Technology

  • Energy Storage Changes the Power Profile

    The power grid is a pretty complex system. Electricity is generally produced on an as-needed basis. Generators ramp up and down based on demand. However, energy storage systems are beginning to change how

  • High-Volume Hydrogen Gas Turbines Take Shape

    In preparation for a large-scale power sector shift toward decarbonization, several major power equipment manufacturers are developing gas turbines that can operate on a high-hydrogen-volume fuel. According to

  • Advancements in Water Ultrafiltration Technology

    Strained water resources across the world necessitate innovative ways for power plants to more efficiently use, and reuse, the water that is available. At the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National

  • Enhanced Wastewater Treatment Technology for Ash Transport Water

    Evolving environmental regulations have forced many coal power plant operators to re-evaluate how they handle water and ash. Many units have been retrofit with dry handling systems, but there are other

  • Outstanding Combustion Turbine Operators Recognized by CTOTF

    The Combustion Turbine Operations Technical Forum (CTOTF) recently announced the winners of the first CTOTF/POWER Innovation Excellence awards, which recognize outstanding performance in various combustion

  • Pitfalls and Promises: Power Sector Decarbonization

    Decarbonization is becoming firmly entrenched in utility business strategies to address risks and opportunities posed by climate change. But setting out a sound plan amid so many uncertainties poses a number

  • Bringing the Heat: Geothermal Making Inroads as Baseload Power

    It’s energy that has been around forever, used for years as a heating source across the world, particularly in areas with volcanic activity. Today, geothermal has surfaced as another renewable resource, with

  • The Dark Side of the Smart Grid

    The smart grid offers great promise to transform the electric system, enabling two-way communication between providers and consumers over the network, and allowing new services that can save electricity and

  • Best Practices for Wind Project Partial Repowering

    Partial wind project repowering enables owners to generate more energy from their sites, extend the life and improve the availability of their projects, and take advantage of extended renewable energy

  • A Thorium Molten Salt Reactor When and Where You Need It

    ThorConIsle is an offshore 500-MWe thorium molten salt reactor constructed inside a ship’s hull, ready to provide power from navigable waterways. The ThorCon “pot” operates at a pressure of 3 bar gauge

  • Allocating Risks Strategically: How to Complete Successful Power and Energy Projects

    Power and energy construction projects are often complex and nearly always full of risks. On some jobs, miscalculating schedules and underestimating material expenses can result in hundreds of millions of

  • Double-Tube-Sheet Heat Exchangers: A Solution to Cross Contamination

    Heat exchangers are vital equipment for power plant operation. Many different types of heat exchangers exist, but for applications that cannot afford cross contamination of shell-side and tube-side fluids

  • MHPS Receives Order from HAZAMA ANDO CORP. for “MEGAMIE” Hybrid Power Generation System

    Delivery of MHPS’ Second Order for MEGAMIE is Scheduled for Mid-2019 Unit to support energy management systems; will provide significant CO2 reduction YOKOHAMA, Japan, Apr 25, 2019 – (JCN Newswire) – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has received an order for its hybrid power generation system, named “MEGAMIE”, integrating solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) […]

  • INNIO’s Waukesha Gas Engines Provide High Overall Efficiency and Low Emissions to District Heating Plant in Germany

    INNIO Announces Successful Commissioning Using Waukesha VHP 9394GSI Gas Engines S&L Energie-Projekte GmbH, INNIO’s Authorized Channel Partner for Waukesha Gas Engines, Provided Four Waukesha Engines to Stadtwerke Lutherstadt Wittenberg GmbH Waukesha Gas Engines with German Grid Code Certification Exceeded Customer Expectations for Overall Efficiency and Emissions Waukesha, WISC.— April 24, 2019 — As Germany aims […]

  • Washington, Nevada Pass Clean Power Legislation

    Washington this week became the latest state to establish a goal of 100% carbon-free clean electricity, as lawmakers passed Senate Bill 5116, which mandates a transition to clean power across the state by 2045. The bill was first introduced in January and is expected to be signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee. Washington joins […]

  • Federal Court Vacates Parts of Obama EPA’s ELG Rule 

    In a legal victory for environmental groups, a federal court has vacated key portions of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) November 2015-promulgated effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) for steam electric power plants, deeming them “unlawful.”  The decision adds a dramatic new element of uncertainty in timing of the rule, which the Trump administration has said it […]

  • GE Marks ‘Ultra Low’ NOx Gas Turbine Technology Triumph

    In a significant technical triumph, GE has completed first installation of a new gas-fired power plant technology that it says can reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to 5 parts per million (ppm).  GE on April 11 completed combustion upgrades on nine GE 9E gas turbines at five power generation enterprises in Shenzen, a major industrial […]

