In This Issue
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RenewablesDr. Fatih Birol on Global Energy Markets and His Goals for the IEA
This interview with Dr. Fatih Birol, Chief Economist, Director of Global Energy Economics and Executive Director (starting September 2015), International Energy Agency (IEA) was conducted by Global Business Reports in May 2015. It has been edited for style and length and is a web-only supplement to the sponsored report “Power in Turkey” appearing in the […]
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HR
Resources for Women in Power Generation
This resource list is a web-only supplement to the June 2015 issue of POWER feature story on women in the power generation sector and results of our April 2015 survey of women in the power industry. Although coal and gas provide a larger percentage of U.S. electricity than nuclear, wind, or solar energy, the fossil […]
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Renewables
Power in Turkey
In order to achieve its goals for the future, the power sector in Turkey will need to leave the past behind. Download a pdf of this sponsored report by Global Business Reports. Power in Turkey (Global Business Reports, 2015)
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NuclearFabrication Begins for ITER Fusion Reactor Central Solenoid
Workers at San Diego’s General Atomics (GA) on April 10 began the years-long process of winding the 1,000-ton superconducting electromagnet that will power the ITER fusion reactor under construction in southern France. The $16 billion ITER project, a consortium of the U.S., the European Union, Russia, China, Japan, and other nations, aims to test reactor-scale […]
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NuclearA Spring Nuclear Upheaval
From Sweden to China, the world’s nuclear sector saw an eventful spring. Sweden to Shutter Two Ringhals Units Early. On the same day that E.ON—formerly one of Europe’s most formidable power companies—announced it would spin off its nuclear assets owing to Germany’s energy transition, its Swedish partner, Vattenfall, which is 70% co-owner of the 1975-built […]
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T&D
CAISO Goes Big and Leaves Home
No one can accuse the officials who oversee California’s energy market of lacking ambition. Fresh on the heels of Gov. Jerry Brown’s January promise to raise the state’s renewable generation target from 33% in 2020 to 50% in 2030, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) in April announced that it and Oregon utility and Berkshire […]
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RenewablesNew U.S. Offshore Wind Farm Breaks Ground
On April 27, the U.S. saw yet another significant milestone for its so-far nonexistent offshore wind sector as Deepwater Wind broke ground on the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island. The company says that the five-turbine 30-MW wind farm will produce enough electricity to power all of the island’s homes and businesses when it […]
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Commentary
From STEM to STEAM Education
I’m sure readers of this magazine have noticed the increased emphasis in the U.S. recently on promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education. That’s a good thing, but it’s not enough. To improve the odds of achieving the goals that STEM promoters have—including a better-trained workforce and economic leadership—we should be adding an “A” […]
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RenewablesLast Module Is Installed at 250-MW Copper Mountain PV Project
The installation of more than one million solar photovoltaic (PV) modules at Sempra U.S. Gas and Power’s and Consolidated Edison Development’s 250-MW AC Copper Mountain Solar 3 project in Boulder City, Nev., was completed in early April. Cupertino Electric and Amec Foster Wheeler said on April 6 that the last module was put in place […]
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Commentary
10 Million Tons of CO2 Stored
Our country’s energy landscape is rapidly changing. For the first time in decades we’re producing more barrels of oil in the United States than we import from other countries, thanks in part to shale oil production. Newly developed natural gas resources have enabled the U.S. to begin transitioning from a modest net importer of natural […]
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Business
POWER Digest
Australia’s First ERF Carbon Abatement Auction Results Surpass Expectations. Australia held its first Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) auction under the Abbott government’s Direct Action plan on April 15 and
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Legal & RegulatoryExecutives Say Power Sector Faces Fundamental Changes
Four industry executives sometimes agreed, and sometimes disagreed, about the great unknowns concerning the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan during the Executive Roundtable at this year’s ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition. What problems will the Obama administration’s upcoming Clean Power Plan (CPP) deliver to the executives who manage the companies that make the power? […]
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RenewablesReports: Renewables Were Revived in 2014
