Technology

  • The POWER Interview: A Breakthrough in Circuit Breakers

    The transformation of the power landscape involves more than just generation. The distribution of electricity is being changed as well, with technology designed to make electrical systems safer, more reliable, and more efficient. Atom Power, which last year introduced the first digital circuit breaker, is among the companies engineering change in the power sector. Atom, […]

  • Eaton delivers intelligent power innovation with predictive monitoring of low-voltage power distribution applications

    Technology combines panelboards and switchboards with intelligent circuit protection Integrated solutions provide real-time insight into circuit breaker health to avoid costly downtime  PITTSBURGH… Power management company Eaton today announced the first panelboards and switchboards in the industry to feature real-time breaker health monitoring with the launch of the Pow-R-Line Xpert® family of intelligent panelboards and […]

  • Group to Cities: Get Out of Nuclear Project While You Can

    The Utah Taxpayers Association has urged cities and towns that have subscribed to the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) small modular reactor (SMR) project to withdraw from the venture before a Sept. 14 deadline that would lock them into a share of billions of dollars in costs associated with the undertaking. Rusty Cannon, vice […]

  • 4 Ways Southeast Power’s Fleet Team Has Leveled-Up Since COVID-19

    “Things keep going,” Brent Tomamichel, fleet manager of Southeast Power (Figure 1), said when asked to describe the current state of the power industry. “Our industry is unique in that way; no matter what is happening in the world, everyone needs and wants their power on.”  If you’re one of the more than 1.9 million people […]

  • Mobile Devices to Support the Utility Industry

    Field service workers often log long hours at remote job sites where no two days are the same. To support daily tasks, whether they be at a power plant, oil rig, or other hard to access environments, advanced technologies have become more commonplace to get the job done. With the rapidly evolving nature of technology […]

  • Honeywell to Support Entergy New Orleans’ Commercial Demand Response Goals

    Entergy to deploy best-in-class technologies and program management services Large commercial and industrial electricity consumers to receive financial incentives simply by participating in the fully automated demand response program HOUSTON, August 4, 2020 — Honeywell today announced that it will manage Entergy New Orleans’ Large Commercial & Industrial (Large C&I) Demand Response (DR) program. DR provides […]

  • Xuzhou 3 Shows the Future of Subcritical Coal Power Is Sublime

    A remarkable retrofit at Xuzhou Unit 3 boosted the 320-MW subcritical coal unit’s efficiency to beyond 43.56%—higher than all existing Chinese supercritical units, and even many ultrasupercritical units

  • Efficiency a Priority at Caofeidian Coal Power Plant

    Coal power may be struggling in some parts of the world, but it’s doing just fine in China. New plants are coming online featuring state-of-the-art technology. Two ultrasupercritical units added at the

  • Khargone: India’s High Efficiency Leap

    Indian power giant NTPC commissioned the second unit of the vast 1,320-MW Khargone Super Thermal Power Project in Madhya Pradesh this March, completing its first ultrasupercritical power plant. The project’s

  • South Korea Forays into Gas Turbine Manufacturing

    Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (DHIC) this summer made major strides to establish itself at the core of South Korea’s strategy to become only the fifth country to own an independent gas turbine

  • License Renewals Could Modernize U.S. Nuclear; Supply Base Will Need to Keep Pace

    Nuclear power plants approaching license expiration are faced with three options: obtain initial license renewal to continue operations (nine U.S. units have not yet received an extension of their initial

  • The Role of Virtual Power Plants in a Decentralized Power Grid

    Virtual power plants are becoming a driving force in the power sector. This article explains how they enable utilities and aggregators to pool production from multiple plants and distributed sources, achieving

  • Equipment Showcase: Instrumentation and Control

    The power generation industry is constantly evolving, with advanced technologies becoming more ubiquitous in power plants. Along with this evolution, instrumentation and control equipment continues to be key

  • U.S. Begins Quest for a Lunar Nuclear Reactor

    What will it realistically take to ready a fission surface power system (FSP)—a small (maybe modular) nuclear reactor—for deployment on the moon by 2027? That’s essentially what Battelle Energy Alliance LLC (BEA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are asking the private sector in an interesting request for […]

  • GE Will Decarbonize Uniper’s Gas Power Fleet

    GE Gas Power and Uniper have agreed to roll out a detailed decarbonization roadmap that may entail hydrogen-friendly upgrades to all GE gas turbines and compressors at the German generation giant’s gas power plants and gas storage facilities across Europe.  Under the agreement, GE Gas Power and Uniper will form a joint working group to […]

  • New York Power Authority and Siemens Energy, Inc. to Lead World-Class Cybersecurity Center of Excellence

    Center to Develop Innovative Cybersecurity Best Practices that Will Serve as a Model for Deployment at Other Public and Private Utilities NYPA’s Advanced Grid Laboratory for Energy to Test Cybersecurity Solutions, Pilot New Systems WHITE PLAINS — The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and Siemens Energy, Inc. today announced a new collaboration to develop an […]

  • ABB’s new analytics and AI software helps producers optimize operations in demanding market conditions

