Technology

Residential applications for smart grid technologies continue to grow as electricity customers take more control of their energy usage and costs. Homeowners with rooftop solar have been selling power back to the grid for years, and more opportunities for power customers are coming as electric vehicle owners tap into the market via energy storage. Homeowners […]

An experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) National Ignition Facility (NIF) appears to have approached fusion ignition as it recreated the extreme temperatures and pressures at the heart of the sun for a tiny fraction of a second. The momentous step has fueled new optimism for fusion energy. The experiment on Aug. 8 “was […]

Large-scale battery power capacity in the U.S. surged 35% over 2020 to reach 1,650 MW, and according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), utilities are planning to ramp up that capacity by 10 GW over the next two years. In a newly released report, Battery Storage in the United States: An Update on Market Trends, […]

Relationships between asset data utilization and maintenance strategies often get complicated, especially in cases where data collection practices are designed to merely follow and not build strategies. In the maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) sector, the best approach is to optimize the strategy from time to time, which requires comprehensive analysis of asset data collection […]

Many leaders around the world are focused on decarbonizing their countries’ energy supplies. For most, that means adding renewable energy resources to their electricity mix, and developing a path aimed at retiring coal and other fossil-fueled power plants. Yet, these are not the only decarbonization options. Research and development (R&D) efforts are also ongoing to […]

Marking a notable milestone for nuclear component additive manufacturing, four 3D-printed fuel assembly channel fasteners have been installed and are now operational at Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 2 in Athens, Alabama. Channel fasteners are a type of bracket that attaches to the top of the nuclear fuel assembly to hold […]

Marking another milestone in an industry-led accelerated quest to commercialize accident tolerant fuels (ATF), nuclear fuel test rods containing Westinghouse’s EnCore technologies that completed their inaugural cycle at Exelon’s Byron nuclear plant have shipped to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). While initial visual inspections show “no signs of degradation,” the irradiated fuel will now be […]

Monitoring steam turbo-generators in a typical thermal power station is normally straightforward without any particular issues, but Huntly presented special challenges. When the time came to replace the legacy

Implementation of an intelligent operations and maintenance framework has improved operation rates, reduced unexpected shutdowns, and increased power generated per unit of waste at energy-from-waste power

POWER and Chemical Engineering magazines are hosting the fifth annual Connected Plant Conference (CPC), taking place Aug. 30–Sept. 1, 2021, at the Renaissance Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas. CPC is the only event specifically covering the digital transformation taking place in the power generation and chemical process industries. CPC includes a look at the technology […]

IBM Security reported on July 28 that the average cost of recent data breaches was $4.24 million per incident, the highest cost ever recorded by the company in 17 years of tracking the metric. Notably, data breaches in the U.S. were by far the costliest, exceeding $9 million per incident on average. The findings were […]

How do utility asset managers deal with risks and failures of assets in the long-term? How much should they be budgeting for maintenance, asset renewal, and investments? The answers are not always obvious for asset managers that are faced with increasingly severe weather and the need for strengthened electrical grids. Another layer of unpredictability is […]

GE recently announced the completion of the first implementation of its GT26 High-Efficiency (HE) upgrade for the GT26 gas turbine fleet. The work was done at Uniper’s Enfield Power Station (Figure 1) in north London. The upgrade was installed to improve the performance and extend the maintenance interval of the combined cycle plant, according to […]

Energy companies continue to work on providing solutions to optimize the power grid, part of their efforts to support the integration of renewables and help ensure the reliable delivery of electricity. Such systems are part of the digital transformation of power generation, bringing increased flexibility to the power supply, supporting faster power restoration after outages, […]

Numerous energy facilities were afflicted by the major flooding event that inundated parts of Europe last week, and at least one major power generator has said the damage will likely mount into a “mid-double-digit million euro sum.” The flooding, which was caused by a cold, low-pressure area dubbed “Bernd,” crawled slowly across the continent over two […]

DARMSTADT, Germany (July 16, 2021) – Today Brüel & Kjær Vibro (B&K Vibro) is excited to announce a double product release – the latest versions of the Vibro Conditioning Monitoring (VCM-3) system and SETPOINT® CMS software. These latest releases maximize uptime by providing “out of the box” early diagnoses for a wide range of rotating […]

Washington State Utility Advances Energy Efficiency and Environmental Objectives Using the GenCell G5™ Hydrogen-Fueled Backup Power Solution  Petah Tikva, Israel – July 15, 2021 – GenCell Energy, (TASE: GNCL), a leading Israel-based manufacturer of fuel cell energy solutions, today announces that Douglas PUD, the Douglas County Public Utility District, located in East Wenatchee, Washington, will deploy the GenCell […]

CHARLOTTE, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cormetech has been selected for an award from the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to increase the amount of CO2 captured in Direct Air Capture (DAC) operations. Cormetech plans to further develop its DAC “contactor”. The “contactor” is the engine […]

The inventor of the Allam-Fetvedt Cycle, a novel power cycle that uses supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2), is collaborating with a subsidiary of Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries to potentially develop the UK’s first 300-MW natural gas–fired NET Power station at an existing site at Teesside, northeastern England.  Zero Degrees Whitetail Development Ltd. (ZDW), a subsidiary of North Carolina-based […]

It’s the decade of the Distribution System Operator (DSO) and time is of the essence. The utility sector is one of the last industries to digitalise its operations. Distribution grids face a seemingly impossible journey to decarbonise, decentralise, and digitalise. And the climate-change clock is ticking. It takes time to mature operations based on relevant, […]

Stricken by repeated extreme heat events, the prospect of a worsening drought, incremental resource delays, and the “unforeseen” loss of 300 MW in thermal resources, California has set out to secure additional energy resources to ensure reliability this summer. Responding to a June 29 letter from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California […]

Declarations of climate emergencies in many countries around the world have created awareness for the need to switch to clean energy sources, which in turn has prompted the power industry and governments to take action or set definite goals. Many governments around the world now provide incentives to individuals, industries, and communities who are interested […]

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 […]

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 […]

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

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 […]

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

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.