Technology
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Press Releases
eschbach AI Team Garners Connected Plant 2023 Game Changer Award
Shiftconnector Smart Search Accelerates Plant Floor Search Capabilities with AI Boston, MA – June 26, 2023 – Global software developer eschbach, provider of the Shiftconnector® enterprise software platform for process manufacturing, announces that its AI development team was awarded a 2023 Game Changer Award for its new Shiftconnector Smart Search functionality. The eschbach team was […]
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T&D
Essential Energy Lowers Costs and Carbon Footprint Across Australia’s Energy Sector
OpenUtilities Enables Substation Intelligent Digital Design, Reducing Environmental Impact and Saving 50% in Costs With a network spanning 737,000 kilometers, covering approximately 95% of New South Wales, Australia, Essential Energy distributes electricity services to more than 870,000 homes and businesses in 1,500 regional, rural, and remote communities. Despite their large coverage area, Essential Energy has […]
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Distributed Energy
New Technologies Driving Electric Grid Modernization
Over the past couple of decades, the expected growth in electricity usage unexpectedly flatlined, leaving utilities with stagnant revenue, but aging infrastructure in need of capital investment. Then came the technology revolution of the last five years, with electric vehicles (EVs) becoming more popular as governments worldwide mandate lower emissions, and microgeneration of electricity via […]
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Gas
SRP’s Urgent 575-MW Aeroderivative Natural Gas Expansion Gets Arizona Regulator’s Green Light
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) on June 21 issued an amended certificate of environmental compatibility (CEC) for Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District’s (SRP’s) 575-MW natural gas–fired Coolidge Expansion Project. The measure marks a hard-fought triumph for SRP, which urgently sought the plant’s expansion, arguing it is crucial for near-term system reliability and […]
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Nuclear
NRC Completes Safety Review for Kairos Nuclear Test Reactor Within 18 Months
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has wrapped up a final safety evaluation for Kairos Power’s 35-MWth Hermes “non-power” demonstration reactor, which the firm has proposed to build at the East Tennessee Technology Park Heritage Center site in Oak Ridge, and plans to begin operating by 2026. The NRC’s review, which concluded “no safety aspects that would […]
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Energy Security
ERCOT’s Energy Emergency Risk Has Shifted from Late Afternoon to Early Evening
Modeling from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) suggests an 11% probability of having a load shed issue on a peak day this summer, an official said during a reliability committee meeting on June 19. The Texas grid, which was tested this week by a record-breaking heat wave, issued a weather watch and a […]
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Commentary
What’s Really Driving the Lithium Crisis in North America
The conversation around lithium demand in the U.S. has been highly focused on surging sales of electric vehicles (EVs), but as we look ahead to the coming years, the real driver will be energy storage systems. COMMENTARY Last year was reported as a record year for battery storage and its rapid growth in the market […]
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Sustainability
Supercharging Decarbonization: How Engineered Solutions Can Accelerate the Transition
As pressure mounts, energy leaders must build a more-resilient, lower-carbon energy system. Technical, digital, and engineered solutions will play a critical role in this transition, but which options are most viable? Driving the Transition Through Diversification: The Role of Hydrogen According to SHOCKED, one of the largest global studies conducted among the energy sector C-suite, […]
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Press Releases
Boulden and Gulf Coast Bearing & Seal Release Integrated Portfolio of Products for the Power Generation Industry
CONSHOHOCKEN, PA – As part of its merger with Gulf Coast Bearing & Seal (GCBS), Boulden Company has announced the formation of a family of products and technologies aimed at the aftermarket power industry. Inclusive of material solutions such as DuPont™ Vespel® CR-6100, Boulden B-Series composites, and bearing & seal repairs and upgrades from GCBS, […]
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Energy Storage
The Global Energy Challenge Makes a Strong Case for Battery Energy Storage
The value of electricity has increased dramatically as a product of the global energy challenge—and this trend is unlikely to diminish. Energy providers are actively seeking ways to reduce their reliance on natural gas while also avoiding curtailment of energy from renewables. Using batteries to store abundant energy at low prices, then selling it when […]
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Press Releases
Honeywell Introduces Honeywell Ionic™, a Modular Battery Energy Storage System with Improved Energy Density and Reduced Installation Costs
Scalable system provides efficient, flexible, and intelligent solution for commercial and industrial users ORLANDO, FL, June 19, 2023 – Honeywell today announced Honeywell IonicTM, a compact, end-to-end modular battery energy storage system (BESS) and energy management tool that offers improved energy density compared to what’s currently available on the market, while delivering a significant reduction […]
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Connected Plant
Four Ways to Protect the Energy Sector from Cybersecurity Threats
It’s been two years since the historic Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack shut down one of the largest and most vital oil pipelines in the U.S. While this hasn’t been the nation’s only attack on power infrastructure, it’s the largest publicly disclosed and, at $4.4 million, it was also the most-costly. Since then, we’ve learned that […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Miss America Talks Importance of Nuclear Power
The U.S. nuclear power industry has an ally with a unique platform to spread the sector’s message of providing reliable, clean electricity. Meet Grace Stanke. She’s not just a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison working on the final stages of a degree in nuclear engineering. She is also Miss America 2023. “A lot of […]
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Gas
Hydrogen Blending Project Commissioned on New Jersey Gas Turbine Unit
A unique hydrogen blending project has entered commercial operation at the Linden Cogeneration Facility (Linden Cogen) in Linden, New Jersey. The project allows Linden Cogen’s Unit 6 gas turbine to operate on a blend of natural gas and refinery off gas containing hydrogen produced by the Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery, which is located adjacent to […]
