In This Issue
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T&DPublic Safety Power Shutoffs: How Utilities Could Partner
Catastrophic wildfires have devastated California in recent years. This article seeks to outline a plan wherein neighboring utilities can send energy to support a utility that has shut down critical paths during wildfire mitigation efforts. On the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, the Camp Fire erupted 90 miles north of Sacramento, California (Figure 1). This fire […]
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Connected PlantHow Utilities Can Better Manage and Maintain the Quality of Their Data Assets
Utilities are becoming increasingly skilled at adapting to changes brought on by the digital age: pressure from automation, disruption from new technology, and challenges with how to ingest, manage, and utilize mountains of data. Viewing “data as an asset” is becoming the new industry norm and utilities are beginning to invest heavily in digital tools […]
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O&MFault Ride-Through Using Slip-Capable Torque-Limiting Couplings
As more intermittent renewable energy resources are added to the power grid, generator connectivity during a grid fault becomes ever more important to mitigate the risk of cascading blackouts. An innovative
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Connected PlantShow Preview – Connected Plant Conference
The Connected Plant Conference allows for interaction with the industry’s early adopters. Attendees will meet generators who are using the latest connected plant tools. The speaker lineup (Figure 1) provides
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Connected PlantData Is the New Power: Key Learnings from a Successful ERP Migration
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage and automate many business functions related to operations, technology, services, and
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Connected PlantIncreasing Automation for Fossil Energy Plants
An Electric Power Research Institute study has developed a systematic process for introducing sequence automation to fossil power plants. Researchers are now exploring its implementation in case studies. As
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NewsPredicting the Future? There’s an App for That
Power plant operators are turning to predictive maintenance applications to monitor equipment and collect performance data. Asset management systems, using artificial intelligence and other methods, are part
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Connected PlantUsing Self-Service Analytics to Improve Power Plant Efficiency
There is a widespread movement to reduce carbon emissions around the world. One way to do so is by improving plant efficiency, but that can be easier said than done. However, self-service analytics could play
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FuelIs Biomass Dead?
With subsidies running short and emissions regulations still a challenge, the promise of biomass as a sustainable source for utility-scale power generation remains elusive. Yet, there are novel applications
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SolarCommunity Solar: Ready for the New Decade
Community solar refers to local solar facilities shared by multiple subscribers who receive credit on their electricity bills for their share of the power produced. Community solar allows homeowners, renters
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NewsTaking Efficiency and Flexibility to the Next Level
In a rapidly changing energy market, the competitiveness of any power producer increasingly depends upon the reliability, efficiency, and flexibility of its power plants. As the share of renewable energy
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NewsBackup Power for Critical Loads Can Save Lives and Money
In a modern economy increasingly dependent on electric power, blackouts can wreak havoc when the loads are critical to life, business, and even a comfortable lifestyle. The problem may be growing, but there
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IIOTHype and Hope: Artificial Intelligence’s Role in the Power Sector
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a term power professionals are seeing increasingly to describe sophisticated digital technologies. Could it be the breakthrough that is so highly hyped? There is no argument
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CommentaryEnergy Storage—Operational Versatility Causes a Regulatory Identity Crisis
The next decade could belong to energy storage. Project development costs are dropping. Enhanced state and corporate focus on climate-related issues is producing more opportunities for renewable generation and
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NewsSeal Design Key as ORC Turbine Manufacturer Enters Geothermal Market
When a global leader in the design, manufacture, and maintenance of binary Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power systems entered the geothermic energy market, company engineers knew its existing turbines would be
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NewsMinimizing Exposure: RVI Videoscopes Take Radiation Exposure to a New Low
For personnel in nuclear power plants, time and distance are critical measurements when it comes to safe inspections. When workers need to enter a high-radiation area to examine a potential problem or make a
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CoalA Closer Look at Coal Power Plant Impacts
When I see estimates of premature deaths attributable to coal-fired power plants, I usually take the data with a grain of salt. It’s not that I don’t trust researchers to do their best to calculate the
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NewsPOWER Digest [February 2020]
Indonesia Readying to Build 145-MW Floating Solar Plant. Pembangkitan Jawa Bali (PJB), a subsidiary of Indonesian state electricity company PT PLN, is planning to begin construction of the $129 million Cirata
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NewsEndesa to Close Two Giant Spanish Coal Plants
Endesa on Dec. 27 formally moved to shutter two massive coal-fired power plants—the 1.4-GW As Pontes plant in A Coruña, Galicia, which is the biggest coal-fired power plant in Spain, and the 1.16-GW
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NewsSouth Korea Continues Nuclear Phase-out
South Korea has announced the permanent closure of another nuclear reactor, as the country continues to phase out thermal power generation and increase the use of renewable resources for electricity. The
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FuelAustralia, Long a Uranium Champion, Mulls Nuclear Power
An Australian federal inquiry last December recommended partially lifting a nationwide ban on nuclear energy, urging that the government pursue a “goal-oriented” and community-focused strategy as it
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NewsIndia’s Energy Market Overhaul—Infrastructure, Renewables, and Keeping Coal in the Mix
India wants to reform its power generation sector, including upgrades to energy infrastructure, and plans to introduce new technology to make its electricity supply more reliable and resilient. It’s part of
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Carbon CapturePolicy Support for Carbon Capture Critical to Clean Energy Future
Analysis by both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and International Energy Agency shows that achieving a zero-carbon energy system by 2050 will require large-scale deployment of carbon capture
