Technology

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.

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Wind turbine technology continues to evolve under new market demands—as well as an urgency to expand to further decarbonization.

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

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

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

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

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 […]

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 […]