Technology

Advanced digital technologies, including robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, are transforming the way electric power companies do business, in ways that benefit the companies and their

At the end of July, India’s Central Electricity Authority (CEA) noted in its annual load generation balance report (LGBR) for the year 2018–2019 that the country will likely have a peak surplus of 2.5% and

Low power factor reduces an electrical system’s distribution capacity by increasing current flow. Therefore, having a low power factor is inefficient and expensive. But what is power factor and what affects

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s third coal plant conversion to gas combined cycle generation, at the venerable Allen plant near Memphis, Tennessee, created the most-efficient combined cycle plant in its

Corrosion products can form quickly in power plant systems if water, air, and metal are allowed to occupy the same space. Localized corrosion can take any of several distinct forms, such as stress corrosion

Scorching temperatures during the summer of 2018 forced a swathe of power plants across the world to reduce power or shut down temporarily, owing to warmer-than-usual temperatures of cooling water and other

Silicon Valley Power implemented a system using machine-learning technology to monitor critical power plant components. The solution has proven to reduce downtime and save money. Furthermore, its wireless

Innovative welding techniques can produce consistently better-quality joints. Special alloys, appropriate pre- and post-weld heat treatment, and proper weld procedures can all help prevent catastrophic failure

The Nishi Nagoya power plant in Japan is more than just the showcase of a successful fuel-conversion project. It’s the holder of a world record, thanks to a GE Power gas turbine that again has set the global

Though experts say biomass should continue to play a key role in the U.S. renewable power portfolio for its baseload properties, contributions to forest management, and other reasons, a swathe of uneconomic

Duke Energy will swallow $30 million in runaway costs associated with operating its five-year-old 618-MW integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) facility in Edwardsport, Indiana, if a settlement the company reached with Indiana consumer groups last week is approved. Duke declared Edwardsport Generating Station “in service” in June 2013, despite a series of hiccups that delayed […]

More than 35,000 visitors from 100 nations were expected to attend the vast Global Wind Summit, which began Tuesday, September 25, in Hamburg, Germany’s Exposition Center. The expo is one of the world’s largest wind energy events. Held every two years and organized by WindEurope, the Global Wind Energy Association, and VDMA Power Systems, it […]

According to a recent maintenance study published by Plant Engineering, more than 50% of respondents said their plants are still heavily relying on reactive maintenance. However, organizations and industries (including the power industry) have slowly started to move toward a more proactive maintenance approach because of the numerous benefits its implementation provides. This article addresses […]

The project to expand the two-unit Plant Vogtle in Georgia with two new AP1000 reactors has suffered debilitating delays and mounting costs.

The project to expand the two-unit Plant Vogtle nuclear power station in Georgia with two new AP1000 reactors has suffered debilitating delays and mounting costs. The project is owned by four partners: Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power (45.7%), Oglethorpe Power Corp. (OPC, 30%), Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power, 22.7%), and Dalton Utilities (1.6%). Units […]

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) […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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, […]

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 […]