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News
Westinghouse, Fortum to Study Possibilities for AP1000, AP300 Nuclear Reactors in Finland and Sweden
Westinghouse Electric and Finnish utility Fortum will cooperate to explore developing and deploying AP1000 and AP300 reactor projects in Finland and Sweden. The companies on June 7 signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to establish a framework of collaboration “for detailed technical and commercial discussions and explore cooperation on the next steps” to implement Westinghouse’s advanced […]
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Nuclear
The POWER Interview: European Group Building Next Generation of Nuclear Reactors
Advancements in nuclear power technology have brought several new companies into the sector, many of them working on innovative reactor designs and fuels to move the industry forward. One of those groups is newcleo, a company based in the UK with additional operations in Italy and France. The company began operating in 2021, and in […]
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Research and Development
Fusion Energy Projects Get Boost from DOE Funding
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the first round of awardees of the Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program. The program is the latest in a series of efforts designed to align public and private sectors toward fusion commercialization. “The Biden administration obviously sees enormous potential in fusion—harnessing the power of the sun and the stars […]
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Trends
Dynamic Innovation in Power Sector Digitalization
The power industry’s rapid adoption of digitalization is a striking example of its dynamic innovation—the continuous development and introduction of new ideas, products, or processes to meet shifting
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T&D
Improving the U.S. Electric Power Grid: Mitigating Vulnerabilities and Enhancing Operation
The U.S. power grid has many vulnerabilities, but power companies, with additional support from the government, are investing in the system and enhancing its operation through new innovative technology. The
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Full Coverage
OTEC, a Long-Stalled Baseload Ocean Power Technology, Is Seeing a Swell
A project to deploy a 1.5-MW commercial-scale ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) platform in the African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe by 2025 has gained a key design certification. The crucial
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Nuclear
Japan Moving Forward on Nuclear Accident Tolerant Fuels
Efforts by Japanese nuclear fuel manufacturers to develop accident tolerant fuel (ATF) materials are making progress, and their commercialization is currently expected between 2030 and 2035 after key
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T&D
Inertia and the Power Grid: Should We Be Worried About System Stability?
One concern some observers raise about the growth of inverter-based resources, such as solar, wind, and battery storage, supplying the power grid is that they don’t provide inertia. Inertia has historically
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Coal
Reducing Operational Constraints and Emissions by Increasing Flexible Energy Capacity
Today, modern network technology can transform commercial and industrial facilities into power sources that generate, store, and trade clean energy, allowing owners to increase cash flow, achieve
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IIOT Power
New Technologies Are Making Nuclear Energy Safer and More Efficient
It’s been nearly seven decades since the first nuclear power station began operating. Thanks to digital transformation, this form of energy generation has never been safer—or more efficient. While the
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Energy Security
Rethinking Energy Reliability with Modern Power Systems
As the energy transition to inverter-based resources continues, reliability risk increases and requires additional investment to mitigate threats. But what measures should be put in place, what are the
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Press Releases
Hydrogen: new “Electrolyzer” module in ProSimPlus simulation software to optimize the design, maximize the efficiency, and reduce the energy consumption of hydrogen production units
Labège, 30 may 2023 – ProSim, a provider of software and services for simulation and optimization of industrial processes, has announced the addition of an electrolyzer module in the new version of its ProSimPlus software. By combining this module with other equipment from the ProSimPlus library, users can simulate the entire process of hydrogen production […]
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Nuclear
Westinghouse, Bechtel Form Consortium to Design and Build Poland’s First Nuclear Plant
Westinghouse Electric Co., Bechtel, and state-owned Polish entity Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) will work together to kick off design activity for Poland’s inaugural AP1000 nuclear power plant later this year and potentially ink a construction contract in 2025 in a bid to meet Poland’s goal to begin nuclear power generation in 2033. The companies announced […]
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Nuclear
DOE: MARVEL Microreactor Prototype Installed, Gearing Up for Testing
A full-scale electrically heated prototype of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) 100-kWth MARVEL nuclear microreactor has been successfully installed at a facility in New Freedom, Pennsylvania, and is readying for testing. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) fabricated the full-scale non-nuclear prototype—known as the primary coolant apparatus test (PCAT)—in January 2022 within nine months. PCAT was then […]
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Electrification
U.S. Power Sector Trade Groups Flag Critical Electrical Steel Crunch
Nine trade groups—including four representing the power sector—have urged the Biden administration to prioritize actions that support the domestic production of electrical steel, warning that shortages are contributing to “significant and persistent” supply chain challenges. The groups, which include the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the American Public Power Association (APPA), the National Rural Electric Cooperative […]
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T&D
UK Developing Digital Twin to Better Understand Future Energy Systems
The UK will back a “digital twin” of future multi-vector energy systems, including non-electric ones, that will support the country’s efforts to meet its 2050 net-zero objectives. The UK’s effort echoes several initiatives launched worldwide to deliver new visibility, knowledge, and understanding of future energy systems and integrate real-time modeling. UK transmission and distribution grid […]