In This Issue
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HydroVenezuela Faces Existential Power Troubles
Oil-rich Venezuela is gripped by a power crisis so debilitating that the government has instituted four-hour daily blackouts across most of the country, forced hotels and malls to generate their own power, and
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Legal & RegulatoryThe Perils of Second-Guessing FERC
It’s axiomatic that state governments believe they can manage their own affairs better than the federal government. But our system reserves certain bailiwicks for federal oversight, and one of those is the
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RenewablesProposal for Offshore Wind Battery Storage Launched
Plans are under way to install a pilot 1-MWh lithium battery–based storage system in 2018 at the world’s first floating wind farm in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The “Batwind” system, to be installed at
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HistoryNew Thinking on Old Safety Issues
Human workers are imperfect, which is why there’s no magic bullet that will give you a safe workplace. But new research on human behavior and how that translates into safety attitudes is helping some in the power industry get beyond the traditional platitudes. Safety first. Safety is no accident. Be aware—Take care. Those and others […]
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Legal & RegulatoryCoal Combustion Residuals Rule Compliance Strategies
The Environmental Protection Agency’s rule to regulate the disposal of coal combustion residuals as solid waste went into effect last fall. After evaluating the available solutions and technologies, here’s what some experts consider the safest and most effective approaches for complying with the rule and protecting the environment. A little over a year ago, the […]
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Instrumentation & ControlsDisruptive Digital Technologies Are Key to Power Industry’s Future
An industry rooted in tradition is facing unprecedented changes and challenges, and meeting them requires “thinking big” and embracing disruptive technologies that will change how we think about electricity generation and delivery. That was the message from the keynote session at ELECTRIC POWER 2016. Two senior power sector executives opened the 2016 ELECTRIC POWER Conference […]
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Legal & RegulatoryHow the Power Industry Is Making Sense of an Environmental Quandary
This year’s much-awaited Environmental Mega Session at the 18th annual ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans, La., on April 19 was titled “Navigating Clean Power Plan Compliance”
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Distributed EnergyExecutive Roundtable Addresses the New Face of the Power Industry
The annual panel discussion by high-level leaders from diverse power companies is a cornerstone of the ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition, and it has been consistently emblematic of the state of the
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O&MManaging Multiple Generations Across a Smooth-Running Fleet
Power generators have always had to make afetyome changes as each new generation enters the sector, but today’s new workers are bringing with them attitudes and skills that challenge traditional plant management, for good and ill. Here’s what some companies and plants are doing to make the best use of younger workers while getting them […]
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NuclearIs There a Market for Small Modular Reactors?
The nuclear industry has been expecting big things from small modular reactors (SMRs) for a long time, but to date, no SMRs have reached commercial construction phase. That may change soon. Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems has a plan to deploy NuScale Power’s Integral Pressurized Water Reactor at a site in Idaho. Will others follow […]
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RenewablesChina’s New Five-Year Plan Bolsters Climate, Environmental Measures
China unveiled its 13th Five-Year Plan this March. The official proposal that will guide the country’s economic and social development from 2016 through 2020 lays out targets and other measures to address a number of climate change, air pollution, and water policies that will build on progress to transform its power sector. The plan sets […]
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HydroA Power Famine for Colombia But a Feast for Brazil, Paraguay
Droughts attributed to the El Niño phenomenon have gripped Venezuela’s neighbor Colombia. Bogotá in April prepared to ration power and instituted mandatory reductions in consumption, warning that
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O&MTraining the Next Generation of Electric Utility Workers
New worker training has traditionally meant classroom instruction and wading through a big pile of printed materials. But videos can offer deeper and more rapid understanding of critical issues, especially for younger generations. The Electric Power Research Institute has developed a series of videos to help power plants train new workers more effectively. Inexperienced new […]
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O&MUse Near-Miss Incidents as a Preventive Tool
Broadly put, today’s power plant operations are a mix of automated operations and manual or procedural steps. A plant may have hundreds of control loops, interlocks, permissives, and safety systems. In
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Commentary
Learning from the Clean Air Act’s Tragic Flaw
“Why are you picking on the Clean Air Act?” That’s a question we’ve heard more than once while traveling the country to talk about our new book, Struggling for Air: Power Plants and the “War on
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O&M
Ultrasonic Diagnostic Tool Detects Leaks, Bearing Wear, and Corona Discharge
Air leaks cost money. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), over $5 billion per year is spent on energy to power compressed air systems. The DOE estimates that optimizing these systems could
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CoalSupporting Coal Power Plant Workers Through Plant Closures
Coal-fired power plants around the U.S. are closing—rapidly. It’s a trend that will continue for the foreseeable future as dozens more units are slated for closure in the next few years. According to a
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NuclearGE-Hitachi Exits Nuclear Laser-Based Enrichment Venture
GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy is pulling out of Global Laser Enrichment (GLE), a company that in 2012 got the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) unprecedented approval to build and operate a full-scale laser uranium enrichment facility. The move was precipitated by a change in business priorities, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the GLE’s proprietary SILEX technology is […]
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Legal & RegulatoryRisk-Based NERC Compliance: Assessing Risk to Bulk Power System Generation
Ensuring the reliability of the power system is the responsibility of many industry participants. In this POWER exclusive, one regional reliability entity, the Midwest Reliability Organization, explains its role. In response to the 2003 Blackout—which affected parts of the U.S. Northeast and Midwest, plus portions of the Canadian province of Ontario—the U.S. Congress mandated adoption […]
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Commentary
Power Work Shifts
For most of the history of the power industry, utility jobs were secure and long-tenured. Though they continue to offer greater stability than many other comparably paid jobs, forces on both sides of the
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International
POWER Digest
Ghana Starts Up Key Gas-Fired Power Unit. Ghana has inaugurated the first of two 180-MW units of a natural gas–fired power plant that it is banking on to boost the West African country’s electric reliability. President John Dramani Mahama inaugurated the first unit of the Sonon-Asogli project at Kpone, near the capital Accra, on April […]