  • Voith Hydro receives major order for Australian pumped storage power plant

    Voith supplies the electrical and mechanical components for the Australian pumped storage power plant Snowy 2.0 – including three innovative variable-speed pump turbines Snowy 2.0 will underpin Australia’s renewable energy future Power plant is one of the largest of its kind in the world HEIDENHEIM/SYDNEY. Voith has been awarded a contract to equip the Australian […]

  • Lessons in Backup Power Generation from South Australia

    Electricity demand spiked considerably in South Australia this past January as residents tried to stay cool in the middle of a record heat wave that brought temperatures up to 46.6°C (or about 115°F). To ensure a stable power supply would be available, the South Australian government fired up two power plants (276 MW) that the […]

  • Leadership Shakeup at ABB Amid Power Grids Business Overhaul

    Only months after ABB announced Hitachi would acquire a majority stake in its flagship power grids business for $11 billion, the company’s board of directors ousted CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer and officially launched a search for a new leader.  The Zurich-based technology giant said on April 17 that the board of directors and Spiesshofer “mutually agreed […]

  • GreenFire Energy Completes Construction of the First Field-Scale Demonstration of Closed-Loop Geothermal Power Generation

    Testing of the Demonstration Begins at the Coso, California, Geothermal Field  Emeryville, California – April 16, 2019 – GreenFire Energy Inc. today announced the completion of construction and the beginning of testing of the world’s first field-scale demonstration of a closed-loop geothermal power system. The project uses an inactive well in the Coso, California, geothermal […]

  • Wind Industry Prepares for Massive Expansion

    Construction activity on wind projects across the U.S. surged to a record level of more than 20 GW in the third quarter of 2018, and about 35.1 GW of new wind capacity was under construction or in advanced development at the end of 2018, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).  In 2018, the […]

  • New Cyberattack by Group Behind TRITON/TRISIS Reported

    Cybersecurity firm FireEye has uncovered and is responding to a new intrusion at an unnamed critical infrastructure facility that it suggests in an April 10 blog post was perpetrated by the group behind the TRITON attack, which prompted a process shutdown at a Middle Eastern facility in 2017. But while details of the new attack are sparse, […]

  • A Real Green New Deal? A Look at the Past for Today’s Energy Policy Solution

    Despite years of escalating natural disasters and dozens of reports examining the science and economic cost of climate change, the Green New Deal framework now languishes as a result of political backlash and its outsize ambition to remake the American economy. But dismissing the issue, and this opportunity, is unnecessary and dangerous.

  • TrendMiner Introduces New Capabilities and Extended Integration with PI System at OSIsoft PI World 2019

    The long-term OSIsoft partner will unveil extended capabilities to support PI Event Frames and preview their latest software enhancement, DashHub, at the flagship event. Houston, TX, USA – April 9, 2019 – TrendMiner NV, a Software AG company and provider of the leading self-service predictive analytics software, announced today that they will be previewing the […]

  • Vogtle 2 Installs World’s First Full Accident-Tolerant Fuel Assemblies

    The world’s first complete advanced nuclear fuel test assemblies containing accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) have been installed at Southern Co.’s Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant’s Unit 2 in Georgia.  Nuclear giant Framatome delivered four GAIA lead fuel assemblies containing enhanced ATF (EATF), including both pellets and cladding, to the plant owned by Georgia Power in […]

  • CenTrax belt tracker for RWE Eemshaven power plant

    RWE Generation’s Eemshaven power plant is the largest coal and biomass power plant in the Netherlands. Covered conveyor belts ensure dust-free transport of the coal from ships to the power plant or the storage yard. This process was always accompanied by jerks and jolts due to frequent belt mistracking. The constant downtime of the conveyor […]

  • For First Time, IEA Quantifies Coal’s Dominant Role in Global Temperature Increase

    Coal combustion was responsible for more than 0.3 degrees C of the 1-degree C surge in global average annual surface temperatures above pre-industrial levels—and that makes coal the single largest source of the global temperature increase, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in a new report.  The finding, outlined in the IEA’s Global Energy & […]

  • How the DOE Is Looking to Save Hydropower

    The Department of Energy (DOE) unveiled a slate of measures to help U.S. hydropower thrive as costs for wind and solar plummet. Measures will include a roadmap to identify hydro’s value in a future grid, and a first-of-its-kind prize designed to encourage innovative and faster pumped storage construction techniques. In her opening speech at Waterpower […]

  • FPL Will Build World’s Largest Battery Storage System

    Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) has been building new solar farms and bringing gigawatts of new natural gas-fired generation capacity online in recent years. Now the utility has announced what it calls the world’s largest solar-powered battery storage system. FPL on March 28 said the Manatee Energy Storage Center, a 409-MW/900-MWh battery storage facility, […]