Technology
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IIOT
Hype and Hope: Artificial Intelligence’s Role in the Power Sector
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a term power professionals are seeing increasingly to describe sophisticated digital technologies. Could it be the breakthrough that is so highly hyped? There is no argument
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Commentary
Energy Storage—Operational Versatility Causes a Regulatory Identity Crisis
The next decade could belong to energy storage. Project development costs are dropping. Enhanced state and corporate focus on climate-related issues is producing more opportunities for renewable generation and
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News
Seal Design Key as ORC Turbine Manufacturer Enters Geothermal Market
When a global leader in the design, manufacture, and maintenance of binary Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power systems entered the geothermic energy market, company engineers knew its existing turbines would be
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Fuel
Australia, Long a Uranium Champion, Mulls Nuclear Power
An Australian federal inquiry last December recommended partially lifting a nationwide ban on nuclear energy, urging that the government pursue a “goal-oriented” and community-focused strategy as it
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News
India’s Energy Market Overhaul—Infrastructure, Renewables, and Keeping Coal in the Mix
India wants to reform its power generation sector, including upgrades to energy infrastructure, and plans to introduce new technology to make its electricity supply more reliable and resilient. It’s part of
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Carbon Capture
Policy Support for Carbon Capture Critical to Clean Energy Future
Analysis by both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and International Energy Agency shows that achieving a zero-carbon energy system by 2050 will require large-scale deployment of carbon capture
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Connected Plant
Curtiss-Wright Signs Exclusive Agreement with APS to Commercialize Equipment Anomaly Detection Technology
BREA, CA – January 31, 2020 – Curtiss-Wright Corporation announced today it has signed an exclusive agreement with Arizona Public Service Company (APS) to commercialize APS’s equipment anomaly detection (EAD) technology. APS’s EAD technology uses machine learning to detect anomalies in plant equipment and systems, allowing operators to improve performance and prevent failures. “This […]
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IIOT
The POWER Interview: Benefits of a Smarter Grid
The smart grid is transforming the way utilities communicate with their customers. Smart grid technology, including control systems and automation that help new technologies work together, supports a power grid that can respond digitally to quickly changing electricity demand. The smart grid enables electricity producers to enhance reliability, availability, and efficiency. It can provide cost […]
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Connected Plant
Access Intelligence Announces Artificial Intelligence Strategist Chris Benson Will Deliver the Keynote Presentation at Connected Plant Conference 2020
HOUSTON—Chris Benson, principal artificial intelligence strategist for global aerospace, defense, and security giant Lockheed Martin, will give the opening keynote presentation at the Connected Plant Conference 2020, which will take place February 25 to 27, 2020, at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia. Kicking off the event, Benson will shed light on the vast […]
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Technology
Winsted Releases Paramount Technology Credenza
New Technology Hub Organizes and Protects Control Room Electronics Minnetonka, Minn. – Winsted Control Room Solutions unveiled the newest item in their line of technical furniture, the Paramount technology credenza. Paramount is designed to integrate into boardrooms, conference rooms, control rooms or any other high-tech space. “Paramount is an elegant and functional addition to our technical […]
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History
GEH Launches NRC Licensing Process for BWRX-300, an ESBWR-Derived SMR
Marking another major milestone for U.S.-based small modular reactor (SMR) development, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) said it has formally begun the regulatory licensing process for its BWRX-300, a 300-MW boiling water reactor that it claims could be competitive with natural gas power. The company revealed on Jan. 30 that it submitted the first licensing […]
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Coal
Cementing Coal Power Phaseout, Germany Sets Out to Shutter 40% of Current Generation Mix
Germany’s federal cabinet on Jan. 29 approved a nationwide phaseout of coal power generation by 2038, paving the way for the country, which has already initiated a nuclear phaseout, to rely even more heavily on renewables. The federal cabinet’s approval of the “Reduction and Termination of Coal Power Generation” (Gesetz zur Reduzierung und zur Beendigung der […]
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Connected Plant
Verizon and Honeywell enable utilities to more quickly deploy LTE Smart Meters
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., AND MORRIS PLAINS, N.J., Jan. 29, 2020 — Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has teamed up with Honeywell (NYSE: HON) to help utilities speed up and simplify the deployment of new communication-enabled, intelligent sensors and controls for the smart electric grid. By integrating Verizon’s Managed Connectivity LTE solutions into Honeywell’s next-generation smart meters and […]
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News
FERC Approves New Cybersecurity, Transmission Reliability Standards
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Jan. 23 approved two new reliability standards related to transmission system planning performance and cybersecurity. However, it also proposed to retire 74 reliability standard requirements, which it deemed duplicative or unnecessarily burdensome. Among the spate of actions it took on Thursday, FERC also green-lighted retaining the North American […]
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Instrumentation & Controls
Emerson Launches Modular Industrial Displays to Minimize Lifecycle Cost in Industrial Applications
RXi industrial displays are vivid, responsive and modular, delivering high performance even in harsh and difficult operating environments CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (Jan. 27, 2020) — Emerson has released the new portfolio of RXi industrial display and panel PC products for monitoring, visualizing and enhancing everyday production processes in life sciences, metals and mining, power and water, […]
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Connected Plant
The POWER Interview: What Is a Digital Twin?
