Trends

Days after Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced it would participate in a consortium to develop floating nuclear power plants, the owner and operator of South Korea’s 25 nuclear power plants joined forces with TerraPower to bolster the demonstration and commercialization of Natrium, TerraPower’s sodium-cooled fast reactor integrated energy system. The deals were announced […]

Few power-generating resources present the combination of workhouse abilities that combined heat and power (CHP) does. But, powered predominantly by fossil fuels, will CHP find its unique footing within the

Pakistan Begins Commercial Operation of 1.3-GW Coal Plant. Pakistan on Feb. 7 began commercial operation of a 1.3-GW coal-fired power plant in the Thar Desert in Sindh province, southern Pakistan. The project

Beam Global is a company dedicated to providing clean energy for the transportation sector. The San Diego, California-based group has said its “mission is to lead the world to clean mobility. We believe that every person deserves access to clean sustainable transportation. That every community is safer with a resilient microgrid. That every state can […]

In July 1968, the U.S. Army sent the world’s first floating nuclear power plant, the Sturgis, to the Panama Canal to help overcome a regional hydroelectric power plant shortage, which was driven by a severe

An estimated 91% of the world’s population had access to electricity in 2020, marking substantial progress toward goals to ensure universal access to power. Still, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 733 million people remain unserved. Off-grid and decentralized energy systems may be emerging as an alternative to facilitate energy access and resilience, […]

The Inflation Reduction Act will spur growth in clean energy and upgrades to grid infrastructure, but workforce shortages and supply chain constraints are likely to challenge power companies for at least the

While 2021 provided its own share of extraordinary energy debacles, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 cascaded into full-blown energy turmoil. This year will begin with the world “in the midst of

Brazil Formally Restarts Construction of Angra 3 Nuclear Reactor. Eletronuclear, a mixed-ownership subsidiary of Brazilian state-run power group Eletrobras, has resumed construction of Angra 3, a 1.4-GW

The Global Energy Monitor (GEM), an organization dedicated to enhancing understanding of climate change data, in a recent report, estimated that about 89.6 GW (or 13%) of the 692 GW of global gas-fired capacity in development are coal-to-gas conversions or replacements. East Asia has the most coal-to-gas conversions or replacements in development (29.6 GW). By […]

The world is on a quest for solutions to decarbonize its economy. More than 70 countries and over 1,200 companies have set a net-zero target, according to the United Nations. To limit warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, emissions of hundreds of gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) would need to be prevented and removed from […]

Power shortfalls could be rife over the next three months across a large portion of the North American bulk power system (BPS), particularly during extreme and prolonged cold conditions, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) has warned. The nation’s designated Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) in its latest Winter Reliability Assessment, issued on Nov. 17, said […]

With winter fast approaching, and the dreaded effects of extreme natural gas price levels and volatility looming, together with unprecedented uncertainty of fuel supply, governments in Germany and France have

JX Nippon Acquires NRG’s Share of Petra Nova Carbon Capture Plant for $3.6 Million. ENEOS Group, a Japanese energy and non-ferrous metals business group that owns JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration, will

The Department of Energy (DOE) has ramped up efforts to explore recycling spent nuclear fuel (SNF), or used nuclear fuel (UNF), from the nation’s fleet of light water reactors (LWRs), doling out $38 million in federal awards to a dozen projects on Oct. 21. Teams will receive funding under the DOE’s March 2022–launched “Converting UNF […]

Energy giants Chevron and Uniper are pairing with chemical technology companies Air Liquide and LyondellBasell to explore a hydrogen and ammonia production facility along the U.S. Gulf Coast that could support industrial decarbonization and mobility applications in the region and expand clean ammonia exports. The companies, in a joint statement on Oct. 19, said they […]

The rise and rapid adoption of the circular economy—a systems solution framework that seeks to keep materials, products, and services in circulation for as long as possible—is triggering an interesting

The deployment of new power plants in the U.S. over the past 14 decades has hinged on policies, markets, technologies, and new industry players. Every decade has presented its own state of multidimensional, multivariate complexity. The ongoing “energy transition,” which has been characterized by the addition of smaller, carbon-free resources, marks another pivotal period in […]

Saft Installs Batteries on Italian Islands. Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, has installed seven maintenance-free Flex’ion lithium-ion battery systems supporting a microgrid with solar plants on the

A month after Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Japanese power generator JERA set out to jointly explore developing a 60-MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant fueled with 100% ammonia on Singapore’s Jurong Island, MHI announced it is partnering with another Singapore industrial heavyweight to explore the feasibility of an ammonia-fired gas turbine in the […]

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico announced they completed a successful test of a new power-generating technology, delivering electricity to the local grid using an energy conversion system that they say could drive a major increase in efficiency for power plants across the U.S. and perhaps the world. The researchers, in a news […]

The Biden administration has laid out a comprehensive roadmap to help five energy-intensive manufacturing sectors reduce their fuel- and power-related carbon emissions and achieve net-zero by 2050. The pathways proposed for the iron and steel, cement and concrete, food and beverage, chemical manufacturing, and petroleum refining sectors may have substantial implications for future power demand. […]

New Transformer Improves Power System Reliability for Zimbabweans. An Emergency Power Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project funded by ZimFund reached the last leg of implementation on July 10 with the delivery

Entergy Corp.’s chairman and CEO Leo P. Denault will retire in 2023, ending a decade-long role as the head of the New Orleans–headquartered power generating giant. Denault will be succeeded by Andrew “Drew” Marsh, Entergy’s current executive vice president and chief financial officer. Denault, 62, was appointed Entergy’s chairman and CEO in 2013, taking over […]

American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) long-serving chairman, president, and CEO, Nick Akins, will step down as CEO on Jan. 1, 2023, and has already passed the company’s presidency to Julie A. Sloat, AEP executive vice president, and chief financial officer (CFO). Sloat, 53, will become the power generating company’s CEO in January, making her the first […]

European leaders should minimize gas use in the power sector and temporarily ramp up coal- and oil-fired generation while accelerating low-carbon sources to guard against energy market turmoil that has grown “especially perilous,” the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on July 18. “I’m particularly concerned about the months ahead,” wrote IEA Executive […]

Few observers outside the electric utility industry understand the U.S. power grid, often called the world’s largest machine. It’s three grids, actually—the Eastern Interconnect, the Western Interconnect, and the Texas Interconnect. Much of the Eastern and Western Interconnects are subdivided regionally into independent organizations—independent system operators (ISOs) or regional transmission operators (RTOs)—that monitor, coordinate, and […]

War rages in Europe. Natural gas prices are through the roof. Drought threatens hydro production. Weather extremes are becoming commonplace. Supply chains are strained. Demand for electricity is headed

Legislation passed in Rhode Island will commit the state to procure 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2033. If Gov. Daniel McKee, as expected, signs the bill into law, the Ocean State could have the nation’s fastest timeline for a 100% renewables procurement. The New England state’s legislature on June 17 approved […]

An unprecedented array of risks—ranging from capacity shortfalls, extreme weather, extended drought, supply chain issues, cybersecurity, solar PV tripping, fuel constraints, to wildfires—could imperil the reliability of nearly every North American bulk power system (BPS) region west of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) this summer, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) warned in […]