Research and Development

  • Is a Faster-Than-Real-Time Energy Management System Within Reach?

    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

  • Controlling Boiler Level When Operating Conditions Change

    The right level instrumentation is key to keeping boilers on an even keel. Guided-wave radar offers a critical combination of capabilities. If asked to make a short list of factors able to improve heat rate

  • The Economic Thicket of Generating Cost Comparisons

    Comparing the costs of differing electric generating technologies has become popular among advocates for particular technologies and those seeking to find the optimal approach to new generation. While getting

  • Bipartisan Senators Move to Cement Nuclear Power’s Future

    A wide-ranging bill introduced by a large group of bipartisan U.S. senators on March 27 seeks to cement the role advanced nuclear reactors will play in the nation’s future power mix.  The “Nuclear Energy Leadership Act” (NELA), aims to “reestablish U.S. leadership in nuclear energy,” which has been lost to state-sponsored development in Russia and […]

  • Bagging DOE Support, Westinghouse Eyes Demonstration for Nuclear Micro-reactor by 2022

    The Department of Energy (DOE) is funding a project that would prepare Westinghouse’s 25-MWe eVinci micro-reactor for nuclear demonstration readiness by 2022.  The agency on March 27 said it will provide $12.9 million of the estimated $28.6 million Westinghouse needs for a project to prepare the micro-reactor for a demonstration, including for design, analysis, licensing […]

  • Solar Power Is Economical Today, but Comes With Challenges

    Depending on the deployment location and competing energy prices, photovoltaic solar panels are among the most cost-effective power solutions being added to the grid today, often without subsidies and other incentives. The revelation came during a panel discussion—which included several CEOs from the power sector—that took place at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) Summit […]

  • ROCKWOOL Awarded Materials Performance Corrosion Innovation of the Year Award for WR-Tech™ (Water Repellent Technology)

    THE WOODLANDS, Texas, March 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — ROCKWOOL Technical Insulation, a subsidiary of ROCKWOOL Group, today announced it has been awarded the Materials Performance Corrosion Innovation of the Year Award for its patent-pending WR-Tech™ (Water Repellent Technology) by Materials Performance magazine, a publication of NACE International. The awards celebrate cutting-edge technologies that are at […]

  • DOE Announces $36 Million for High-Temperature Materials Projects

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 22, 2019) – The U.S. Department of Energy has announced $36 million in awards for 18 projects as part of the High Intensity Thermal Exchange through Materials and Manufacturing Processes (HITEMMP) program, as well as the final OPEN+ Cohort, High Temperature Devices. These project teams seek to develop new approaches and technologies for the […]

  • The Line Blurs Between Small Cogen Plants and Large Combined Cycles

    When U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), he unintentionally ignited the worldwide deregulation of electricity markets, which in turn began a worldwide technology race between two distinct types of power plants: the newly created, industrial-scale plant that PURPA dubbed “cogeneration” and the traditional, utility-scale power […]

  • Wind turbine blade erosion to be tackled in new Joint Industry Project

    DNV GL launches Joint Industry Project to analyse damage caused to wind turbine blades from the high-speed impacts of foreign objects Group of industry experts will jointly develop Recommended Practice for designing a protection system against rain erosion, to be published in 2020 Project partners include Vestas, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, LM Wind Power, Ørsted, […]

  • Energy at a Cellular Level: Battery Storage Shows Plenty of Power

    Battery storage technology has moved in fits and starts, but today experts note that rapid advances make it difficult for safety standards to keep pace. Developers of storage systems are designing projects to

  • Microturbines Useful in Commercial and Industrial Applications

    Gas turbines come in a variety of sizes. While large combustion turbines seem to get the bulk of the publicity, with the likes of Siemens, GE, and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems making the most noise

  • The Fallacy of Wind Power Generation

    The source of energy for driving wind turbines is the wind, and in this context, it is important to remember the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only

  • The Pursuit and Advancement of Carbon Capture and Storage

    As the world grapples with climate change concerns, carbon capture and storage could be the holy grail for continued fossil fuel use. Projects have come online that prove its feasibility, but costs can be

  • DOE Chief: Nuclear Power, Clean Coal Technology Key to Reducing Emissions

    U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on February 28 said nuclear power and the use of clean coal technology are the way to combat climate change and reduce emissions from the energy sector. Perry, speaking at a joint press conference in Washington, D.C., with Fatih Birol, director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said, “We believe […]

  • Convergent Science to Sponsor ASSESS Initiative

    ASSESS: Analysis, Simulation, and Systems Engineering Software Strategies to enable a significant increase in usage and benefit of these technologies Clarkesville, GA ASSESS Initiative, a broad reaching multi-industry initiative to facilitate a revolution of enablement that will vastly increase the availability and effectiveness of Engineering Simulation is proud to announce that Convergent Science is a […]