The term “digital twin” is used frequently by tech-savvy power industry professionals, but what does it really mean? To get an insider’s perspective, POWER posed the question to Akshay Patwal, strategic business manager with Siemens Energy. Patwal leads the development and commercialization of digital business transformation projects, using big data platforms and analytics, to create […]
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Distributed Energy
The Rise of Distributed Natural Gas Generation
The power sector has increasingly turned to various forms of distributed generation to meet growing power demands over the past several decades. Although solar PV and other renewable technologies receive most of the coverage, they represent only a fraction of the distributed market. Diesel generator sets (gensets) have long been the face of distributed generation. […]
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Solar
Future of Solar Energy Brighter Than Sun: Rapid Innovations Pave the Way
We live in the age of automation and artificial intelligence. We need smartphones with long-lasting battery backup. We demand computers with higher computing power. In short, we require more and more energy. And when it comes to energy, we often turn to the most sustainable power alternative: solar energy. Its abundance is not the only […]
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Instrumentation & Controls
Burns & McDonnell Selected by NYPA for Major Control System Modernization Project at One of Largest Hydropower Facilities in North America
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Burns & McDonnell will serve as engineer-procure-construct (EPC) contractor for an extensive $134 million electrical control system upgrade and modernization project for the New York Power Authority’s 2,525-megawatt (MW) Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant. The control system project is a crucial component of a recently announced $1.1 billion Next Generation Niagara […]
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Nuclear
Interest in DOE’s Versatile Test Reactor Heats Up
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and TerraPower are jointly pursuing an opportunity to design and build the U.S. Department of Energy’s Versatile Test Reactor (VTR), an experimental fast neutron nuclear reactor that could start up by 2026. The companies on Jan. 21 announced they collaborated on a response to an expression of interest (EOI) issued […]
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News
Deal-Making in Power Sector Dragged in 2019
Deal-making in the North American power and utilities sector fell for the third year in a row in 2019, and total deal value shrank by 41% compared to 2018, indicating a sustained sluggish financial interest in the sector, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The international accounting firm’s newly released “North American Power & Utilities deals insights […]
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Cybersecurity
FM Global to conduct regular cyber engineering evaluations of industrial control systems for clients
JOHNSTON, R.I., USA—As part of its continuing commitment to cyber risk assessment, prevention and control, FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial property insurers, has become one of the first insurance carriers to offer industrial control systems (ICS) evaluations at client locations as part of its routine engineering site visits. The ICS evaluation will […]
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Coal
The world’s most powerful boiler feed pump dispatched
A boiler feed pump with the largest drive rating worldwide was dispatched by the KSB Group based in Frankenthal in late December 2019. It will be used in the coal-fired power plant Pingshan II that is currently being built in Huaibei, China. The supercritical power station employs a new technology that is said to reach […]
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News
EIA: Renewables Will Surge Past Coal, Nuclear to 22% of U.S. Power Mix in 2021
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its first forecast for 2021 suggests the share of renewables in the utility-scale U.S. power generation mix will surge to 22%, up from 17% last year, while coal and nuclear’s shares will be further diminished. According to the agency’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), released Jan. 14, coal’s […]
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Nuclear
Exelon Installs New Accident Tolerant Fuel at Illinois Nuclear Plant
Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF), a GE-led joint venture with Hitachi Ltd. that supplies boiling water reactor fuel and fuel-related services around the world, said lead test assemblies utilizing its ARMOR-coated zirconium cladding and IronClad Accident Tolerant Fuel solutions have been installed at Exelon’s Clinton nuclear plant in Illinois. “We continue to work with our customers […]
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Press Releases
Beltran Technologies developing advanced WESP for Flue Gas Desulfurization
Beltran Technologies Inc. recently announced the development of an advanced Wet Electrostatic Precipitator for wet scrubber Flue Gas Desulfurization at power plants. To control particulate, aerosols and visible emissions from wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) systems, wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP’s) have to be installed after desulfurization, as the WFGD system is inefficient to remove submicron […]
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Press Releases
Russelectric, a Siemens Business, Offers Customized Switchgear Simulators
Ideal for training personnel on automatic and manual operation of Russelectric switchgear Hingham, MA – Russelectric, A Siemens Business, a leading manufacturer of power control systems and automatic transfer switches, announces the availability of Switchgear Simulators designed to train personnel on automatic and manual operation of Russelectric switchgear. Customized to mimic the operation of the […]
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Renewables
New York Is Fertile Ground for Clean Energy
When many people are asked which state is leading the U.S. toward a renewable energy future, California is the first that comes to mind. And while California is worthy of such distinction, it’s not the only state with a progressive clean-energy agenda. New York should also be part of the conversation. On Jan. 8, New […]
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Markets
PJM Stakeholders at Odds on Timing for Next Capacity Auction
PJM Interconnection will not run a base residual auction (BRA) until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approves recalculated Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) floor prices for new and existing resources as directed by the federal entity’s ground-shaking Dec. 19 capacity market order. But when that will occur is still highly uncertain. In a presentation […]