Despite plunging oil prices, 2014 was a formidable year for renewables, according to two reports released in early 2015. According to the “Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2015”—the annual report prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance—energy investments […]
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O&MOptical Gas Imaging Camera Offers Hydrogen Leak Detection Solution
The operation of an electric power generator produces large amounts of heat that must be removed to maintain efficiency. Depending on the rated capacity of the generator, it might be air-cooled
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Legal & Regulatory
EU to Investigate Measures to Ensure Power Supply
The European Commission (EC) this April launched an extensive investigation into subsidies that 11 European governments provide to utilities to ensure future power reliability, saying it is concerned that the measures may distort competition. The sector inquiry into capacity mechanisms is the first under European Union (EU) state aid rules introduced in May 2012, which […]
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FinanceWomen Are Essential to a Thriving Power Generation Sector
With the increasing number of technical and economic changes affecting the power industry, the value of women in the workforce has never been higher. This follow-up to our 2008 special report, “Workforce Management Lessons from Women in Power Generation,” looks at how having women visible throughout the industry can make it more successful. For our […]
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HRPower Plant Boot Camp: Training the Next Generation of Leaders and Managers
At every stage along the power plant promotion track, individuals assuming new leadership positions can find themselves unprepared to deal with new responsibilities. From contracts and regulatory and financial responsibilities to managing those who used to be peers, this article addresses common challenges and best practice solutions to ensure the success of your team. […]
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HRPOWER’s 2015 Women in Power Generation Survey
How do women in the power generation business—in power plants and in the vendor community—view their jobs in this male-dominated industry? In what is likely the first survey open to women across the industry, they told us. The November 2008 issue of POWER included an industry-first in-depth look at women in the power industry, “Workforce […]
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CybersecurityHas Your ICS Been Breached? Are You Sure? How Do You Know?
Since 2010, the year Stuxnet was discovered, there has been an increase in industrial control system (ICS) vulnerability research and reported vulnerabilities, exploits, and ICS-specific malware (Figure 1)
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NuclearWatts Bar Unit 2: A “Deferred Nuclear Plant” Gets Back into the Game
Construction was suspended on Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 in the late 1980s, and the plant sat idle for more than 20 years. Now, through equipment refurbishment and replacement, Unit 2 is on track to become the first new commercial nuclear reactor to come online in the U.S. in the 21st century. Electricity consumption […]
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O&MTypical Causes of Slagging and Fouling Problems in Boilers
Boiler slagging and fouling, and the resulting frequent operation of sootblowers, are some of the major operations and maintenance factors that can negatively affect power plant reliability and efficiency. Boiler slagging and fouling are among the most common causes of maintenance headaches at coal-fired power plants. Though you cannot totally eliminate the problem, following proper […]
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Legal & RegulatoryDOE Highlights Challenges to Infrastructure in Quadrennial Energy Review
With unprecedented changes and challenges facing the U.S. energy sector, the Department of Energy has spearheaded a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s energy policy. Released the same day as ELECTRIC POWER 2015 opened, the first installment of this review was highlighted in the conference’s keynote address. U.S. energy infrastructure needs not just substantial investment for […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Clean Power Plan Is Achievable, but Challenges Loom Large
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan (CPP) is feasible in its ultimate goals, but getting there will take a lot of work and some rethinking of how the targets are achieved
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O&MCO2 Blasting Restores HRSG Performance
Steam production is strongly influenced by the cleanliness of the gas-side heat transfer surface in a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). However, when deposits begin to impede heat transfer or increase gas-side pressure drop, it is time for a cleaning. CO2 pellet blasting is a cost-effective and environmentally benign cleaning method available to power plant […]
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BusinessDuke Energy Generation: Wholesale Retreat
Duke Energy, the largest electric utility in the U.S. in terms of market value, is transitioning its generating fleet away from volatile and sometimes unprofitable wholesale markets and toward the traditional, regulated, cost-of-service model that prevails in much of the Carolinas and Florida service territories where Duke dominates. Late last March, the Federal Energy Regulatory […]