Power

  • The Journey to a Smart Grid: Funding and New Technology Make It Possible

    With the U.S. government funneling billions of dollars into new grid infrastructure, and private companies rolling out new systems to mitigate outages and developing artificial intelligence that can predict

  • POWER Digest [February 2023]

    Geothermal Plant Planned in Colombia. Colombian petroleum company Ecopetrol in December announced plans to build a 250-kW geothermal power plant in the Apiay oil complex in Meta, Colombia. The power plant will

  • Repowering PV Sites: Challenges and Opportunities

    More inverters are coming to the end of their life, and needing replacement, as the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry matures. Inverter failures usually occur on systems that are 10-plus years old. At that age

  • Carbon Capture: Perspectives on the State of Affairs

    Carbon capture is an important means of addressing worldwide greenhouse gas levels, but where are we in terms of implementation? Carbon capture will play a key role in decarbonization plans for businesses

  • Capturing the Opportunity: A Look at Carbon Capture and Utilization

    An important part of the global effort to curb emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is development of technologies to capture CO 2 , to design ways to store it, and to find beneficial ways to use it. Addressing

  • Engineering the Next Generation

    Improving processes and unlocking future innovations relies on new ideas. Many of the engineers of tomorrow who will deliver these breakthroughs are currently learning their craft at universities around the

  • Keeping the Lights On: How Plant Operators Manage Cyber Risk

    Interrupting power grids is one of the most effective ways to cripple a town or a city. If a region can’t keep the lights on, pretty much everything must come to a halt until the issue is remedied. For this reason, the power and energy industry has become a prime target for cyberattacks on operational […]

  • Curtailment Challenge: How Long-Duration Energy Storage Improves Solar Utilization and Delivers Immediate Carbon Reductions

    Most major utilities and energy generators have by now committed to cutting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet both government and corporate targets and ultimately avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Decarbonizing the energy sector, which contributes 35% of the world’s total emissions, is thus a critical aspect of […]

  • Microgrids Can Provide Resiliency During Extreme Weather Events

    Microgrids are small, self-sustaining local power systems that provide big benefits to the communities they serve. As extreme weather events become more common, microgrids will become more important not only

  • States Address EV Charging Infrastructure

    In addition to affordability, range anxiety—the ability to access efficient and reliable vehicle charging—remains one of the largest barriers to electric vehicle (EV) adoption. At the federal level

  • LNG Floating Terminal Will Supply New 840-MW Gas-Fired Plant in Greece

    A joint venture featuring three energy companies is developing an 840-MW natural gas-fired power plant at the Aegean port of Alexandroupolis, Greece. The plant will be linked to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating terminal at the port. It is expected to supply electricity to Greece and also to markets in southeastern Europe. Damco Energy, […]

  • Power of Integration—Users Shaping Future of Distributed Control Systems

    As plant owners accelerate the Industry 4.0 digital transformation, attention is increasingly being focused on the evolution of Distributed Control Systems (DCS) to enable them to become more flexible and adaptable. There are many key initiatives that are helping to set the standard for systems offering new levels of openness, security and interoperability. COMMENTARY Originally […]

  • Is Delivering 100% Renewable Energy on an Hourly Basis at Cost-Competitive Rates Achievable?

    Cynics might argue that it’s impossible to operate the power grid economically with 100% renewable energy on an hourly basis, but a model developed by Peninsula Clean Energy, a community choice aggregation agency that serves San Mateo County and the City of Los Banos, California, suggests it’s possible—at least in its little slice of the […]

  • Ukrainian Workers Fight to Keep Power Available for Critical Infrastructure and War-Stricken Communities

    With Russian forces having damaged many power plants and power lines in parts of Ukraine, linemen and plant workers have persevered, repairing and rebuilding equipment and systems needed to keep the lights on and critical facilities in operation. But the job is not easy, and much of the country’s power generation capacity is currently unavailable. […]

  • FPL CEO Retiring Amid Probe Into Utility’s Political Actions

    The president and CEO of Florida Power & Light (FPL) announced he will step down from his role as leader of the utility. Eric Silagy, who became FPL’s president in 2011 and was named CEO in 2014, on Jan. 25 said he will move into a transitional role with the utility next month. Silagy, 57, […]

  • Milestone for Major Pumped Hydro Storage Project in Wyoming

    A Utah-based company is developing a pumped hydro energy storage project in the heart of coal country, one of several renewable energy deployments being sited in Wyoming in an effort to diversify that state’s energy and power portfolio. Officials with the 900-MW Seminoe Pumped Storage Project, being developed by rPlus Hydro, part of rPlus Energies, […]

  • The POWER Interview: Benefits of Adding Storage to Solar Power Systems

    Utilizing energy storage with a solar power system is a way for power generators to help balance the supply of energy with demand for electricity. Energy storage can be used during periods when the sun isn’t shining, and it also help support periods of high demand for power along the grid. Many residential and commercial […]

  • NRC Rejects New Review of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Operating Extension

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has denied a request from California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to renew a review of an operating license application for the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. The move at least temporarily puts on hold plans to extend the operation of two reactors at Diablo Canyon, the last operating […]

  • The POWER Interview: Abu Dhabi’s Plan for Renewable Energy in the UAE

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in the midst of an energy transition, moving away from its nearly exclusive use of natural gas-fired power generation to a strategy based on renewable energy resources. The country has an abundance of natural gas, and it also has significant solar power potential. The UAE also is adding nuclear […]

  • Texas Utility Will Close Remaining Coal-Fired Units

    The largest municipally-owned electric and gas utility in the U.S. will close its remaining coal-fired power units by 2030. The board of trustees for San Antonio, Texas-based CPS Energy on Jan. 23 voted 4-1 to approve a plan to shutter the last two coal-burning units at the J.K. Spruce power plant. The plan, known as […]

  • Power for the People: Community Solar Project Achieves High Efficiency and Good Return on Investment

    A 6.2-MW solar farm in Foster, Rhode Island, provides 3.35 GWh per year of clean, renewable energy for more than 700 community solar subscribers. The state of Rhode Island has ambitious targets for renewable energy production, including from solar. Many residents—especially those with the most to gain from cost-savings linked to solar power—are unable to […]

  • The Energy Transition: What Is Needed to Achieve Clean Energy Goals

    As fuel and power price volatility continues across the U.S., the push to transition away from fossil fuels to lower-cost renewable, clean energy intensifies. But in order to reach President Biden’s goal of 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035, utilities, developers, and regulators need to align and work together to improve the interconnection process. COMMENTARY Though […]

  • Fast Neutron Reactor Installed at Russian Research Facility

    Workers at the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (RIAR) in Dimitrovgrad, Russia, have installed what they call the world’s largest multipurpose fast neutron research reactor, or MBIR, at the site. The group on Jan. 18 said the installation of the MBIR, a milestone in the assembly of the reactor facility, was completed 16 months ahead […]

  • 140 Workers Cut Permanently with Sammis Coal Plant Closure

    Workers at the W.H. Sammis coal-fired power plant have been notified that a mass layoff will begin “sometime between March 14, 2023, and April 14, 2023.” The announcement was made public through a letter Energy Harbor Corp., owner of the plant, sent to the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services, as required under the […]

  • Japan’s Largest Power Generator Signs Deals in Pursuit of Ammonia for Coal Power Plant Co-Firing Project

    JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s largest power generation company, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) “for potential collaboration for the joint project development and sales & purchase of clean ammonia” with CF Industries Holdings Inc., the world’s largest producer of ammonia. Under the MOU, JERA and CF Industries have agreed “to jointly study […]

  • South Korean President: Country Needs More Nuclear Power

    South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his country’s push to be carbon-neutral by 2050 must include construction of more nuclear power generation, in a reversal of his predecessor’s call to move away from the technology. Yoon, speaking Jan. 16 at an event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said his country would renew its […]

  • Energy Storage Being Added to California Gas-Fired Peaker Plants

    A North Carolina-based group that provides battery energy storage and software technology is set to co-locate 420 MWh of storage at four natural gas-fired facilities in California. Durham-headquartered FlexGen Power Systems on Jan. 17 said it would provide energy storage to Middle River Power (MRP), a Chicago, Illinois-based independent power company. MRP was created in […]

  • Watch Implosion Topple Florida Coal-Fired Plant

    A six-month-long project to demolish the last coal-fired unit at Lakeland Electric’s C.D. McIntosh Power Plant in Lakeland, Florida, reached a milestone on Jan. 14 with the implosion of the facility’s 260-foot stack and 90-foot selective catalytic reduction unit (video below). Unit 3 at McIntosh, the plant’s last operating coal-fired unit, was closed in 2021, […]

  • Officials Give Go-Ahead for UK-Based Fusion Power Project

    A prototype fusion power plant designed by a UK-based architectural and design firm has been approved by local regulators. The South Oxfordshire District Council’s planning committee on Jan. 11 gave the go-ahead to a project led by renowned architect Amanda Levete. Levete’s AL_A group is expected to build the prototype, developed by Canada’s General Fusion, […]

  • Pipe Issue Delays Startup of New Vogtle Nuclear Unit

    Startup of the first of two new reactors at the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia is being pushed back to at least April, one month after officials with Georgia Power had planned to start generating electricity from the unit. Georgia Power, part of Atlanta-based Southern Co., announced the latest setback for the oft-delayed two-unit expansion […]