Hydro

  • Is Carbon Pricing the Key to a Clean Energy Future? [PODCAST]

    The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) has proposed incorporating the social cost of carbon into the wholesale price of electricity. According to an October-released study conducted by the consulting firm Analysis Group, “A carbon price in NYISO’s competitive wholesale power markets can help deliver New York’s clean-energy transition in faster, cheaper, more reliable, more […]

  • Renewable Power Generation on Rise in Turkey

    The market for renewable energy in Turkey has been growing since the country enacted a “Renewable Energy Law” in 2005. Progress has been steady and has ramped up in recent years after renewable energy

  • What’s Driving Wholesale Power Price Changes? Not What You Think

    Falling natural gas prices tamped down annual U.S. wholesale power prices over the last decade by $7/MWh to $53/MWh—to a much higher degree compared to the impact of wind and solar growth—a new report from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) suggests.  The Nov. 20–published report, The Impact of Wind, Solar, and Other Factors on Wholesale Power […]

  • ABB wins contract to upgrade Copel hydroelectric power plant in Brazil

    ABB’s digital solutions and engineering services will improve availability and reliability of power in the State of Paraná, with ABB winning a $US2.5 million contract to upgrade Copel’s Governador José Richa hydro power plant. ABB will provide excitation systems and speed regulation for four generator units at the 20-year-old Governador José Richa[i]  hydro power plant […]

  • G20 Investment Summit: Voith signs comprehensive service and operations consultancy contract for Ethiopian hydropower plant

    Signing of the contract in attendance of the Federal Minister for Economics and Energy Peter Altmaier and the Minister of Energy of Ethiopia Dr. Seleshi Bekele Stable energy supply as a foundation for further social and economical development Enormous hydropower potential in Ethiopia HEIDENHEIM, Germany. The technology group Voith has signed a comprehensive service and […]

  • ‘GREEN Act of 2019’ Extends Tax Credits for Renewables

    The Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 19 released a draft tax package for clean energy projects that includes a five-year extension of the 30% solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), along with new incentives for energy storage. The legislation also supports incentives for electric vehicles (EVs), offshore and onshore […]

  • Stranded Nuclear Asset Provides Opportunity for Seawater Pumped Storage

    The closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013 left a stranded coastal asset. However, the existing transmission infrastructure, site control, and geographic topology make it an ideal site

  • Ritter’s Message: Market Forces Drive Growth in Distributed Generation

    Market forces are playing as much if not more of a role than regulatory policy in the transition from fossil-fueled power generation to renewables, as utilities in the U.S. and worldwide establish decarbonization goals. That was the message from Bill Ritter Jr., former governor of Colorado, during his keynote address at POWER’s Distributed Energy Conference […]

  • Solar & Hydro Hybridization: Ciel & Terre’s Floating PV Plant on Sobradinho Hydroelectric Dam

    Sobradinho hydroelectric plant, located in the state of Bahia, Brazil, is now upgraded with a floating solar system developed by Ciel & Terre® in partnership with SUNLUTION. The combination of the two energies – Solar and Hydro – is an answer to meet the region’s electricity consumption needs. This 1 MWp floating photovoltaic project, inaugurated […]

  • Four Projects Picked to Speed Up Pumped Storage Hydro Construction 

    Four projects have won a competition launched by the Department of Energy (DOE) in April 2019 to help shorten the commissioning time for pumped storage hydropower projects and revitalize the hydropower industry.  The grand prize winners or the Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time (FAST) Prize competition were selected by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) […]

  • EIA: Renewables Will Account for Half of Global Power Generation by 2050

    Solar power is expected to take a larger share of global power generation across the next 30 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), as renewable energy continues to be adopted worldwide. The EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019), released Oct. 2, shows 28% of the world’s power came from renewables in 2018, […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: Hydrogen Power

    Hydrogen is emerging as a formidable player in the energy transition, owing to its potential to decarbonize a range of sectors and its versatility. According to a June 2019–released report prepared for the G20 by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the government of Japan, 76% of dedicated hydrogen produced today (around 70 metric tons) […]

  • How Net Generation Has Changed in States with Renewable Portfolio Standards

    As of August 2019, 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), and eight others had non-binding renewable portfolio goals. Three states also had clean energy standards, which set targets for low-carbon non-renewables, like nuclear, and two had clean energy goals. Our monthly infographic in September 2019 shows how shares for each […]

