Safety
-
Trends
How Nuclear O&M Is Evolving for the Emerging Power Paradigm
In its quest to drive down costs while boosting safety, the nuclear industry has ramped up efforts to streamline operations and maintenance (O&M). New approaches target efficiency and resilience. If there
-
POWER Podcasts
Kingston Coal Ash Spill: Cleanup Workers Were the Unfortunate Losers
On Dec. 22, 2008, a major dike failure occurred on the north slopes of the ash pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Kingston Fossil Plant. The failure resulted in the release of approximately 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash spilling onto adjacent land and into the Emory River. The Kingston spill is considered […]
-
Legal & Regulatory
The Other Side of Safety—Litigation and the Expert Witness
What happens when you suffer a catastrophic injury at work and can’t continue in your career? Workers compensation begins. Those payments last until you reach the maximum medical improvement point. How long will you receive those benefits? It varies from state-to-state. In California, for example, benefits pay up to 104 weeks for most injuries and […]
Tagged in: -
Hydrogen
Hydrogen Attracts Significant Investments to Support a Decarbonized Energy Economy
In late 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $7 billion initiative to establish seven Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs, aiming to scale the use of cost-effective clean hydrogen. This initiative comes as utilities face growing pressures from data centers and other industries that are demanding increasingly large amounts of reliable power. Hydrogen’s role […]
Tagged in: -
News and Notes
Helene’s Historic Devastation Spurs Largest-Ever Mutual Aid Response, Signals Power Sector Reckoning
Electric cooperatives across the Southeast describe Hurricane Helene’s devastation as vast and unprecedented, warning that restoring some crucial infrastructure serving the not-for-profit entities’ customers will take a long and arduous process. In a call with reporters on Oct. 1—five days after the massive Category 4 storm made landfall—co-op leaders serving customers in Florida, Georgia, South […]
-
O&M
Minimize Risks with Robotic Generator Inspections and Comprehensive Testing
Historically, generator inspections require rotor removal (Figure 3). There’s a significant level of risk during this process due to possible generator damage during the disassembly, and it also requires
-
Nuclear
Idaho Falls Power Negotiating PPA for MARVEL-Inspired Aalo-1 Nuclear Fleet
Municipal power utility Idaho Falls Power (IFP) has announced it is negotiating a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Aalo Atomics, a 2022-founded nuclear engineering firm inspired by Idaho National Laboratory (INL’s) MARVEL microreactor. Aalo on Sept. 16 confirmed it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the utility to explore the deployment of a fleet […]
-
Nuclear
Nuclear Milestone: China’s HTR-PM Demonstrates Inherent Safety
Chinese researchers have confirmed the first of two units of the 200-MWe high-temperature modular pebble bed (HTR-PM) demonstration project at the Shidao Bay site in Rongcheng, Shandong Province, successfully
-
O&M
Fasteners and Gaskets for Power Plant Service
Anyone who works in the power industry knows how important fasteners, such as nuts, bolts, and rivets, and gaskets are to plant operation. Fasteners provide structural integrity, effectively holding everything
Tagged in: -
Fiction
Marnie Surfaceblow: Marnie’s Mailbag—Questions on Coal Ash and Tritium Lighting
Marnie and Maya answer real questions from readers. “Ma’am, don’t you think you should take a rest?” asked Maya Sharma, lead field engineer of Surfaceblow & Associates International. “But how can