    ABB launches analytics software and services that combines operational data with engineering and IT data to deliver actionable intelligence The ABB Ability™ Genix Industrial Analytics and AI Suite is a scalable advanced analytics platform with pre-built, easy-to-use applications and services. It collects, contextualizes and converts operational, engineering and information technology data into actionable insights that […]

  • Assembly Phase Underway for ITER Nuclear Project

    Officials with the ITER project in France said work has started on the assembly of giant components needed for construction of an experimental nuclear fusion reactor, a project designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful use. The ITER group, in a ceremony July 28 that was broadcast online (see […]

  • Voith successfully commissions the first two VECO-Drives

    The two VECO-Drives have been running successfully for more than 6,000 operating hours, after being installed in February. The customer, Guangzhou China Resources Thermal Power Co., Ltd. is particularly impressed by the increased efficiency. Efficiency can be improved significantly compared to the replaced variable speed solution and reaches approximately 97 percent. YORK, Pa./GUANGZHOU/SHANGHAI. (July 23, 2020) […]

  • [VIDEO] POWER Insights: The Amazing DIII-D Fusion Project

    The DIII-D National Fusion Facility, operated by General Atomics for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is the largest magnetic fusion research facility in the U.S. The mission of the DIII-D research program is to establish the scientific basis for the optimization of the tokamak approach to fusion energy production. The DIII-D program is a […]

  • Using Autonomous Drones in the Power Sector

    Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have been dabbled with throughout the power industry for years. POWER featured a drone on its cover in April 2014, and has published many articles on drone technology since then. Yet, the technology has been used more as a novelty in the power sector up to this point. As […]

  • Obvius Partners with OpenEGrid to Provide California Rule 21 Compliant Solutions

    IDAS Turn-Key Panels Deliver Flexible Solutions to Meet Each Partner’s Unique Needs Tualatin, OR, July 21, 2020 – Obvius, a Leviton company and a leading provider of data acquisition solutions, announced today their partnership with OpenEGrid to provide a California Rule 21 compliant, site ready, integrated hardware solution. Solar Asset owners can now leverage the […]

  • Wheelabrator Kemsley enters full commercial operation

    PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (July 21, 2020) — Wheelabrator Kemsley, a new waste-to-energy facility at Kemsley in Kent, England, enters full commercial operation following a successful commissioning phase throughout early 2020. Wheelabrator Kemsley is now operational as a combined heat and power facility and will generate up to 49.9 MW (gross) / 44 MW (net) of sustainable, […]

  • Camouflage for Solar Panels

    HENDERSON, Nev. (July 21, 2020) — GDI LLC’s patented Solar-Image™ process can transform unattractive panels into a solid color, a full-color pattern, or a panoramic photo, all while maintaining high output power. Panels on a terracotta tile roof, for example, could present a photo-like image of the tiles underneath, making them practically disappear. An acre […]

  • LG Chem Unveils New Full Home Backup Solution in Cooperation with SolarEdge

    SEOUL, South Korea (July 21, 2020) — LG Chem, South Korea’s leading manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion batteries, has once again joined forces with SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (SolarEdge), a global leader in smart energy, to bring compatibility with the LG RESU10H (400V, 9.8kWh) home battery. By incorporating SolarEdge’s single phase Energy Hub Inverter and backup interface, […]

  • LineVision Partners with OSIsoft to Improve Power Grid Resiliency

    July 20, 2020, Somerville, MA – LineVision, a provider of solutions to monitor, optimize, and protect the world’s critical energy delivery infrastructure, today announced the launch of a new partnership with OSIsoft, a leader in operational intelligence for critical operations. The relationship includes tight integration between LineVision’s V3 overhead line monitoring solution and OSIsoft’s PI […]

  • New innovative Seal Skirting Concept makes ‘the’ change!

    New is the contact-free AirScrape® conveyor belt skirting system, which significantly reduces material spill, dust formation and explosion hazards at transfer points and other critical sections in the conveyor chain. Because this system hovers freely above the conveyor belt, skirt friction and belt damage is eliminated and service life is extended. “The AirScrape system – […]

  • Using AI-Powered Thermal Tagging to Prevent Summer Overheating Outages

    Summertime heat is cresting at the same time many economic restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic are easing in communities across the United States.  Meanwhile, as extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, much of the country is on alert as forecasters predict severe hurricane, tornado, and wildfire seasons will continue.   Utilities know they need […]

  • Siemens Gamesa leads the way in India with the launch of its next generation wind turbine in the country, the SG 3.4-145

    Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy continues leading the way in India, one of the largest onshore markets in the world, with the introduction of its next generation wind turbine, the SG 3.4-145. The new wind turbine is specifically designed and optimized for wind conditions in the country, and has a clear objective to deliver the lowest […]

  • What Is DERMS and How Can It Help Utilities?

    A distributed energy resource management system, or DERMS, is a software platform used to manage a group of distributed energy resource (DER) assets—such as rooftop photovoltaic solar panels, behind-the-meter batteries, or a fleet of electric vehicles—to deliver vital grid services and balance demand with supply to help utilities achieve mission-critical outcomes. As a guest on […]