Technology

Global resources of variable renewable energy—primarily wind and solar—despite breakneck growth over the past two decades, are beginning to run up against technological and policy limitations on further deployment, and future growth will depend on significant changes in policy and grid design, according to a new report. Released on September 20, Variable Renewable Energy Sources […]

The $23.8 billion Hinkley Point C nuclear project has received the UK government’s green light, but the country wants to ensure that project’s ownership cannot change without government agreement. After a “comprehensive review” of the project and a revised agreement with French power generator EDF, the UK Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial (DBEI) Strategy […]

After years of incremental advances, a variety of innovations both simple and exotic are promising to boost the output of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems as much as 30% over current technologies—if the market can be convinced to adopt them. The Dawn of SiC For a generation, silicon has been the go-to material for semiconductor substrates. […]

A strategy rolled out by the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of the Interior (DOI) to enable 86 GW of offshore wind capacity in the U.S. by 2050 highlights a number of key hurdles, including those related to technology, regulations, the environment, and markets. The DOE’s and DOI’s September 9–released joint document, “National Offshore […]

Inexpensive natural gas, increased renewable energy utilization, and ever-tightening environmental regulations have limited the use of waste feedstocks for power generation. But while often dismissed out of hand, with proper planning and understanding of the market, power producers can realize benefits from waste-to-energy projects. It was a tropically hot day at the plant, and it […]

A new assessment tool developed by engineers at Oregon State University (OSU) could allow people, agencies, and communities interested in developing small-scale hydropower plants in remote places to easily and accurately assess whether a potential project would meet their current and future energy needs. The free, open-source computer modeling package dubbed the Hydropower Potential Assessment […]

Danish firm DONG Energy has begun building one of the world’s first bioresource power plants that will produce electricity from household waste by using enzymes to convert the waste to biogas. The commercial 5-MW plant under construction in the UK city of Northwich could be commissioned in early 2017. It will use the company’s proprietary […]

The second World Nuclear Exhibition was held at a moment in time when the prospects for nuclear power are both tantalizing and frustrating. One thing is clear: The dynamics of the nuclear power industry have changed recently—and so have the solutions proposed for achieving greater certainty. One of the strongest arguments nuclear power has going […]

Mississippi Power has pushed back the in-service date of its much-delayed Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant by a month, to October 31, 2016. Initial production of syngas at the plant began on July 14, and testing continues of gasifier B and related lignite feed and ash systems. “The schedule extension provides for […]

Massachusetts’ lawmakers approved an omnibus energy bill that sets down an energy storage mandate and requires utilities to solicit contracts for 1.6 GW of offshore wind. The bill also outlines clean energy procurement targets, including for 1.2 GW from hydro, onshore wind, and other renewables from within the state, from neighboring states, or from Canada. […]

Italian firm Ansaldo Energia successfully defended an arbitration case brought by Siemens in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitral Tribunal regarding its right to use Siemens gas turbine technology under a license agreement, the company said on Aug. 1. The dispute stemmed from an agreement that ran from 1991 through October 2004 under which […]

Düsseldorf’s new “Block Fortuna” at the Lausward Power Plant, owned by municipal utility Stadtwerke Düsseldorf, is setting records and giving Germany’s coal-fired power plants some much-needed competition for backing up the nation’s large percentage of variable renewable power. Germany’s Energiewende (literally, “energy turn”) functions as something of a living laboratory, where innovation equals survival, because […]

The governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland have big ambitions for their unified electricity market, including a wind-heavy 40% renewable generation target by 2020. Making that happen while delivering safe, reliable electricity to customers across the island means a sea change in how the grid is operated. One of the first big steps is installation […]

Effectively managing time, budget, and resources has always been the goal of companies involved in constructing power generation projects, but today the challenges in meeting those goals can be greater than ever. Any power generation company involved in new construction or an upgrade or retrofit project hopes it will see completion safely, without exceeding schedule […]