  • Japanese Conglomerates Rejigger Power Sector Strategies

    Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), two giant Japanese companies with substantial stakes in the world’s power sector, are separately rethinking future business directions as sizable disruptions shake up prospects for traditional market growth. In recent months, Hitachi refined its business model to prepare it for explosive demand in  digitalization solutions, focusing heavily on grid […]

  • Zetec Announces RevospECT® HX Pro Automated Data Analysis Software for Heat Exchanger Inspections

    SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (Feb. 20, 2019)—Zetec Inc., a global leader in nondestructive testing (NDT) solutions, introduced RevospECT® HX Pro, a commercially available automated inspection analysis software for heat exchangers in the power generation, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and HVAC industries. RevospECT HX Pro is software that automatically retrieves and analyzes eddy current data from heat exchanger tube inspections […]

  • Cadenza Innovation Enters Australian Market through Licensing Agreement with Energy Renaissance

    WILTON, Conn. – February 19, 2019 – Cadenza Innovation, the World Economic Forum award-winning provider of safe, low cost, high-performance lithium-ion-based (Li-ion) energy storage solutions to battery manufacturers, today announced a licensing agreement with Australia’s Energy Renaissance (ER). The agreement pairs Cadenza Innovation’s patented technology, design and global battery industry expertise with Energy Renaissance’s advanced […]

  • IPS Nuclear EQ Motor Insulation System Completes Qualification and Design Basis Accident Testing

    System Environmentally Qualified through operating voltages up to 7.2 kV (Greenville, SC — February 04, 2019) The North American leader in engineered solutions for electric motor and generator repair services has raised the bar again, completing Environmental Qualification (EQ) of its Class F+ and Class H medium-voltage nuclear insulation systems for use in Class 1E […]

  • Making the Connection: Digitization Ramps Up Optimization

    Power generators continue to expand their use of digital technologies. Data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are all part of a rapid transformation in how utilities are improving the

  • Planning for the Future of Intelligent Power Generation

    An Electric Power Research Institute-led collaborative utility project, called I4Gen (Insight through the Integration of Information for Intelligent Generation), is exploring new technologies for digitally

  • Digitization and Analytics in Power Plants

    A key aspect of any digitization effort is providing easy access to data by engineersand other experts so they can perform advanced analytics to improve outcomes. In the March 2018 issue of POWER, an article

  • Using Thermohydraulic Simulations to Assess HRSG Performance

    Thermohydraulic simulations can provide detailed heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) data to help determine the root cause of failures, predict the degree of wear from various mechanisms, and assess the

  • U.S. Department of Energy awards Virginia Tech researchers $1.8 million to tackle challenges facing U.S. power grid

    January 31, 2019 — The Department of Energy has awarded four Virginia Tech researchers a $1.8 million grant to reduce the stress renewable energy sources put on the U.S. power grid. The Virginia Tech Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) and the Power and Energy Center (PEC) will partner with Siemens to tackle this challenge. […]

  • BisCat – ceramic catalyst filter

    Düsseldorf, January 30, 2019 – GEA has developed high-temperature filters with ceramic elements that enable the removal of NOx, dioxins, mercury and VOC through an integrated catalyst matrix. BisCat ceramic catalyst filters are chemically inert and corrosion-resistant. This means that for many applications only one single system is required instead of three. Particle separation takes […]

  • Consortium Asks UK to Support SMR Nuclear Development

    Small modular reactors (SMRs) are becoming a technology of choice among those who continue to push nuclear power as a zero-emissions source of generation. The collapse of plans to build new large reactors in the UK has meant companies there are looking at SMRs in an effort to keep that country’s nuclear power program viable. […]

  • Navigant Research Names Siemens, Enbala, and AutoGrid Leading Providers of Distributed Energy Resources Management Systems for DER and Grid Management

    Leading solutions can be tailored to operate in a wide variety of regulatory environments and by different actors in the power market BOULDER, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A new Leaderboard Report from Navigant Research examines the strategy and execution of 16 distributed energy resources management systems (DERMSs) for distributed energy resources (DER) and grid management providers, with Siemens, […]

  • Soler & Palau selects CORTIME for Design Exploration in SolidWorks

    Design Exploration, it’s not just for experts anymore! Copenhagen, Denmark. CORTIME, a pioneer in making powerful design exploration available to a broader audience, is proud to announce that Soler & Palau has selected CORTIME for Design Optimization in SolidWorks. Soler & Palau was created in 1951 by the engineers Eduard Soler and Josep Palau and […]

  • Facing Urgency, DOE Moves to Demonstrate HALEU Fuel Production Capability for Advanced Nuclear Reactors

    To propel interest and bolster development of advanced nuclear reactor designs, the Department of Energy (DOE) will demonstrate—by October 2020—the production of high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel in a first-of-its-kind $115 million project at the agency’s uranium enrichment facility in Piketon, Ohio.  HALEU is nuclear fuel that is enriched to a higher degree […]