Technology

  • Power to the People—Family Approach Supports Plant’s Positive Impact

    Dominion Energy’s Greensville County Power Station is noted for its efficient performance and its strict emissions limits, and its workers also contribute to its success. There are many adjectives to

  • A New Technology for Bottom Ash Conversion Emerges

    New environmental regulations have forced many coal power plant operators to consider alternative options for handling their boiler bottom ash. Although mechanical drag systems can often meet regulatory

  • POWER Digest—October 2019

    First Unit at 2-GW Coal Plant in Malaysia Begins Operation. The first of two proposed 1-GW coal-fired power plants in Port Dickson, Negi Sembilan, Malaysia, began commercial operation on Aug. 22, expanding

  • Almost No Heat Is Wasted at This Highly Efficient German CHP Facility

    This modern Bavarian factory produces 105,000 tons of wood pellets, enough to heat tens of thousands of homes. To help manufacture them, it integrates a uniquely designed combined heat and power facility that

  • A Busy Summer for New Nuclear Power Plants

    Several new nuclear plants around the world marked important milestones over the summer. Among notable projects are those that began second units of new third-generation reactor designs—such as the EPR

  • Terna and Ansaldo Energy Together for a More Innovative and Sustainable Electricity System

    This partnership will allow for the development of supporting energy transition technologies and initiatives to make consumption more efficient Genoa, 30 September 2019 – Today in Genoa, Terna’s Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Luigi Ferraris and Ansaldo Energia’s Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Zampini signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to identify, assess and […]

  • Northeastern’s Wind Technology Program Receives Donated Nacelle from NextEra Energy Resources

    STERLING, COLO. – Sept. 30, 2019 – NextEra Energy Resources is donating a fully-functional decommissioned wind turbine nacelle to Northeastern Junior College’s Wind Technology program as a learning tool for one of the nation’s top wind technology education programs. A nacelle is the protective shell that houses all of the turbine machinery atop a wind […]

  • DYNAMIC to perform the ITER Tokamak Assembly (TAC2)

    The ITER Organization has awarded a contract, for a global value above 200 M€, for the Tokamak Assembly (TAC2) to DYNAMIC, a company created specifically for the purpose of guaranteeing the seamless execution of the work by the collective contributions of its founding members: Ansaldo Nucleare, Endel Engie, Orys Group ORTEC, SIMIC, Leading and Ansaldo […]

  • NuScale Partners with ČEZ to Explore SMR Deployment in the Czech Republic

    The companies will share technical expertise and explore potential of NuScale’s SMR as a long-term clean energy option for ČEZ PORTLAND, Ore. — Today, NuScale Power announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ČEZ Group, a leading Czech utility conglomerate, to explore applications for NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) as a […]

  • Signal Energy Creates Subsidiary To Serve The Distributed Generation Energy Market

    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Sept. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Signal Energy, the Chattanooga-based leading engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firm in the renewable energy industry, has created a new subsidiary called Signal Energy DG to serve the distributed generation energy market. Distributed generation power is generated by energy sources like solar panels or wind turbines to create electricity […]

  • ENGIE, Microsoft Seal Innovative ‘Firm Power’ PPA for 230 MW Wind and Solar in Texas

    ENGIE, the world’s largest independent power producer, has signed an innovative volume firming agreement (VFA) with Microsoft that will allow the technology giant to buy “firm” power from wind and solar projects in Texas under a specially structured power purchase agreement (PPA).  The companies on Sept. 24 said the long-term PPA will allow Microsoft to […]

  • Using Data to Improve Power Plant Operations [PODCAST]

    Power plants have an abundance of data. Temperatures, pressures, flows, and various other parameters are all monitored constantly to ensure plants are operating properly. However, a lot of data is not used to its fullest extent. With the right tools, data can be more-thoroughly analyzed and findings can be acted upon to improve efficiency and […]

  • Curtiss-Wright Debuts NRC-Approved Digital Safety Platform

    BREA, CA – Curtiss-Wright Corporation has announced the expansion of its digital control systems portfolio with the addition of the Curtiss-Wright Digital Safety System. Built on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-approved RadICS platform, the Digital Safety System is fully-qualified for nuclear safety-related applications. Curtiss-Wright’s Digital Safety System is an internally diverse, fully-qualified field programmable gate […]

  • GE Announces Second Order for Its New GT26 HE Solution to Boost Efficiency at Drax’s Shoreham Power Station

    GE’s GT26 HE upgrade is expected to increase combined-cycle efficiency by about 2.5% and add 44 megawatts of power at baseload at Drax’s Shoreham Power Station GE to implement gas turbine upgrade in 2021 Upgrade unleashes full performance of the GT26 platform through advanced technology from GE’s H-Class, F-Class and additive manufacturing GE’s hardware and […]

  • Framatome successfully completes feedwater heater replacement at Palo Verde Generating Station

    Framatome successfully completed the first of 12 low-pressure feedwater heater replacements at Arizona Public Service’s Palo Verde Generating Station Unit 1 on an expedited schedule during the spring 2019 outage. The remaining replacements will take place over a more than seven-year campaign. “It is rewarding to bring our latest technologies and expertise to support Palo […]

