tag expected for the project. The Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), one of four groups with an ownership […]

  • Keeping Coal Relevant: University of Wyoming Leads the Way

    To say the coal industry faces challenges is an understatement. Coal-fired power plants are being retired around the globe as efforts to decarbonize the world’s power supply have intensified due to climate change concerns. That’s a problem for people working in the coal industry, as well as for states and governments that rely on coal […]

  • ERCOT, MISO Warn of Potential Power Supply Shortfalls

    (Updated—May 6, 2022) The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) over the past week separately expressed concerns about power supply uncertainties in the face of upcoming warmer-than-normal temperatures. MISO raised an alarm on April 28 when it said that it projects “insufficient firm resources” to cover the summer […]

  • Revolutionizing Refractory Maintenance: Increasing Efficiency with Specialized Equipment

    Refractory maintenance, though vital, can often be a logistical and financial burden. This is especially true for power plants, cement plants, and other large facilities that rely on boilers, kilns, coolers, preheater towers, and risers for day-to-day operation. These facilities stand to lose many thousands of dollars a day in production if their refractory can’t […]