Power Demand

China has started up its first commercial nuclear cogeneration system, using two newly operational AP1000 reactors at the Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant to heat 700,000 square meters of housing.  Shandong Nuclear Power Co. (SDNPC), a subsidiary of State Power Investment Corp. (SPIC), and owner of the Haiyang plant, on Nov. 15 said the first phase […]

Officials in China in 2017 said the country—the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases—would move away from coal-fired power generation. They promptly canceled more than 100 coal power plant construction projects. But coal remains king in China, which in the past two years has added 43 GW of coal-fired generation capacity, according to a report […]

The future of energy is electric. It is a future that is evolving rapidly, bringing significant changes. Traditional suppliers are scrambling to stake their claims and remain relevant. Market trends point

A recent study found that electric vehicle (EV) batteries used as a utility virtual power plant (VPP) could shift the entire residential peak load to nighttime hours with only 10% EV market saturation. The research was conducted by Jackson Associates, an Orlando, Florida-based firm that does energy forecasting, data development, and energy-related analysis. The study […]

South Africa’s state-owned utility Eskom was forced to slash 2,000 MW on a rotational basis nationwide on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17. The newest round of power cuts—the first in nearly seven months—highlight the state-owned utility’s scramble to avert financial disaster stemming in part from the fast-tracked construction of two 4.8-GW coal-fired power plants: Medupi […]

Xcel to Take Advantage of Distributed Intelligence and Distribution Automation LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — Sept. 17 — Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), which is innovating the way utilities and cities manage energy and water, and Xcel Energy entered an agreement to secure smart meters that will allow for collaboration to improve customer experience and utility operations […]

What is a superconductor? One definition says, “a material that can conduct electricity or transport electrons from one atom to another with no resistance.” “At the base physics level, what a superconductor does is it moves a lot more power per unit volume or per unit weight, so you have a very high energy-dense material […]

This year, it seems hardly a week has gone by without a new report making us even more nervous about climate change. It’s as if the editorial theme for 2019 was: “It’s worse than you thought.” Maybe

Plant Owner Announces College Scholarship Program for Local Students SMITHTON, Pennsylvania – A dedication celebration Wednesday for Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station highlighted the economic benefits the natural gas-fueled power plant near Smithton has brought to the area over almost three years of construction and now during operation. “One of Pennsylvania’s strengths is our abundant and […]

Taishan-2 EPR Achieves Criticality. A second EPR unit in China’s Guangdong province attained a sustained chain reaction on May 28, marking another major milestone for Framatome, EDF, and China General

Chile, a country that relied on coal for about two-fifths of its power generation in 2016, in June announced it would mothball eight coal plants, totaling 23 GW, of its existing 28-plant coal fleet over the

Winning POWER’s highest honor is a set of three gas-fired power plants and related infrastructure—the Egypt Megaproject—which was the single biggest order ever in Siemens’ long history. Completed in a

Africa has a number of power supply challenges, many of which can be overcome with renewable energy. Foremost among the options is hydropower. While large projects can meet stiff resistance in the development

There are many reasons for utilities to invest in Advanced Distribution Management Systems, particularly as more renewable resources are utilized and integrated, and the need for reliability and resilience of

What does the 21st century power market look like? That is the question the European Union (EU) is attempting to answer with the new electricity regulation and revised electricity directive passed at the end

A bill introduced by Senate Democrats on June 26 establishes a national electricity standard that would require large retail suppliers to source at least 1.5% of their power from renewables by 2020 and gradually grow that share through 2035.  The measure comes a day after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed monthly generation from renewable […]

Innovative, new PDU revolutionizes circuit breaker design and reduces equipment costs by up to 40 percent Kennesaw, Georgia, USA, June 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) –BrandSafway is introducing the new BrandTech™ Power Distribution Unit, an Underwriters Laboratories (UL)/Canadian Standards Association (CSA) International-listed power distribution unit (PDU) with circuit breaker (CB) and ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). It […]

Authorities have initiated a far-reaching investigation into an unprecedented blackout that on June 16 hit a wide swath of South America—most of Argentina and Uruguay, and parts of Paraguay—affecting tens of millions of people.  The massive blackout—apagón—is thought to have originated in a disturbance that affected two high-voltage lines, Colonia Elia Y Mercedes and Colonia […]

India is striving to conserve coal and slash its carbon emissions. The country which depended on coal for 56% of its total capacity of 356 GW as of May 2019, wants to reduce coal’s share to 45% of a planned capacity expansion to 480 GW by the end of 2022. During that period, it will […]

Household batteries could contribute to making the grid more cost effective, reliable, resilient, and safe—if retail battery providers, utilities, and regulators can resolve delicate commercial, operational, and policy issues. The growth of battery storage in the power sector has attracted a great deal of attention in the industry and media. Much of that attention focuses […]

Hydropower has evolved through multiple industrial revolutions. Today, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 offer solutions to take the industry to a whole new level. Rules-based analysis

Are you properly quantifying and assessing the health of your plant’s transformers? Oil testing, infrared scanning, electrical testing, and inspection provide a much deeper understanding of what is happening

Increasingly, today’s electric power grids are interacting with microgrids and in more complex ways. Yet, much work needs to be done to integrate microgrids and flexible demand into the wide-area synchronous

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has issued a fresh warning that continued “above-normal” growth in electric demand could require it to enter Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) status to maintain system reliability this summer.  As it released its final Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) for the upcoming summer season (June to September), a preliminary […]

Companies will also offer Convergent’s energy storage solutions to large electricity users in Ontario (Toronto, ON) May 8, 2019 – Convergent Energy + Power (Convergent), the leading independent developer of energy storage solutions in North America, and Shell *, today announced a joint venture starting with 21 MWh of industrial battery storage systems at two […]

The power grid is a pretty complex system. Electricity is generally produced on an as-needed basis. Generators ramp up and down based on demand. However, energy storage systems are beginning to change how

Managing the power load of a Las Vegas casino might seem a daunting task. MGM Resorts International, which operates several iconic properties on the city’s famous strip along with other hospitality and entertainment venues worldwide, took matters into its own hands a few years ago as it tried to control its energy costs and also […]

Creating a faster-than-real-time Energy Management System (EMS) is a huge challenge for the power industry. In order to be considered faster-than-real-time, the EMS must be capable of executing within a

Exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. continue to rise, as the use of natural gas for power generation increases in countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico. Data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) shows that four U.S. LNG export facilities combined to ship 483 LNG cargoes in 2018, a […]

Eight years after Germany decided it would halt nuclear power production by 2022, the country that relied on lignite and hard coal for 38% of its generated power in 2018 will phase out coal by 2038 or earlier