Research and Development

Glancing back to the 1970s, those of us in the power sector can remember when polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were the cooling liquid of choice for transformers in locations where fire risk was a critical consideration. Then it happened — PCBs were classified as carcinogenic and persistent organic pollutants. A safer replacement liquid was needed, and […]

What is the impact of all electric vehicles (EVs) today and what will be the transformative effect on the grid and energy market? In recent data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), the U.S. had 764,666 light-duty vehicles sold (third in sales behind […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) wants to use two of 12 modules at the NuScale small modular reactor (SMR) plant that Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems intends to build at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).  One module will be used strictly for research, development, and demonstration activities under the newly launched Joint Use Modular […]

Control rooms are vital for organizations to efficiently and effectively monitor multiple information streams and make accurate mission-critical decisions. With an ever-increasing number of content sources and

The power generation industry is constantly evolving, with advanced technologies becoming more ubiquitous in power plants. Along with this evolution, instrumentation and control equipment continues to be key

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers estimate that installing floating solar photovoltaics on the more than 24,000 man-made U.S. reservoirs could generate about 10 percent of the nation’s annual electricity production. Their findings, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, reveal for the first time the potential for floating PV to produce electricity in […]

WASHINGTON—A new report from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners examines the state of national carbon issues. Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage: Technology and Policy Status and Opportunities is a valuable tool for state regulators and others to understand current CCUS policy and technology, learn about its successful applications nationally and internationally, and consider […]

Revolutionizing Industry Standards for Balanced Thermal Performance & Fouling Resistance READING, Pa., Dec. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Brentwood proudly introduced two new fill media products earlier this month at POWER-GEN International: ShockWave & ThermaCross. Following extensive research and development, the company predicts these products will revolutionize their respective markets within the cooling tower industry. “We are […]

NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2018 — Peak Power Inc., a leading energy services provider, announced today that it has successfully completed the installation of 375 kW / 940 kWh of battery energy storage with GHP Realty, a division of Houlihan-Parnes Realtors, LLC, at their headquarters at 4 West Red Oak Lane, White Plains, New York. […]

TAIPEI, Taiwan (Dec. 5, 2018) — The Taiwanese market links the global supply chain; from Apple to IKEA Group, Google to Unilever it creates products and services the world depends on. These companies have also all committed to using 100% renewable electricity, now Taiwanese companies are making the shift. The CIER-RE100 Partnership Launch event happened […]

The power sector’s terror of a debilitating cybersecurity attack is magnified seemingly every day as new vulnerabilities or destructive threat actors are identified. But according to several industrial

The commercial nuclear power sector has evolved with great help from the military-industrial complex. Research and development funded for the purpose of national defense has resulted in advances directly

Applied Flow Technology Releases New Version of Their Waterhammer and Surge Analysis Software Bordeaux, France – November 14, 2018 – Applied Flow Technology President, Trey Walters, P.E., announced the release of AFT Impulse™ 7 to help engineers visualize more at the prestigious Pressure Surge Conference in Bordeaux, France where AFT joins top authorities to discuss global advancements on […]

Despite increased resilience actions, extreme weather events due to climate change are projected to increasingly threaten the nation’s energy infrastructure, and create fuel availability and demand imbalances, the Trump administration’s sprawling climate report released on November 23 suggests.  The Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) released by the Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is clear in […]

A new study from BloombergNEF (BNEF) says developing countries lead the way on new investments in clean energy, with those nations taking advantage of lower project costs for solar and wind power as they move away from fossil fuel-powered generation. Today’s report, from a survey by BNEF’s annual Climatescope project, says “emerging market nations … […]

Battelle Energy Alliance—the management and operating contractor for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL)—selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) PRISM technology to support the U.S. Department of Energy’s Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) program. The VTR program is expected to accelerate the development of fuels and materials for U.S. advanced reactors, utilizing fast neutron spectrum technology. Rather […]

A wireless charging breakthrough demonstrated by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) marks a leap toward allowing electric vehicles (EVs) to conveniently recharge within the same period that it typically takes to fill-up at a gas station. Researchers at the national laboratory at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in October said they […]

The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) this week said it will fund research and development (R&D) efforts “that will advance first-of-a-kind coal generation technologies.” The FE on November 13 said its Coal FIRST (Flexible, Innovative, Resilient, Small, Transformative) program “will develop the coal plant of the future needed […]

Residents of Texas living downwind of coal-fired power plants would be far better off today if regulators had focused on cutting particle-forming SO2 emissions rather than concentrating so keenly on ozone-causing emissions, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Rice University in Houston, Texas. The head of the study, environmental engineer Daniel Cohan, […]

As the hubbub of interest and activity surrounds development of small modular reactors (SMRs) hovering between 60 MW and 300 MW, and medium-sized nuclear reactors of under 700 MW, several nuclear technology

Understanding which valve to use in which application is essential to operate a steam power plant as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. For example, a critical step in steam power generation is

New coal-fired generating plants are not showing up in the U.S. Elderly plants are retiring in large numbers. But other parts of the world continue to develop coal generation. Advances in combustion and

The profitability of a wind farm depends directly upon reducing uncertainty when wind resources are being assessed and when wind turbines are being fine-tuned. Project risks vary from site to site, depending

A semi-automated and patented process for decontaminating and recycling radioactively contaminated heat exchanger tubes has been successfully demonstrated at the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania

To remain efficient and profitable, utilities must anticipate the ebb and flow of the market. That means companies must gain visibility into the generation and consumption of energy. With network-level

After Hurricane Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida, as a category 4 storm on October 10, it moved across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and southeastern Virginia on October 11, and finally out into the Atlantic on October 12. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration office, the storm […]

The Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs—a bipartisan think tank—will host the “Jackson Hole Global Forum: Climate Solutions, Coal Communities, and Economic Diversification,” in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, November 8–9, 2018. Among the sessions on day one is a panel titled “What Is Coal’s Future?” Charles K. Ebinger, nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, will […]

GE’s Global Research Center and Nuclear fuel business partnering with three National Labs (Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and Idaho) and with the Exelon and Southern Company utilities to develop and test more advanced fuel rod technologies Project will tap Global Research’s deep technical strength in materials science, 3D printing and jet engine technologies to develop […]

A subsidiary of grid operator PJM Interconnection has joined with a Switzerland-based group to build and evaluate a blockchain-based tool to help the U.S. power generation industry. Energy Web Foundation (EWF) and PJM Environmental Information Services (PJM-EIS) on October 25 said they would collaborate on developing and testing a reference implementation of EWF’s open-source Energy […]

Unit 1 at the Haiyang nuclear power plant in Shandong, China, successfully completed a 168-hour full-power continuous operation test, meeting the requirement for commercial operation, State Power Investment Corp. Ltd. announced on October 23. Its AP1000 reactor is the first nuclear unit to be placed in operation in Shandong, an eastern province on the Yellow […]