  • Energy Storage as a Service Part of Generation Evolution

    Two companies who recently announced they are creating what they consider North America’s largest behind-the-meter (BTM) deployment of energy storage technology have said they plan to expand the service, providing a long-term solution for controlling costs and promoting energy sustainability for businesses. Executives of the two companies—Honeywell and NRStor C&I—told POWER in a Sept. 23 interview […]

  • SEIA Unveils ‘Roadmap’ for Increased Solar Power Generation

    The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) on Sept. 23 released what it calls a roadmap for solar power, among the group’s first steps into a 10-year period that SEIA has dubbed the “Solar+ Decade.” SEIA on Monday in a news release said its initiative puts solar power on a path to provide at least 20% […]

  • Schneider Electric Cuts Five Years from its Carbon Neutrality Goal, Establishing Roadmap for the Carbon Neutral World

    New York City (September 23, 2019) — Schneider Electric announced today at Climate Week NYC 2019 that it is drastically stepping up its commitment to carbon neutrality with three new actions: (1) accelerating its 2030 goal of carbon neutrality by demonstrating carbon neutrality in its extended ecosystem by 2025, bringing forward its objective by 5 years […]

  • Ansaldo Energia Selected by UAE Independent Power Producer for Full-Scope Combined Cycle Power Plant Service Agreement

    Independent Water and Power Producer (IWPP) Taweelah Asia Power Company (TAPCO), one of the largest IWPPs in the Middle East, has awarded Ansaldo Energia a 10-year structured service agreement for their Taweelah New B Extension (TNBE) combined cycle power plant in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. TNBE generates upward of a net 947 MW of […]

  • FERC GOP Majority Flexes Partisan Muscles for PURPA Reform

    The newly empowered Republican majority on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) flexed its administrative muscles Sept. 19 at its regular monthly meeting, voting 2–1 to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) to reform rules pertaining to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). It was FERC’s first public meeting since July, when the […]

  • Duke Energy, American Electric Power Separately Seeking to Go Net-Zero Carbon by 2050

    Two formidable U.S. coal power generators this week separately revised their carbon dioxide emissions reduction targets. Duke Energy announced it would achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. American Electric Power (AEP), meanwhile, said it would extend its target from 60% to 70% from 2000 levels by 2030, and by more than 80% by 2050—but it […]

  • The POWER Interview: Cryogenic Energy Storage Technology

    Highview Power recently unveiled its modular, giga-scale cryogenic energy storage technology, the CRYOBattery™. The company has announced a partnership with Tenaska to help develop four giga-scale plants in the U.S., with the first expected in in Texas. The company also is working on a fifth project in the Midwest. The technology uses ambient air to […]

  • Xcel Energy and Itron Collaborate to Transform Customer Experience and Utility Operations

    Xcel to Take Advantage of Distributed Intelligence and Distribution Automation LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — Sept. 17 — Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), which is innovating the way utilities and cities manage energy and water, and Xcel Energy entered an agreement to secure smart meters that will allow for collaboration to improve customer experience and utility operations […]

  • Community Solar Benefits Cooperatives and Customers

    For some utilities, community solar is a way to offer consumers access to clean energy without requiring investment in rooftop solar. For others, it presents a means of strategically placing solar resources in the most beneficial locations. Meanwhile, many utilities view it as an opportunity to learn how best to integrate distributed energy resources (DERs). […]

  • How to Avoid Common Genset Room Design Mistakes

    Reliable power is essential for all facilities, but it is even more critical for places like hospitals, data centers, and military bases. Therefore, many decision-makers are purchasing power generator sets (gensets) to supply their facilities during emergencies. It is crucial to consider where the genset will be positioned and how it will be operated. If […]

  • What Can You Do with a Superconductor? A Lot! [PODCAST]

    What is a superconductor? One definition says, “a material that can conduct electricity or transport electrons from one atom to another with no resistance.” “At the base physics level, what a superconductor does is it moves a lot more power per unit volume or per unit weight, so you have a very high energy-dense material […]

  • Exelon’s Byron 2 Completes First Insertion of Westinghouse Accident-Tolerant Fuel 

    Exelon’s Byron Unit 2 nuclear power plant has completed installation of EnCore Fuel, Westinghouse Electric Co.’s accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) solution, marking the start of the first test of uranium silicide fuel pellets in a commercial nuclear reactor.  The installation, completed during the plant’s scheduled 18-day spring refueling outage this April, but publicly announced on Sept. […]

  • Three More Nuclear Plant Owners Will Demonstrate Hydrogen Production

    FirstEnergy Solutions (FES), Xcel Energy, and Arizona Public Service (APS) will demonstrate hydrogen production at three nuclear plants they own starting in 2020 and 2021. The projects, selected as part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Reactor Development Project funding pathway, aim to improve long-term competitiveness of the nuclear sector […]

  • California’s Largest Battery Storage Installation to Be Installed in Mojave Desert

    The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Glendale Water and Power, through the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), on May 16, 2019, received SCPPA’s approval on agreements with 8minute Solar Energy (8mSE) for the installation of a 300-MW/1,200-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) located at 8mSE’s Eland Solar and Storage Center. […]

  • Hawk Measurement Systems Launches New Radar Transmitter

    Hawk Measurement releases a new non-contact radar level transmitter that uses FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) technology. Hawk Measurement Systems (HAWK), a global leader in measurement solutions, has announced the release of their new SENATOR™ Radar Level Transmitter product line. The SENATOR™ Radar Level Transmitter is a non-contact sensor that uses FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous […]