Power

Hydroelectric power doesn’t get much attention in today’s discussions of how to generate electricity, particularly in a world looking to boost renewable technologies such as wind and solar. But the oldest

For decades, floating power plants have been used widely as a source of flexible, decentralized power generation for several reasons. Among them are that they can be built cost-effectively and rapidly; they

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

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

The world’s first grid-scale demonstration of a liquid air energy storage (LAES) plant was officially launched in June. UK-based long-duration energy storage firm Highview Power developed the 5-MW/15-MWh

The Trump administration is moving forward with its effort to replace the Clean Power Plan, with the president set to review a document sent to the White House on July 9. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 10 said a new rule, which insiders said would be more favorable to the coal industry, was […]

Because the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) could ramp up demand for electricity and slash transportation-related emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants, a growing group of stakeholders, including power companies and trade groups, strongly advocate for an accelerated EV rollout. By mid-2018, several countries with potentially large EV markets had set EV deployment targets, as well […]

Siemens AG, the parent company of Siemens Power and Gas, is contemplating the sale of its lucrative but lately troubled gas turbine business, according to one major news outlet. Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg on June 13 reported that the German giant may be considering the sale of its power and gas business, possibly to a […]

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is taking steps to more quickly enable flights of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) beyond visual line of the operator’s sight (BVLOS), though no changes are planned to a rule that governs visual line of sight in aircraft operations. The agency that is responsible for the safety of civil aviation under […]

ABB Receives Contract to Upgrade, Expand Combined Cycle Plant. A consortium including Doosan Heavy Industries and state-owned construction company PT Hutama Karya has awarded a $40 million contract to ABB to

Spanish market and competition regulator CNMC (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia) in a report published on January 24 said a draft government decree to block power plant closures if they

An energy transition is underway across the world. Market upheaval, defining events, and recent policy changes have accelerated a shift away from coal toward renewables. Here is how this transformation played out for some of the world’s major economies over the past decade. Graphs show percent of each fuel source of total generation for that […]

During its 135-year history, POWER magazine’s pages have reflected the fast-changing evolution of the technologies and markets that characterize the world’s power sector today. —Copy and artwork by Sonal Patel, a POWER associate editor

Construction Scheduled for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plant in South Korea. Hanwha Energy  on August 25 approved formation of a subsidiary,  Daesan Green Energy , to build a 50-MW hydrogen fuel cell plant in the

For deploying a novel, groundbreaking gas-battery hybrid technology along with environmentally significant upgrades within a tight installment window, and despite logistical hurdles, Southern California

Independent System Operator-New England celebrated its 20th anniversary last July with a solid record in its energy and capacity markets, turning around a fragmented regional electric system. Can it repeat

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) much-anticipated study on grid resilience and reliability elicited immediate chatter from a variety of industry stakeholders, from power generators and trade groups to environmental and clean energy advocates. The 187-page study essentially notes that unprecedented changes are transforming the electricity industry. Over the past 15 years, market forces—namely, cheap natural […]

A settlement Mississippi Power reached on August 21 with stakeholders of the Kemper County facility will ensure customers won’t be subjected to rate increases associated with the now-abandoned gasification portion of the project. While that will affect revenues, the resolution could soften controversy surrounding the project and avoid protracted legal and financial turmoil, the company […]

Between 2006 and 2015, annual average heat rates from the nation’s natural gas–fired power plants plunged 7%, while only decreasing 1% for coal plants, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed on August 21. Heat rates, which are measured in British thermal units per kilowatt-hour (Btu/kWh), refers to energy conversion efficiency, calculated based on the amount […]

In two actions on August 15, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) signaled its support for the Vogtle nuclear expansion project, provided it can be done economically, Georgia Power must show revised cost and schedule estimates to finish the costly Vogtle nuclear expansion as well as indicate whether it intends to finish the much-delayed construction […]

SCANA Corp. is withdrawing a petition submitted to regulators seeking to abandon the construction of Units 2 and 3 at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina. The company’s subsidiary South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G) said on August 15 that it will voluntarily withdraw its abandonment petition filed just two weeks ago with […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) is offering approximately $28 million in cost-shared funding for research and development of advanced energy systems.  According to three separate funding opportunity announcements (FOAs), the department is looking for research into advanced combustion systems, advanced turbines, and gasification. “Advanced energy conversion systems are designed to enable efficient, low-cost, and near-zero […]

President Donald Trump wants to balance the federal budget in 10 years, and it appears he believes that to do so, deep cuts to the nation’s energy research funding are needed. The administration’s fiscal year 2018 (FY18) budget request, released Tuesday, May 23, cuts funding for the Department of Energy (DOE) by $1.7 billion, a […]

Register to attend this complimentary online webinar. June 6 at 11 a.m. EDT The Powder River Basin coals are recognized as both Sub-bituminous C and Sub-bituminous A ranked fossil fuels. They differ with respect to many properties including not only calorific value and bulk chemistry (including ash chemistry) but also reactivity and the evolution of potential […]

Several U.S. states have passed, or are mulling, programs that expand state aid to financially distressed nuclear reactors in a bid to keep them open for economic and environmental reasons. Generators that operate in competitive wholesale markets are perturbed by these measures, which they say amount to nuclear “bailouts.” —Sonal Patel, associate editor (@POWERmagazine, @sonalcpatel) […]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on December 14 finalized the latest version of its rule governing permitted levels of eagle deaths at wind turbine farms. The rule, first issued in 2009, governs the FWS’s administration of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which makes it a criminal offense to kill or injure […]

GE announced on October 11 that it would purchase Denmark-based LM Wind Power—the world’s largest designer and independent supplier of wind turbine rotor blades. GE will acquire the company from Doughty Hanson (a London-based private equity firm that has owned LM Wind Power since 2001) for $1.65 billion. The deal is seen as a way […]

In a push to focus on regulated markets in the U.S., Duke Energy has completed its exit of international business in deals valued at $2.4 billion. The company announced on October 10 that it reached an agreement to sell all businesses in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Argentina to investment firm I Squared […]

States, regulators, and market participants have in recent years called attention to a trend concerning uneconomic baseload generation in organized wholesale markets, specifically in ISO New England, New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), MISO, PJM, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). Cheap natural gas, low power demand […]

While prestigious ARC Advisory Group confirms ABB as number one global DCS supplier, ABB announces Symphony Plus controls installed in 50,000 MW of power plants since 2011 introduction.
ABB has been recognized by the ARC Advisory Group as the global leader in distributed control systems (DCS) and as the number one positioned supplier of DCS.
From the ARC