Technology

As a clean and renewable power source, wind offers massive potential for alleviating some of the growing challenges that countries worldwide are looking to address through the development of new forms of energy generation. At ABB, we look at how developments in electrical system design are helping to turn wind into a major source of […]

The Biden administration has launched efforts to shape the $2.5 billion Transmission Facilitation Program (TFP), a key Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) initiative dedicated to building out critical new transmission lines and related facilities across the country. The Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office on May 10 issued a joint notice of information (NOI) […]

With the advent and implementation of smart grid infrastructure across power utilities, there has been a paradigm shift in the efficiencies of the grid. The use of digital communication technology has led to high-speed communication enablement across various components as well as better data analysis and real-time control. This has proven to be advantageous not […]

To say the coal industry faces challenges is an understatement. Coal-fired power plants are being retired around the globe as efforts to decarbonize the world’s power supply have intensified due to climate change concerns. That’s a problem for people working in the coal industry, as well as for states and governments that rely on coal […]

(Updated—May 6, 2022) The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) over the past week separately expressed concerns about power supply uncertainties in the face of upcoming warmer-than-normal temperatures. MISO raised an alarm on April 28 when it said that it projects “insufficient firm resources” to cover the summer […]

DARMSTADT, Germany (May 4, 2022) – Brüel & Kjær Vibro (B&K Vibro), one of the leading worldwide independent suppliers of condition monitoring solutions for rotating machinery, has delivered a range of product enhancements for its VCM-3/SETPOINT® offerings to deliver a single, integrated SETPOINT® condition monitoring system (CMS) solution. VCM-3 data can be fully integrated with VC-8000 data […]

Duke Energy, one of the largest energy companies in the world, grew out of a system of lakes and dams along the Catawba River to generate power for the Piedmont Carolinas. While the company has sustained a

If hydrogen-based power technology and decarbonization schemes seem like a novelty to you, you may not be paying close enough attention to developments happening around the world. While some hydrogen pilot

A long-awaited energy strategy published by the UK government on April 6 lays out bold commitments that tackle Great Britain’s multi-pronged challenges, including achieving net-zero carbon emissions while

An emerging generation of small modular reactors is encouraging suppliers and regulators alike to consider new digital instrumentation and control approaches. While instrumentation and control (I&C)

The Biden administration is fully behind development of new nuclear power technology. It is encouraging the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to look at “new approaches to regulation” as advanced

Moving from reactive to predictive maintenance requires the right tools for use by subject matter experts. As the power industry continues to advance from preventative to predictive maintenance, one thing is

Turkey has considered adding nuclear power plants to its fleet of generators since at least 1970; yet, no commercial reactor units have ever been completed. That is likely to change soon. The country’s first nuclear power plant commenced construction in April 2018 at Akkuyu. When the planned four-unit facility is finished, about 10% of Turkey’s […]

In the utility industry, downtime and outages—from losing power to water shortages and burst pipes—can impact a customer’s day-to-day life, causing safety concerns and costly damages. This is especially true during sweltering summer months or freezing winter seasons caused by extreme weather and climate change. Today, digital transformation is shifting customer expectations as they demand […]

Reports from U.S. agencies indicate the use of renewable energy continues to grow. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. consumed a record amount of renewable energy in 2020. In addition, renewable energy in the U.S. grew for a fifth consecutive year, accounting for 12% of the total U.S. energy consumption. It was […]

The traditional approach to maintenance has two motors that keep it running. The first motor is proactive service: regularly maintaining equipment, following a schedule to ensure each element is running smoothly before repairs are needed in order to prevent a breakdown. The second motor is to repair once a breakdown happens. While the first part […]

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is exploring designing, building, and operating an onsite nuclear reactor resource as part of a broader effort to achieve net-zero emissions at its sprawling campus in Idaho Falls by 2031. Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA), an entity that manages and operates the Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory, on April 29 launched […]

The Advanced Clean Energy Storage Project, a much-watched project under development in Delta, Utah, that is shaping up to be the largest renewable hydrogen energy hub in the U.S., has garnered a conditional commitment for a $504.4 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) federal loan guarantee program. The conditional loan guarantee commitment […]

South Korean power industrial giant Doosan has agreed to forge materials for NuScale Power’s small modular reactors (SMR) starting as early as this year, in a project that would support the commercial deployment of VOYGRs—NuScale’s name for its SMRs—at the 462-MWe Carbon-Free Power Project (CFPP) in Idaho Falls. NuScale separately also teamed with American large […]

Hydrogen combustion has begun at the 485-MW Long Ridge Energy Terminal combined cycle power plant—a flagship GE HA-class project that is purpose-built to transition from natural gas to hydrogen blends and ultimately be capable of burning 100% hydrogen. While the sprawling multimodal facility in Hannibal, Ohio—which sits on the Ohio and West Virginia border—achieved commercial […]

The Department of Defense (DOD) will push forward on Project Pele, a much-watched mobile microreactor prototype, and demonstrate its full operation for a minimum of three years at an Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site. The DOD’s Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) on April 15 formally released a record of decision (ROD) to proceed with the program, […]

Some cybersecurity experts believe hackers today pose a greater threat than ever to power plants and electric grids. Much of the operational technology (OT) used in power stations and throughout the grid was installed at a time when cybersecurity was more of an afterthought than a focal point in the system design. Furthermore, the pool […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) will next week kick off its much-watched $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) program to bolster the existing U.S. nuclear fleet by issuing a guidance document that will set down criteria for a combined certification and a sealed bid auction process. The agency said in an April 6 update the […]

The Arizona Corporate Commission (ACC) has delivered a major blow to the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District’s (SRP’s) urgent plans to expand the 575-MW gas-fired Coolidge Generating Station with 820 MW of fast-start capacity. The ACC in a 4–1 vote on April 12 denied approval of the public power utility’s Certificate of […]

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems are often installed to protect critical equipment and loads from power outages, and other voltage and current problems. Many UPS systems continuously regulate the input power, thereby maintaining a constant and uniform supply of electricity. UPS systems are typically used on computer hardware or other equipment where an unexpected power […]

Digitalization is furnishing nearly every facet of the power industry with new insights that promise value for generating assets, including refining efficiencies and shaving down operating costs. But though myriad solutions have been introduced, adoption by some power sub-sectors has been cautious, mainly because the advantages of the industrial internet of things (IIOT) are not […]

Palo Alto, Calif. (April 13, 2022) -Today, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) announced the 2022 election results of its Board of Directors, effective immediately. For the second consecutive year, Stanley W. (Stan) Connally, Jr., Southern Company’s executive vice president of Operations, and chairman, president, and CEO of its Southern Company Services (SCS) subsidiary, has been […]

A Wyoming court on April 5 sentenced NextEra Energy Resources affiliate ESI Energy to five years of probation and fined the wind power developer more than $8 million for three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The violations include alleged failures to apply for “eagle take permits” (ETPs) at facilities in Wyoming […]

The benefits of renewable energy continue to grow, with wind generation supplying 9.2% of generation in the U.S. and up to 22.6% in other western countries like Germany. Solar is at 2.8% in the U.S. (for utility-scale installations) and near 10% in Germany. Through diversification and greater distribution system integration, the application of renewable energy […]

Natural gas generation’s future hinges on a precarious and exceptionally volatile set of issues that the conflict in Ukraine intensified. Experts from the full natural gas chain shed light on how that