Technology

  • EPA’s Final Regional Haze Guidance Highlights State Discretion, Flexibility

    New guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Aug. 20 to help states prepare for the second implementation period of the federal regional haze program puts emphasis on “discretion and flexibilities” they can use to comply with long-standing mandates to protect visibility in federal areas.   While it is not binding, the EPA’s […]

  • Sustainability Leaders Claim PGE’s Green Future Impact in Record Time

    Newest offering helps leaders in digital, education, healthcare and public sectors support new renewable energy facility in Oregon PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) recently launched Green Future Impact, a new solution that helps large commercial and industrial customers source 100% of their electricity from new wind or solar renewable […]

  • EnergyHub and Oracle Utilities Integrate Distributed Energy Resources into the Utility Customer Experience

    Collaboration empowers utility customers to get the most benefit out of their energy devices, including smart thermostats, electric vehicle chargers, solar inverters and more BROOKLYN, New York – August 21, 2019 – EnergyHub today announced a collaboration with Oracle Utilities to help energy providers intelligently incorporate distributed energy resources (DERs) into their customer engagement and […]

  • Leap, Google Nest Using Automation for Demand Response

    Utilities have offered demand response programs for years, in many cases offering rebates or other compensation to customers willing to allow the utility to reduce their household or business power consumption at certain times of the day. Other companies are moving forward with their own programs, seeking a piece of the growing market for automation […]

  • City Backs Deal for CCS Technology to Save New Mexico Coal Plant

    The Farmington, New Mexico, city council on Aug. 15 unanimously approved a deal to transfer 95% of the ownership interest of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station (SJGS) to Enchant Energy, a company run by executives of a New York-based hedge fund that wants to utilize what it calls “state-of-the-art environmental technology” to capture carbon […]

  • Endress+Hauser Announces Two Analyzers for the Power Market

    The CA76NA and CA80SI analyze boiler feedwater, steam, condensate and ion exchangers — making them a great fit for power industry applications. August 15, 2019—Endress+Hauser announces two analyzers for power industry applications: the CA76NA monitors sodium, while the CA80SI analyzes for silica in boiler feedwater, steam, condensate and ion exchangers. Each analyzer can accept up […]

  • SwRI to Design Flameless, Low-Emission Coal Combustion Pilot 

    San Antonio-based Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) said on Aug. 12 it will get $3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and another $760,658 from an assortment of industry giants to design a large-scale flameless pressurized oxy-fuel combustion pilot plant.  The announcement is a major boost for the promising, but yet unproven technology, that […]

  • Southern Nuclear Adds New Power Plant Simulators

    GSE Systems said it has delivered and commissioned three additional full-scope simulators for Southern Nuclear’s new Operations Training Centers. The simulators are for the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, and the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant. Simulators provide efficient hands-on learning for power plant operators. While power plants of […]

  • ASGCO® Announces Their Improved Line of Sure Grip™ Belt Clamps!

    Allentown, PA.: ASGCO® “Complete Conveyor Solution’s” unveils their newly enhanced series of Sure Grip™ Conveyor Belt Clamps in their line of Safe-Guard® safety conveyor products. Designed to secure the belt for safe repair, the BC6 (6 Tons) and BC8 (8 Tons) Sure Grip™ Belt Clamps were created for maximum grip! Capable to handle more weight […]

  • Siemens performs first large gas turbine exchange in the U.S.

    Brownfield Engine Exchange (BEX) delivers cleaner energy, long-term reliability, improved efficiency and more powerful performance Making Energy Greener is one of Siemens’ continuing core focus areas as the global energy landscape evolves and changes Over 30 engine exchange projects worldwide to date with several recent new orders Siemens Gas and Power is focused on helping […]

  • Continuous, Real-Time TSS Monitoring Verifies Effluent Quality and Coal Ash Management Performance While Reducing Compliance Costs

    Sponsored by:
    Xylem

    As many power plants continue to struggle with the critical last step in their coal ash remediation processes – the final testing phase – some plants have successfully adopted the use of recently advanced sensor technology to measure real-time total suspended solids (TSS) to verify their discharge water is meeting specified requirements.

    Having the ability to monitor TSS real time, and obtain accurate results that are repeatable and verifiable with random lab tests, allows for users to automate functions such as controlling pumps transporting effluent, or start and stop pretreatment processes designed to keep effluent within permit guidelines.

