Power

  • Grid-Scale Deployments Drive Growth in Energy Storage

    Installations of grid-scale energy storage across the U.S. continue to surge, with three states—California, Arizona, and Texas—responsible for 85% of that growth in the second quarter of this year. Data from the American Clean Power Association (ACP) and Wood Mackenzie, released October 1 in the group’s latest Energy Storage Monitor report, showed 3,011 MW and […]

  • Ohio Facility Supports PJM Power Supply in Heart of Major Shale Plays

    Caithness Energy’s Guernsey Power Station, which features GE Vernova equipment, is an important gas-fired facility helping replace retired coal-fired generation in the PJM Interconnection territory

  • Innovative Gas-Fired Power Station Supports Taiwan’s Need for More Energy

    A GE Vernova-led project, completed in just 10 months, is helping Taiwan’s efforts for a more reliable power supply, along with supporting the integration of renewable energy resources in the country. Taiwan

  • Attarat Power Plant Unlocks Domestic Energy Source for Jordan

    Oil shale doesn’t fuel a lot of power plants around the world, but in Jordan, it’s a vital option, offering energy security and independence. The success of the Attarat Power Plant in capitalizing on this

  • Best Places to Work in the Power Industry 2024

    Earlier this year, POWER partnered with Best Companies Group (BCG), an organization dedicated to identifying and recognizing outstanding workplaces across various industries, to launch our Best Places to Work

  • Diversification Key to Finland’s Goals Around Energy and Environment

    Finland has a diversified energy mix, comprised mostly of renewable energy resources and nuclear power. Recent power generation project announcements highlight this diversification, which has led to industry

  • Minimize Risks with Robotic Generator Inspections and Comprehensive Testing

    Historically, generator inspections require rotor removal (Figure 3). There’s a significant level of risk during this process due to possible generator damage during the disassembly, and it also requires

  • Marnie Surfaceblow: It’s Ghostbusting Time … Again

    Everything happens for a reason, and fantastic events often have mundane causes. Two women silently waited in their rental car next to a guard hut, sheltered under spreading banana tree leaves. Sunlight

  • POWER Digest [October 2024]

    China Completes World’s Largest Pumped Storage Facility. China has completed the 3.6-GW Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station, in Hebei province. Operated by the State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC), the

  • The Queensland SuperGrid Marries the Old and the New

    The Australian state of Queensland is in the midst of a rapid changeover from coal to renewables. From 70% coal generation today, it is switching to 70% renewables by 2032. This means phasing out 8.1 GW of coal and some of its 3 GW of gas generation, while simultaneously building at least 25 GW of […]

  • Powering Performance with an Integrated Approach to Cooling Water

    Power plant managers know that optimizing cooling water operations will improve efficiency. Using an integrated approach that combines advanced chemistry, digital technologies, such as deposit sensing, and

  • How Battery Energy Storage System Testing Is Making the Grid More Sustainable

    U.S. energy needs have changed dramatically over the last few decades, and questions are growing as to whether our grid can manage these new demands. Aside from rising temperatures—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared 2023 the hottest year on record—the energy sector is managing a trio of additional challenges: City populations are growing, creating […]

  • Offshore Wind Growth and HVDC Developments in the North Sea: Key Trends and Future Outlook

    Europe is pursuing an ambitious energy transition to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. To reach this goal, the region has set stringent targets to decrease reliance on Russian fossil fuels and increase the adoption of renewable energy across the power and transportation sectors. Significant strides are being made in developing solar and […]

  • Best Practices in Boiler Field Services

    The field servicing of boilers is challenging. Often there are tough deadlines to meet, limited outage windows, severe space constraints, and many other difficulties to overcome. Here are some key best practices Rentech has gleaned from servicing hundreds of boilers (Figure 1) over the years. Know-How from the Start Projects usually arrive via a call […]

  • The Renewables Revolution: Overcoming New Roadblocks

    Singapore stands at a pivotal juncture in its journey toward sustainability, with renewable energy (RE) emerging as a beacon of hope in the fight against climate change. Post-COP 28, many countries, including

  • How Local Opposition Can Thwart Renewable Energy Projects

    Two-thirds of Americans say that they support the development of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydrogen power. At least that’s what the Pew Research Center found in a nationwide survey

  • Next-Gen O&M Solutions: Transforming the Landscape of Power Plant Productivity

    The power generation industry has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past several years, with the shift from regulated monopolies to a competitive landscape introducing new complexities and

