Technology

My job has made me a frequent flyer, but I can’t imagine stepping onto a plane without confidence in the air traffic control system and its complex interplay of regulation, technology, communications, scheduling, and human expertise. Many obstacles were overcome to achieve modern aviation—and the same is true where I work: today’s electric grid. Virtual […]

Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) giant Fluor Corp. will serve as an engineering and construction partner to design and plan laser fusion power plants developed by Longview Fusion Energy Systems—a company leveraging the recent fusion breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Fluor on April 18 announced it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with […]

Though discussions of fugitive emissions are not new in power and processing facilities, they remain a focal point of most plants’ operational plans because they can harm profitability if they are not addressed. As governmental agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) aim to curb fugitive emissions, it becomes ever more important to make […]

COMMENTARY The American grid is reaching a tipping point. With electric vehicles (EVs) making up 5% of all new vehicle sales last year, there is an urgent need to prepare for the unprecedented strain that will be placed on the U.S. power grid as adoption continues to ramp up—and this is to say nothing of […]

Perhaps the most devastating thing that could happen in any developed country would be widespread catastrophic damage to its electric power grid. Nearly everything in an industrialized nation relies on electricity to function. Without it, normal water supplies, sewer systems, and communication services are cut off. Furthermore, things like food and transportation are quickly affected […]

A proposed rule unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 5 could considerably tighten the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for power plants, with specific repercussions for coal- and oil-fired generation. The proposed rule seeks to significantly update the 2012–finalized National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Coal- and Oil-Fired […]

The nuclear power industry is banking on development of small modular reactor (SMR) technology to support global growth. Canada is at the forefront of the SMR market, with at least four Canadian provinces involved in a joint strategic plan to advance the deployment of SMRs. ARC Clean Technology Canada recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding […]

The spectrum of geothermal technologies is quickly evolving. This supplement to POWER’s April 2023 feature, “Startups Are Shaking Up Geothermal Power’s Potential,” briefly explains the differences between some engineered geothermal systems. Conventional geothermal energy is largely produced by hydrothermal systems, which consist of hot water circulated in deep-seated permeable rocks. Resource temperature ranges from high (greater […]

The term “nuclear renaissance” was very popular in the early 2000s. Nuclear power plant operators had substantially improved existing plant performance, and many new plants were being considered around the

NTPC, India’s largest energy conglomerate and its largest coal generator, in March commissioned the country’s first supercritical coal-fired plant equipped with an air-cooled condenser (ACC). The effort