Technology

  • Shell and NREL Launch Cleantech Incubator: Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL

    DENVER (Sept. 20, 2018) — Shell today announced a new multimillion dollar, multiyear program to discover and advance emerging clean energy technologies with the potential to dramatically alter the future global energy landscape. Partnering with early-stage startup companies, the new Shell GameChanger™ Accelerator Powered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (GCxN) […]

  • AP1000 Reactor Set for Commercial Operation in China

    An AP1000 nuclear reactor at the Sanmen power plant in China will likely be the first of its kind to begin commercial operation, with reports saying the reactor could come online as early as September 21. A statement from China National Nuclear Power Company, issued to the stock exchange in Shanghai on September 20, said […]

  • 3-D Printed Gas Turbine Technology Marks ‘Game Changing’ Milestone

    The world’s first 3-D printed burner for an industrial gas turbine has been in operation for one year with no reported issues. Siemens, which installed the burner for the 32.8-MW SGT-7000 gas turbine at E.ON’s combined cycle power plant in Philippsthal in the German state of Hessen said on September 19 that it has been […]

  • GE Gas Turbine Blade Issue Concerns Analyst

    Lead analyst Stephen Tusa lowered J.P. Morgan’s rating on GE stock after “checks on two initial U.S. installations revealed failures of the first stage blade of GE’s H-frame gas turbine,” thestreet.com reported on September 20. Tusa—who has long been critical of GE’s prospects—reportedly wrote, “The impact on ‘asset value’ from a failure at GE’s U.S. […]

  • The Original Rapid Dry-Out Product

    Plastic Refractories: Tried-and-True Materials That Meet Quick-Turn Demands NORTHBROOK, IL, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018 — Increased production pressures have sparked a rise in inquiries regarding rapid dry-out materials. Often times, the inquirer wants to use a rapid-fire material to reduce the down-time of their furnace equipment. The faster a furnace can be brought back online, the faster […]

  • Leading Japanese Enterprise IT Supplier Macnica Signs Strategic Partnership Agreement with AutoGrid to Deploy Flexibility Management in Japan

    Redwood City, Calif. (September 19, 2018) — AutoGrid is scaling up its presence in Japan. AutoGrid today announced a partnership with Macnica, a leading Japanese supplier of networking and software products to governments and enterprise customers, to deploy its suite of energy internet applications, AutoGrid Flex and AutoGrid Engage. The partnership will focus on extending AutoGrid […]

  • Argonne’s Joint Center for Energy Storage Research Renewed for 5 Years

    MENLO PARK, CA (September 18, 2018) – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced plans to provide $120 million over five years to renew the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), a DOE Energy Innovation Hub devoted to advancing battery science and technology, led by Argonne National Laboratory. “Improvements in battery performance are paramount to […]

  • How Independence Power & Light Saves Ratepayers $100k a Year Using Artificial Intelligence Technology

    At this moment, the lights are on around the country in homes and workplaces.  Most don’t realize, perhaps take it for granted, that those lights come on because of the hard work of dispatchers operating one of the most important manmade systems ever built, the national electric power grid. Without oversimplifying the process too much, […]

  • Siemens and E.ON reach milestone with 3D-printed burner for SGT-700 gas turbine

    Siemens and E.ON have reached a significant milestone in the area of 3D-printing for the energy sector. The world’s first 3-D printed burner for an SGT-700 gas turbine has been in operation for one year at E.ON’s combined cycle power plant in Philippsthal in the German state of Hessen and the results are impressive. The […]

  • PSRE Co. Announces New Version of PASS/HYDROSYSTEM

    Affordable, smart simulation has been extended to include three-phase oil/gas/water flow and multi-parameter optimization for automatic sizing of piping systems 18 September 2018.  PSRE Co., the leading developer of smart simulation and sizing tools for every piping and equipment engineer/designer, is pleased to announce the new version 4.1 of PASS/HYDROSYSTEM scheduled for release beginning of […]

  • IAEA: ‪Global Nuclear Power Industry Is ‘Struggling’

    Nuclear power’s share of the world’s power generating mix could shrink dramatically from 10% in 2017 to just 5.6% in 2050 as the industry struggles with “reduced competitiveness,” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) suggested in a new report. The international organization based in Vienna, Austria, that works to promote the peaceful use of nuclear […]

  • Demonstration Advances to Produce Hydrogen Using Molten Salt Reactor Nuclear Technology

    Terrestrial Energy USA, a company that is developing a fourth-generation molten salt nuclear reactor, has joined forces with Southern Co. and several U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national labs, in a research and development (R&D) project that seeks to pin down whether its reactor technology can produce hydrogen efficiently using nuclear heat and power.  The […]

  • The Electricity Bill Paradox

    Driven by increased energy efficiency and the relocation of electricity-intensive industries, electricity demand and consumption has steadily declined in many developed markets during the last decade, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Yet middle- and working-class households, as well as small businesses, are spending more of their income on electricity than their parents’ generation. […]

  • Several States Urge Federal Court to Rule on Clean Power Plan

    Seventeen states have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reject the Trump administration’s efforts to further delay the court’s decision on legal challenges to the Clean Power Plan. In a filing with the court on September 4, the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, […]

