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Distributed wind generator supplier Southwest Windpower unveiled a small wind turbine for commercial and residential use, the Skystream 600, which it claims is the “most efficient power grid-connected turbine in its class, providing an average of 7,400 kWh of clean, low-cost energy per year per household in 12 mph average annual wind speeds.” The company […]

Encorp LLC announced the launch of its Microgrid System Controller, which it says is the industry’s first microgrid system controller to connect onsite synchronous generators with renewable energy assets—such as photovoltaic systems, wind, and microturbines—and then monitor and control the resulting microgrid. The controller has already been successfully installed at a major international defense contractor […]

Thomas & Betts’ Emergi-Lite Nexus Emergency Lighting Management System provides real-time status of the entire emergency lighting and exit-sign system, runs system diagnostics, performs required monthly and annual functional tests, generates maintenance logs, and runs compliance reports from a central control unit. Additionally, the system operates independently of the emergency lighting and exit sign, so […]

At the close of 2009, the U.S. geothermal industry had seen seven new geothermal power plants come online in the previous 12 months. In 2010, only one new power plant was completed.

Perhaps the most echoed sentiment at the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA’s) WINDPOWER 2011 Conference & Exhibition, which took place May 22 to 25 in Anaheim, Calif., was the call to extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC), the industry’s policy driver, before it expires at the end of 2012. But that wasn’t the only theme. The throngs of companies and organizations that are shaping the rapidly emerging sector around the world had different notions of the factors that help or hinder the growth of wind power, and POWER was there to listen to their perspectives about everything from grid integration, to offshore energy, to technology innovation.

Is the term "energy independence" merely an oxymoron, or is it a national imperative? Opinions differ. Either way, the goal is practically impossible to achieve.

Both the 1979 Three Mile Island accident and the Chernobyl catastrophe prompted worldwide retreats away from nuclear electric generating technologies. Despite brave rhetoric from nuclear supporters around the world, a number of countries with a large number of nuclear plants are having second thoughts about the future of nuclear power.

How easy is it to hack a generator’s SCADA system? It’s so easy it scares the heck out of the guy who used to run network security for the Bonneville Power Administration. It’s so easy he can’t tell us any details, for security reasons. That’s why we should all be scared.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is starting to sort out the often mysterious and vexing issues surrounding reliability penalties as the federal agency and the North American Electric Reliability Corp. work through their evolving relationship. The case involves an outage at the Turlock Irrigation District in California.

It’s the middle managers, not the charismatic strategists in the executive suite or the creative propeller-heads in R&D, who really make organizations run, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.