Court Forces Bulgaria to Pay for One of Two Canceled Reactors at Belene. Bulgaria’s National Electricity Co.(NEK) should pay Russia’s Atomstroyexport nearly $620 million in compensation for its canceled two-unit Belene nuclear plant, an international arbitration court in Geneva ruled in mid-June. The 2-GW plant was in the offing for more than two decades before NEK […]

After years of planning and sluggish development, 2016 may be the year that offshore wind power development takes off in China. Once it does, the market will be large. Offshore wind power has a very important role to play in easing power shortages in coastal areas of China and in responding to climate change effectively. […]

When commissioning a new power plant, requirements for purified water can be large—often more than an unfinished plant can supply. When it’s time to bring in outside help, proper planning can help avoid problems and keep budgets under control. With all the complexity inherent in the commissioning of a power plant, the last thing anyone […]

Worldwide power demand for computing could exceed the world’s energy production by 2040, according to a report from a global coalition of trade groups for microchip manufacturers. The recently released 2015 International Technology Roadmap For Semiconductors 2.0 (ITRS), prepared by experts from the U.S., Europe, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, provides an assessment of the near future […]

The U.S. nuclear power business is in trouble, and Exelon has six units totaling more than 5,300 MW of dependable capacity on the chopping block. How will the Chicago electricity giant respond? Perhaps by acquiring more merchant nuclear capacity?

Despite escalating growth over the past decade, the U.S. solar power sector faces potentially crippling issues concerning module supply, workforce deficiencies, and grid interconnection obstacles, according to industry experts attending an international solar and energy storage convention. The country added an estimated 14.5 GW of new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in 2016, and by 2021, […]

A severe solar storm striking the continental U.S. could cause trillions of dollars in damage to the global economy and shut down portions of the U.S. grid for up to a year, according to a new study prepared by the Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies for insurance firm AIG. The study, Helios Solar Storm Scenario, […]

  Pairing solar with energy storage will be integral to cement the future of both emerging sectors, said experts at the Intersolar North America’s annual event held this week in San Francisco. The three-day event and exhibition was co-located with ees North America, a stand-alone event focused on energy storage technologies and services. But experts […]

Siemens on July 5 entered the competition for the largest wind turbine in the world with an upgrade of its SWT-7.0-154 model. The new SWT-8.0-154 turbine boosts power output over the earlier model through upgraded magnet technology. Other components remain largely the same over the earlier model and the smaller SWT-6.0-154 turbine, Siemens said. The […]

Lake Kivu, the 1,040-square-mile “killer lake” that stretches over the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has long been a source of trepidation. Because it sits between two

China’s CAP1400—a reactor design based on Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurized water reactor—has successfully passed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) Generic Reactor Safety Review. The milestone is significant for China, which plans to deploy the advanced reactor design in large numbers (Figure 4) as well as export the technology. 4. On the nuclear horizon. An artist’s […]

Courtesy: Ad Meskens/Wikimedia Commons Europe has been in the forefront of renewable energy development, and though the scientific research on wildlife impacts is limited, European environmentalists and developers are beginning to create baseline frameworks and guidelines. Developers around the world can learn from their experience. As more renewable energy systems come online, providers hope to […]

Power plants are familiar with using continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) to monitor pollutants, but these devices also may be able to measure heat rate—which could be handy for future compliance with the Clean Power Plan. Continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) are used to monitor power plant flue gas emissions as a means to comply […]

Projections that coal utilization will decline faster than previously forecast have spurred Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (B&W) to shed 200 jobs and restructure its traditional power business that serves coal-fired power generation in a bid to reduce overhead and improve efficiency. The Charlotte, N.C.–based energy and environmental technology and service company said on June 28 […]

The world’s power sector last year emitted a third of global sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, 14% of nitrogen oxides (NOx), and 5% of total particulate emissions (PM2.5), but those emission values have fallen drastically over the last decade even though coal power generation has seen a surge, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a […]

Although it’s not widely publicized, a majority of the energy used to generate electricity is wasted in the form of heat discharged to the environment. For better or worse, that’s just the way a typical thermal power plant works. Fuel, such as coal, biomass, natural gas, or uranium (in the case of nuclear plants), is […]