  • Plans Move Forward for Privately Funded Storage of Nuclear Waste

    The Trump administration has revived the discussion of using Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. Nevada officials remain opposed to the idea of putting spent nuclear fuel in long-term storage at a site about 100 miles from Las Vegas. But while a bill to resurrect Yucca Mountain as a […]

  • AIM-68 Industrial Tablet with Application-Oriented Peripherals

    Advantech-DLoG, a leading industrial and rugged computer provider, is pleased to announce its AIM-68 10″ industrial-grade tablet with compact and lightweight design, as well as multiple I/O ports (PresseBox) (Germering, 05.09.18) Powered by an Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8750 processor with support for dual OS, AIM-68 is aimed at diverse applications in various vertical markets. AIM-68 also […]

  • Explosion isolation flap valves provide reliable low-cost explosion protection

    New explosion isolation flap valves from IEP Technologies, part of the HOERBIGER Group, are a reliable and cost effective way to mitigate the risk of dust explosions propagating to upstream equipment. IEP Technologies announces the introduction of the IFV and IFV-M Isolation Flap Valves. These self-actuating devices are cost effective, easy to install, and reliable. […]

  • Crucial to Decarbonization, Costs Dim Prospects for Nuclear Power

    A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) interdisciplinary study found that nuclear power has the potential to contribute greatly to the achievement of deep decarbonization goals, yet despite its promise, cost hinders the expansion of nuclear power. “The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World” was released on September 3. It is the eighth in […]

  • Japan Program for Reuse of Nuclear MOX Fuel in Doubt

     The Japanese government has pushed for the reuse of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel in the country’s nuclear reactors, but utilities that finance the reprocessing have not funded those operations since fiscal year 2016, according to financial reports released by the power companies on September 2. Japan’s KYODO News reported that sources said 10 utilities, including Tokyo […]

  • New OPTALIGN touch to become the game changer in laser alignment

    PRUFTECHNIK single-laser technology – the key for easy and high accuracy measurement Ismaning, September 2018 – The world market leader of laser alignment instruments PRUFTECHNIK proudly announces the launch of the new OPTALIGN touch system. The OPTALIGN touch by PRUFTECHNIK is the equipment of choice for simple, fast and precise daily alignment jobs – a tool […]

  • Valmet to supply a district heat network optimization solution to Jyväskylä Energy in Finland

    Valmet has signed an automation agreement with Jyväskylä Energy Group in Finland for the delivery of its district heat network optimization solution. The delivery will cover the entire district heating network of the company’s both CHP production plants, Keljonlahti and Rauhalahti. The scope of the delivery scope also includes a Valmet DNA Information Management system […]

  • GEA supplies two plants for waste heat utilisation to India and Italy

    Düsseldorf, September 3, 2018 – GEA supplies Saint-Gobain with two Waste Heat Recovery Systems (WHRS) each for the utilisation of waste heat from the float glass production lines in Pisa, Italy and Sriperumbudur, India. Commissioning is planned for the first half of 2019. GEA technology makes it possible to generate electricity and compressed air from […]

  • GE and Construtora Quebec Partner to Build Power Plant in Brazil

    GUANAMBI, BAHIA STATE, Brazil (Sept. 3, 2018) – GE Power (NYSE: GE) was chosen by EPC Construtora Quebec, a Brazilian engineering company, to provide its 4.4-megawatt (MW) and 2.2-MW LV5 1,500-volt inverters and skids for the 14-MW Verde Vale III project in Guanambi, Brazil. This project is owned by Vientos Solutions, an owner and operator […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: Trump’s Regulatory Targets

    President Trump campaigned on a promise to reduce regulation and control regulatory costs. One of his first actions after taking office was to issue an executive order calling for the elimination of two existing regulations for every one new regulation issued. Toward that end, the Trump administration has acted or sought to reverse more than […]

  • Select Boiler Chemistry in the Design Phase of Project Life

    On many combined cycle projects, the major decisions about boiler chemistry are left until after the plant has been designed, equipment is procured, and construction is well underway. However, the best time to make these chemistry decisions is in the design phase of the project. That enables the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor to […]

  • It’s Time for a Macro-Grid Overlay in the U.S.

    The U.S. power system is separated into three major components—the Western Interconnection, the Eastern Interconnection, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The three operate almost independently

  • Power Industry Should Wholeheartedly Support Electric Vehicles

    Electric vehicles (EVs) have the potential to realign the transportation sector and present an opportunity for the power industry to transform and reinvent itself in fundamental ways. But whether this

  • Equipment Showcase: Pumps

    Pumps and pumping systems have multiple applications in power plants and can be located in several locations throughout a facility. These pumps are generally centrifugal and positive displacement pumps

  • Increase Condenser Efficiency with Latest-Generation Vacuum Pumps

    State-owned Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO) operates the Shin Boryeong Thermal Power Plant (TPP), a two-unit, 2,000-MW ultrasupercritical bituminous-coal-fired power plant. Shin Boryeong TPP is an extension

  • China Puts Online Pioneering Large-Scale CSP Project

    China completed its first large commercial-scale parabolic-trough concentrated solar power (CSP) plant at the end of June. The 50-MW Delingha project built by CGN New Energy, a subsidiary of China General