Technology

Now, more than ever, we understand the challenges many educational institutions across the nation face due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why, in an effort to help mitigate these challenges and reinforce our support to students in Texas and nationwide during this time, The University of Texas at Austin’s Petroleum Extension (PETEX®) will be making […]

As part of POWER magazine’s in-depth coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, its editors are curating a list of resources that may provide actionable information helpful to anyone involved in the world’s vast bulk power systems. Please write to editor@powermag.com if you know of additional resources that should be added to this page.  POWER Magazine’s Live […]

Siemens Energy completed “first fire” at Duke Energy’s Lincoln Combustion Turbine Station near Denver, North Carolina, on April 6. The accomplishment is a major milestone for the world’s first SGT6-9000HL gas turbine, confirming the engine and auxiliary systems, including the gas supply, lube oil system, control system, and startup systems, all work as designed. During […]

The U.S. power sector is rallying together to implore state and local governments to treat sector-wide “mission-essential employees” with higher priority and ensure they have top-level access to testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) amid the intensifying COVID-19 pandemic. In a four-page April 2 white paper presumably addressing federal leadership, the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council […]

Company expedites rollout of and access to remote service tools and digital solutions across critical industry “During the COVID-19 crisis, governments and companies are having to make difficult choices, balancing people’s safety with economic livelihood. ABB is committed to supporting both: protect people, while helping businesses to stay operational during these challenging times,” said Peter […]

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has begun commissioning T-Point 2, its newest combined cycle power plant validation facility that will eventually host the company’s much-watched autonomous combined cycle power project. The 566-MW facility at Takasago Works in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, will replace the iconic  T-Point facility, which MHPS’s parent company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) completed […]

A project to outfit an existing natural gas power plant with a “large-scale” carbon capture facility got its legs on April 2 with the finalization of key investment agreements. Private equity investment firm Starwood Energy Group Global and global investment fund OGCI Climate Investments announced Thursday they had finalized agreements to co-invest in the initial […]

Industry responses to a Level 2 alert on contingency planning issued by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) early last month suggest the “vast majority” of registered participants in the North American bulk power system are well prepared for the COVID-19 crisis.  NERC, the interconnected bulk power system’s Electric Reliability Organization (ERO), has underscored […]

PARUZZARO, Italy (April 1, 2020) – SPIG S.p.A. (SPIG), a subsidiary of Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (B&W) (NYSE: BW), has been awarded a contract by BASF Antwerp NV for more than $3 million to design and supply two cooling towers for the company’s plant in Antwerp, Belgium. BASF Antwerp NV is one of the […]

Ethernet bi-directional digital communication performance makes it possible for the field instruments and control devices to be a complete on-line system handling large data volumes at high speed  Yokogawa Corporation of America announces the release of its EtherNet/IP capability for the ADMAG Total Insight (TI) Magnetic Flowmeter. EtherNet/IP (Industrial Protocol) is an industrial network protocol […]

April 1, 2020 — Siemens Gamesa’s first order in Brazil for its next-generation platform, the Siemens Gamesa 5.X, demonstrates the global reach and versatility of the technology. Following recent deals to supply both the 155 and the 170-meter rotor variants of the platform in Sweden, this benchmark technology arrives in Brazil thanks to an order […]

The world has become a very different place over the past few months with the outbreak of a new coronavirus—COVID-19. The virus has forced travel bans and literal lockdowns in several countries. The NCAA and

At first view, marine energy developer Minesto’s novel underwater “kite” technology may be easily dismissed as a fanciful concept, one of dozens introduced over the last decade to reap the immense ocean

Group Readies Hydrogen Production Plant in Japan. A consortium including Toshiba, Tohoku Electric Power, and Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in March said it has

Electrification has been a much-touted driver for the global energy transition toward decarbonization. But though an all-electric future could have vast implications for the power and gas sectors, achieving it

In Part 1 of this series, published in the March 2020 issue, POWER explored how existing reactors may leverage advances in nuclear fuel to boost power generation safety and economics. This installment surveys

Lithium-ion battery technology promises the first realistic approach to fully integrating intermittent solar and wind into the U.S. power system. Despite its recent growth and great potential, the battery

Hydropower delivers a range of benefits to society and the environment. However, there are two major challenges that face hydroelectric power plant operators—efficient use of water and high availability. To

A new conveyor-based system offers an alternative energy storage technology. The heart of the system is a reversible conveyor belt that converts between electrical energy and gravitational potential energy by

A lot must be reviewed prior to selecting the right fitting for power plant instrumentation applications. Among the choices are whether to use single- or double-ferrule designs; heat codes, lubrication, and

When three scientists won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for their work on lithium-ion batteries, The New York Times was one of many outlets that drew the connection between improved energy storage and the

Challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. nuclear industry has asked the Trump administration to ensure nuclear workers, suppliers, and vendors will have access to nuclear plants and personal protective equipment (PPE) during the 2020 spring and fall refueling outage seasons and beyond. All but two of the nation’s nuclear sites had scheduled planned outages  […]

There are parallels between COVID-19 responses and the management of the electrical grid of the future. Concepts like “flattening the curve” and “self-quarantine” are concepts not only crucial in the current pandemic, but in electricity distribution systems globally. While we at Introspective Systems practice social distancing, working remotely, and watching record demands asked of hospitals and the […]

New York, March 24, 2020: Eka Software Solutions, the #1 cloud platform for commodity management, announced the release of COVID-19 Risk Monitoring, a free app designed to help customers and prospects quickly gain visibility into supply chain risks to better assess and mitigate risk. The app provides specific insights into the impact of COVID-19 by […]

BOSTON, Mass. (March 19, 2020) — Helping businesses reduce energy consumption is a key driver for Veolia North America, which is why the company — a global leader in sustainable energy, water, and waste solutions — was recently presented with a 2019 SEAL Environmental Initiative Award for its innovative Hubgrade smart monitoring system, which helps […]

The power industry and technology worlds are filled with acronyms. It’s often hard to know what they all mean. Mark Reisig, director of Product Marketing at Aras, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. He explained how digital technology is being utilized to bring products to market and track assets throughout their lifecycle. The process […]

Oklo, developer of the 1.5-MW Aurora micro-reactor, has submitted the first-ever combined license application (COLA) for an advanced non-light water reactor (LWR) to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The move formalizes the start of a new era for nuclear regulation in the U.S. The Silicon Valley company, which last year received a first-of-its-kind site use […]

Earlier this year, MITRE—a not-for-profit organization that works in the public interest across federal, state, and local governments, as well as with industry and academia—officially released the long-awaited industrial control systems (ICS) version of its popular ATT&CK knowledge base. ICS ATT&CK is the group’s response to the unique attack surface that industrial networks are trying […]

Paris, March 12, 2020 – The development of renewable energy that is intermittent and decentralized requires the security of the electricity grid through flexible electricity storage capacities, especially in the form of batteries. Total launches a battery-based energy storage project in Mardyck, at the Flandres Center, in Dunkirk’s port district. With a storage capacity of […]

While it is currently highly dependent on natural gas generation today, about 95% of ISO-New England’s (ISO-NE’s) interconnection request queue—a proposed total capacity of 20.9 GW—comprises wind, solar, and battery projects. That clearly indicates that developers in New England’s wholesale market “are looking to take advantage of state incentives, declining technology costs, and revenues from […]