  • Successful Dam Stabilization Project Improves Safety and Reliability

    Hydropower is the oldest renewable energy source, but aging dams require periodic maintenance. A stabilization project that added high-capacity post-tensioned anchors and new concrete enhanced the Bagnell Dam

  • Small Hydro Innovation Revitalizes Scotland’s Storr Lochs Plant

    The refurbishment of Storr Lochs, a small hydropower plant built nearly 70 years ago at an isolated location in Scotland’s mountainous Isle of Skye, has given the project new life and purpose. The reason

  • Indian hydropower project an example of good practice in sustainability

    The Teesta-V hydropower station, in Sikkim in northern India, has been rated as an example of international good practice in hydropower sustainability, according to an independent report. The 510 MW power station, owned and operated by NHPC Limited, was reviewed by a team of accredited assessors using the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol. Their report, which […]

  • POWER Digest [August 2019]

    VW Chooses MHPS to Modernize Cogen Plant. Volkswagen AG (VW) in early July said it chose Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe (MHPS Europe) to build a gas-and-steam power plant in Wolfsburg, as part of the

  • How to Make Shutdown, Turnaround, and Outage Events Successful

    Shutdown, turnaround, and outage events are extremely complex, with multiple stakeholders all focused on minimizing the time assets are offline, delivering their scope on budget, and ensuring zero safety

  • NREL Names FAST Prize Concept Stage Winners

    Nine pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) concepts today were named winners of the latest stage in the FAST Commissioning for Pumped-Storage Hydropower (PSH) prize competition. The FAST Prize—which stands for “Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time”—is part of the American-Made Challenges series, designed to accelerate the commissioning times of PSH projects from 10 years to five, while reducing […]

  • Regulators Back Georgia Power Plan to Close Coal Units, Add Renewables

    The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on July 16 threw its support behind Georgia Power’s plan to add 2,260 MW of new renewable power generation to the utility’s portfolio, on the same day the PSC signed off on the company’s effort to decommission its long-running coal-fired Plant Hammond. Georgia Power earlier this year submitted a […]

  • POWER Notebook: Ohio Gas Plant Project in Jeopardy if Nuclear Bill Passes

    New York City-based LS Power on July 15 said it would end a project to expand its natural gas-fired Troy power plant in Ohio if state lawmakers pass legislation to subsidize the state’s two nuclear power plants. LS Power in a news release Monday said, “Handouts to nuclear plants jeopardize the economics of the other […]

  • Digital leader ABB provides Enel Green Power with predictive software for sustainable hydro operations

    ABB is partnering with Enel Green Power to deliver innovative predictive maintenance solutions that will lower maintenance costs and transform the performance, reliability and energy efficiency of its hydropower plants throughout Italy. The three-year contract will enable 33 of Enel Green Power’s hydroelectric plants, comprised of about 100 units, to move from hours-based maintenance to […]

  • Voith makes Swiss pumped storage power plant Ritom fit for the future

    HEIDENHEIM/QUINTO. Technology group Voith recently received an extensive order for the Ritom pumped storage power plant in Switzerland. The plant has been in operation since as far back as 1920 and will now be replaced by a new facility. Voith will be responsible for design, fabrication, installation and commissioning of the new high-performance generating units. […]

  • Chile Presents a Coal Exit Plan

    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

  • A Clean Sweep for Invasive Mussel Biofouling

    The rapid proliferation of dreissena rostriformis bugensis—the quagga mussel—has major implications for power plant reliability. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation installed a groundbreaking solution at Parker

  • Hydropower Is Vital to Africa’s Future

    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

  • As Renewables Surge Ahead of Coal, Lawmakers Introduce National Renewable Standard 

    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 […]

  • BrandSafway introduces BrandTech™ Power Distribution

    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 […]

  • How to Monitor and Predict Operational Performance with Digital Analytics [PODCAST]

    Power plants are capturing operational data in ever-increasing amounts. However, analyzing all the data can be challenging. A number of tools are available that can help. In this episode of The POWER Podcast, two experts from one technology provider explain how big data can be analyzed to identify trends and create actionable information to solve […]

  • Apagón: A Blackout Sweeps South America

    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 […]