  • Space-Based Solar Power for U.S. Energy Independence

    Space-based solar power (SBSP) could prove transformative to global energy demand by providing price-efficient, continuous clean energy from orbit (Figure 1). Recent developments, including low-cost space access, mass-produced satellites, robotics, and other commercial-led innovations, will unlock this capability within the next 10 to 20 years. While both U.S. allies and adversaries are rapidly advancing their […]

  • DOE Finalizes $1.52B Palisades Loan for First-Ever U.S. Nuclear Plant Recommissioning

    Marking the first-ever revival of a nuclear power plant in the U.S., the Department of Energy (DOE) on Sept. 30 finalized a $1.52 billion loan guarantee to Holtec International to support the recommissioning of the 800-MW Palisades nuclear plant in Covert Township, Michigan. Separately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded electric cooperative Wolverine Power […]

  • VPPA Deal Signed for Illinois Solar Project

    BayWa r.e. Americas has signed an aggregated virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with several groups for a renewable energy project in Illinois that is designed to support decarbonization efforts in the region. The deal announced September 26 includes Sustainability Roundtable (SR) Inc.’s Net Zero Consortium for Buyers (NZCB), along with Akamai Technologies, Teradyne, and Wayfair […]

  • Project Pele, DOD’s HTGR Mobile Nuclear Microreactor, Breaks Ground

    Groundbreaking has kicked off at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where Project Pele—the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) full-scale transportable microreactor prototype—will be placed for testing in 2026. When operational, the reactor will become the “first-ever Generation IV nuclear reactor to generate electricity in the U.S.,” the DOD said on Sept. 24. Project Pele, developed under a […]

  • DOE Group Awards $34.5 Million For PG&E Hydropower Projects in California

    The Dept. of Energy’s (DOE’s) Grid Deployment Office has awarded $34.5 million to California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). The funding will support 19 hydropower projects across PG&E’s territory. The utility on September 24 said the money is part of the DOE’s Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentive program. The Grid Deployment Office in early […]

  • Construction Begins on New York City’s Largest Solar Array, Covering Terminal Roof at JFK Airport

    More than 13,000 solar panels will be installed on the roof of the New Terminal One project at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City. The consortium chosen to build the project, led by AlphaStruxure, on September 24 said construction is underway. The announcement came Tuesday during Climate Week NYC, an annual […]

  • Google Could Use Small Nuclear Reactors to Power Data Centers

    Google’s top executive confirmed the company is working on large-scale data centers that would use more than 1 GW of power. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, in a speech last week at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh said small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) could possibly be used to generate the needed electricity. Pichai […]

  • Gray Skies for U.S. Power Generation? Uncertainty and Turmoil on the Horizon

    The Supreme Court’s landmark decision this past summer in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo marks a significant shift in administrative law by overturning the long-standing principle of Chevron deference, which was established in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. in 1984. The Loper ruling from earlier this year is poised to have […]

  • Data Centers Might Be Catalyst for Modernizing U.S. Power Grid

    Rapid growth in the U.S. data center market is ushering in a new era of power demand and testing the ability of electric utilities to keep pace with this surging growth. Data center energy use has doubled over the past three years and is expected to continue climbing as more hyperscale data centers leveraging power-hungry […]

  • Spanish Group Injecting Hydrogen Into Natural Gas Network

    A Spanish infrastructure company said it has achieved a “historic milestone” for Spain’s energy industry. Madrid-headquartered Redexis announced has begun injecting hydrogen produced with renewable energy into the country’s natural gas supply via Spain’s first hydrogen pipeline. The company said the project, inaugurated on September 20, is believed to be the first fully commissioned renewable […]

  • Evolution of Decommissioning Requirements in Renewable Energy

    With legislative momentum around clean power generation and net-zero emissions policies rapidly building, the U.S. is seeing rapid increases in installed wind and solar capacity each year. At the same time, older generations of renewables are facing a new challenge: obsolescence. The first utility-scale wind and solar projects in the U.S. were developed in the […]

  • Unlocking America’s Clean Hydrogen Potential: Navigating Policy, Challenges, and Market Opportunities

    The U.S. clean hydrogen sector is poised for significant growth, driven in part by its potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in hard-to-abate industries such as transportation and chemical production. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) have catalyzed this momentum, providing production tax credits (PTCs) and billions in funding to […]

  • Microsoft Would Restart Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant to Power AI

    Microsoft has announced a deal to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. It’s the latest move by a technology company to use nuclear power to provide electricity for energy-intensive data centers and support the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The agreement announced September 20, if approved by regulators, would allow Microsoft […]