  • Next-Generation HRSGs Start Fast and Reduce Emissions

    Today’s heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) are suffering reliability problems, mainly because they’re being operated in the cycling mode instead of the baseload mode for which they were designed. The good news is HRSG suppliers are adapting to the market demands and are designing the next generation of HRSGs to have cycling-friendly—also called fast-start—features. One […]

  • ABB launches world’s first excitation product compliant with new European Grid Code

    ABB is delivering innovative excitation solutions that ensure early compliance with new European regulations and will bring broader benefits, minimizing risk in connecting grid networks and supporting reliable and stable operations. ABB’s UNITROL® 1000 series is the world’s first excitation product that is fully compliant with the new European grid code pioneered in Germany.  Compliance […]

  • GE Digital Launches New Capabilities to Automate Inspection Planning and Mitigate Compliance Risk

    Unique in the market, APM Integrity’s new Compliance Management feature automates mechanical integrity planning – reducing regulatory risk, increasing team efficiency and improving safety. SAN RAMON, CALIF. – August 6, 2019 – GE Digital (NYSE: GE) today announced the general availability of enhanced Compliance Management features in its Asset Performance Management (APM) Integrity software for […]

  • Renowned Futurist Jim Carroll to Keynote Schneider Electric EcoStruxure Foxboro and Triconex User Groups

    Global innovation expert to advise how to thrive among high-velocity disruption Process automation and safety session proposals now being accepted Event registration now open BOSTON – August 6, 2019 – Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced that world-leading futurist Jim Carroll will deliver the keynote address at […]

  • ABB supports China’s solar energy program, delivering digital solutions to harness maximum heat from the sun

    ABB is supporting the Chinese government in its efforts to produce emissions-free electricity, delivering automation control solutions at the country’s first two concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. Building on the successful delivery of power at the first 50 megawatt CSP in Delingha with China General Nuclear Power Group in late 2018, ABB has been awarded […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: A Spotlight on Oil-Fired Power

    Discussions about fossil-fueled power capacity are typically centered on coal and natural gas. The former is seeing a marked decline amid climate concerns, and the latter is seeing unprecedented growth, owing to relatively low prices. Seemingly forgotten, but still a major source of power, are plants fired with petroleum liquids. In 2017, according to the […]

  • Electric Power Trends and Opportunities

    I was recently reviewing a report issued last year by BMI Research, a Fitch Group company. The Megatrends 2050 Special Report , as it is called, suggests there are three main trends that will transform the

  • How Nuclear Hybrids Could Redefine the Industry’s Future

    The world’s nuclear sector is struggling to stay economically afloat amid a deluge of renewables and natural gas power, and reinvigorating it will require operational flexibility from new or existing

  • Novel Nuclear Wastewater Treatment Ready for Market

    An innovative nuclear wastewater treatment approach that could provide a cost-effective alternative to fixed-column ion-exchange plants is poised to enter the nuclear market. Atkins, a company that

  • SCR Project Upgrades Two Units at Four Corners

    The numbers tell the story of how the addition of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology helped an iconic New Mexico coal-fired plant reduce its emissions, keeping the plant in operation and continuing

  • Healy 2: The Story of a Coal Unit’s Remarkable Resiliency

    Coal is the reason that Healy, Alaska, exists. To ensure low-cost power and reliability to interior Alaska—a remote place that is bereft of gas and has little sun—and sustain regional employment, Golden

  • The World-Class Coal Power Efficiency of Rheinhafen-Dampfkraftwerk Block 8

    Efficiency has become the mantra of modern coal power. The 912-MW hard coal–fired RDK 8, a unit that operates in Germany’s challenging power market, achieved a 47.5% net thermal efficiency through

  • Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion Is a Winner

    New coal power plant technology is being developed by various companies around the world, but there are some pretty efficient and reliable designs already commercially available. Circulating fluidized bed

  • Biomass Power: Stalled in the Market, Stalled in Washington

    After flowering between 2008 and 2014, power from biomass has withered in the face of market forces. Furthermore, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have resisted regulatory action that could boost the industry

  • Adding Fog for Power Augmentation and Emission Reduction

    A pilot project was initiated by China’s largest energy provider to test the effectiveness of fog-based power augmentation for a gas turbine at a compressor station. The system provided a significant

  • Power Plants of the Future: 21st Century Coal-Fired Steam Generator

    Coal-fired plants have been powering the electric grid for more than a hundred years, but the technology being used in them is not stagnant, as many advancements have been made. One new design—the Clean

  • Fertile Ground for Community Solar Gardens

    Community solar projects, also known as solar farms or solar gardens, are maturing and moving forward. Minnesota leads the nation with 559 MW of capacity on the ground, and other states are following with new