Technology
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News
AES Accelerates 1 GW of Coal Plant Retirements in Chile
AES Corp. will retire four coal-fired power plants—a total 1,097 MW—in Chile “as soon as” January 2025 if supported by grid requirements under an agreement the Virginia-headquartered company signed with the Chilean government on July 6. The coal closures, which are outlined in what AES described as a “voluntary” retirement plan, represent the “single largest […]
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Hydrogen
Shell Starts Up 10-MW REFHYNE Hydrogen Electrolyzer, Eyes Expansion to 100 MW
Shell Energy has started up a 10-MW polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer facility—one of the largest of its kind in the world—to produce green hydrogen at its Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland refinery in Wesseling, Germany, and it says plans are underway to expand the plant’s capacity to 100 MW. The startup of the electrolyzer […]
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Top Plant
Technology Triumph: Track 4A Is POWER’s Plant of the Year
Winning POWER’s highest honor is Track 4A, Southern Power Generation’s 1.4-GW natural gas–fired power plant in southern Malaysia that is equipped with the first commercial GE 9HA.02 gas turbines—one of
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Connected Plant
Hitachi ABB Power Grids Will Change Name to ‘Hitachi Energy’ to Mark Business Evolution
Hitachi ABB Power Grids, the behemoth joint venture firm officially launched last year when Japanese technology conglomerate Hitachi acquired a majority share in Swiss conglomerate ABB’s Power Grids business, will be known as “Hitachi Energy” starting in October 2021. The name change reflects the firm’s business evolution amid a rapidly evolving energy landscape, the company […]
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Microgrid
Why Microgrids Are the Key to Our Carbon-Neutral Future
As we continue to work toward a more sustainable future globally, demand for renewable energy integration is increasing. This requires more flexibility in grid infrastructure and the ability to add more types
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News
Protecting Battery Energy Storage Systems from Fire and Explosion Hazards
There are serious risks associated with lithium-ion battery energy storage systems. Thermal runaway can release toxic and explosive gases, and the problem can spread from one malfunctioning cell to neighboring cells, resulting in catastrophe.
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News
Illinois University Seeking NRC License to Build Nuclear Microreactor
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has formally kicked off a pioneering project to partly re-power its 85-MW Abbott cogeneration plant with an Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. (USNC) Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) Energy System. UIUC on June 28 said it submitted a letter of intent to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build […]
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Climate change
Rolling Blackouts Triggered as Historic Heatwave Grips Pacific Northwest
Utilities across the Pacific Northwest are bracing for exceptional stress on the grid as record-breaking temperatures continue to fester across the region, and at least one utility—Avista Corp.—this week began rolling outages as a measure to alleviate strain on the electric system. Despite pleas to customers to reduce their power consumption, Avista, which supplies power […]
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IIOT
Zero-Trust Gateways: A New Strategy for Protecting Critical Infrastructure
In early May 2021, a Russian cyber-criminal group hit Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S. oil and natural gas pipeline system, with a devastating ransomware attack. The exploit maliciously encrypts computer files, making them inaccessible unless the victim pays a ransom. To contain the threat, Colonial was forced to temporarily shut down portions of its operations […]
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Press Releases
Getac Debuts Next Gen F110, Industry’s Uncompromised Fully Rugged Tablet
2021 Upgrades Inc. latest Intel® 11th Gen CPUs, Iris® Xe Graphics, PCIE SSDs, 1000Nit Display IRVINE, CA – June 28, 2021 Getac Technology Corporation, a leading producer of rugged technology today announced the launch of its next generation F110 fully rugged tablet featuring across the board improvements and innovations in processing speed, multi-tasking ability, high-level […]
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Coal
Consumers Energy to Quit Coal by 2025, Speeding Closure of Five Units
Michigan’s largest energy provider Consumers Energy will stop using coal as a fuel source for power generation within the next four years—15 years earlier than previously planned. In an updated integrated resource plan (IRP) filed with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) on June 23, the CMS Energy subsidiary said the effort would lead Michigan’s […]
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News
GE Hitachi: Nuclear Costs, Innovation Must Be a Pivotal Focus for Carbon-Free Future
Nuclear energy’s future as a critical pillar in a decarbonized world will depend on its adaptability to rapid change, but the sector must focus on costs, certainty of outcome, reliability, and experience to cement its role beyond the transition, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) President and CEO Jay Wileman told POWER in an exclusive interview. […]
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Energy Storage
R&D Toward Sustainable Technologies Is the Key to Achieving California’s Climate Goal
With historic wildfires in California and severe winter storms in Texas, electric utilities had little choice but to initiate rolling blackouts to reduce strain on the electric grid, leaving millions of residents stranded without power. These catastrophic events revealed vulnerabilities in our energy infrastructure that must be addressed to meet peak electricity demand as our […]
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News
World-First Test Production of Fossil-Free Hydrogen-Reduced Sponge Iron Completed
A pioneering pilot project in Lulea, Sweden, designed to produce “fossil-free” steel has successfully completed test production of sponge iron, demonstrating it is possible to use hydrogen made with fossil-free power to reduce iron ore, instead of coal and coke. Swedish energy company Vattenfall, mining company LKAB, and steel manufacturer SSAB—companies that are collaborating under […]
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Nuclear
UK Eyes 2025 Operation Date for Fusion Demo Plant as Powerful Magnet Heads to ITER
This week marked two major milestones for fusion energy. On June 15, San Diego-based General Atomics (GA) said it was ready to ship the first module of the Central Solenoid—the world’s most powerful magnet—which will become a central component of ITER, the world’s largest experimental fusion facility that is under construction in France. And a […]
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POWER Podcasts
Open-Source Technology Benefits Transmission and Distribution Operators
The term “open source” is well-recognized in the technology world, but may not be as widely understood in other sectors. What open source means is that the software code is publicly available so that anyone can contribute to the code base and create add-on extensions. This enables the growth of a market of providers that […]
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Press Releases
Wyoming Governor, Officials Break Ground on Coal-to-Product ‘Innovation Center’ in the State’s ‘Carbon Valley’ Region
Nearly 10-acre site in Gillette, Wyo., to accelerate production of new coal-based products, reduce U.S. reliance on foreign imports for rare earth elements GILLETTE, Wyo., June 7, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The Wyoming Innovation Center (WyIC), a 5,500-square-foot coal commercialization facility, has broken ground in Gillette, Wyo., owner Energy Capital Economic Development (ECED) announced today. The 9.5-acre […]
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Press Releases
Enverus Plugs Power & Renewables Intelligence Gap With New Software Suite
AUSTIN, Texas, June 2, 2021 — Enverus, the leading global energy data analytics and SaaS technology company, released today its initial suite of solutions for the Power & Renewables market. Built on a foundation of the most comprehensive data and analytics capabilities available, these products enable project and infrastructure tracking with full source documents, investment […]
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Nuclear
Wyoming Coal Power Plant May Host Natrium Advanced Nuclear Demonstration
Bill Gates’ nuclear innovation startup TerraPower and Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary PacifiCorp are looking to site a federally backed demonstration of their 345-MWe Natrium advanced nuclear reactor system at a retiring PacifiCorp coal power plant in Wyoming. During a June 2 energy event in Cheyenne attended by Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer […]
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Wind
Changing Winds: Emerging Wind Turbine Technologies
Wind turbine technology continues to evolve under new market demands—as well as an urgency to expand to further decarbonization.
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Connected Plant
In-Person Events and COVID: Are You Ready to Travel?
In my job, I typically do a fair amount of traveling. Of course, that all changed last year due to COVID-19. I didn’t go anywhere for work-related events or meetings. It was kind of nice—at first—but
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Energy Storage
Market Prospects Heating Up for Cryogenic Energy Storage
Highview Power, developer of a cryogenic energy storage system, in April selected MAN Energy Solutions to provide the liquid air energy storage (LAES) turbomachinery train for its 50-MW/250-MWh CRYOBattery
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Connected Plant
A Systematic Approach to Checking Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure
When securing network assets, a long and often complex list of configurations must be performed to ensure industrial control systems have the appropriate cyber protection. This article presents a systematic
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News
POWER Digest [June 2021]
CNL Successfully Fabricates Advanced Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Fuel. Canadian nuclear science and technology organization Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) on April 13 announced it successfully fabricated
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POWER Podcasts
The Benefits of Flow Batteries Over Lithium Ion
Lithium-ion (Li-ion) is the most commonly talked about battery storage technology on the market these days, and for good reason. Li-ion batteries have a high energy density, and they are the preferred option when mobility is a concern, such as for cell phones, laptop computers, and electric vehicles. But there are different energy storage technologies […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: A Marketplace for Energy Collaboration
The digitization of power generation is among the technology advancements transforming the way electricity is produced and distributed. Utilities have always sought ways to improve the efficiency of their operations, along with lowering the cost of maintenance while streamlining asset management. The digital transformation has brought numerous challenges, as utilities seek to upgrade their legacy […]
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News
Project Will Burn Ammonia with Coal to Cut Emissions
Japan’s largest power generation company plans to begin using ammonia as a fuel at one of its coal-fired plants as part of an effort to reduce the facility’s emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). JERA Co., a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings (TEPCO) and Chubu Electric Power, and IHI Corp., a Japanese engineering […]
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Press Releases
Qatalum Signs Agreement with GE to Generate More Sustainable & Secure Power in Support of Qatar National Vision 2030
GE to provide five Advanced Gas Path (AGP) upgrade units, maintenance services for 15 years, and cybersecurity solutions for 5 years to Qatalum. Agreement marks the first time that the AGP solution will be deployed in Qatar. Solutions and services provided will help Qatalum to enhance operational performance and sustainability, in line with the goal […]