Latest

  • Distributed Energy Is Disrupting the Power Industry: Is the Sky Falling?

    Utilities are faced with many disruptive changes in the power market. Customers are demanding cleaner energy and turning to distributed generation as a solution. One expert suggested power companies must react and evolve their business models to change with the times. During a keynote presentation at the Distributed Energy Conference in Golden, Colorado, on October […]

  • BlackEnergy, Grid-Disrupting Malware, Has a Successor, Researchers Warn

    BlackEnergy, the malware used in a cyberattack that prompted a large-scale blackout in Ukraine in December 2015, has a successor—GreyEnergy. A group is using the malware to target industrial networks outside Ukraine, researchers  from Slovakian cybersecurity firm ESET warn.  The researchers said in an October 17–released white paper that analysis of the previously undocumented GreyEnergy […]

  • As DOE’s Coal Rescue Reportedly Dead-Ends, Stakeholders Recommend New Pathways

    The White House may have shelved an effort to force grid operators to buy power from uneconomic coal and nuclear plants amid opposition inside the administration, Politico reported on October 15.  The publication reported “four people with knowledge of the discussions” have confirmed that opposition from the president’s own advisers on the National Security Council […]

  • Dominion Files to Extend Operations at Surry Nuclear Plant to 80 Years

    Dominion Energy has filed an application to extend the operating licenses for two 45-year-old nuclear reactors at the Surry Power Station through 2052 and 2053—when they will be 80 years old.  Surry’s Unit 1 and 2, located near Newport News, Virginia, are three-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactors (PWRs) that began operation in December 1972 and […]

  • 10-MW Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Demonstration Project Breaks Ground 

    First ground has been broken on a 10-MW pilot of a novel supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) technology, a $119 million project that will refine the sCO2 power cycle and demonstrate component performance and scalability.  Construction of the Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP) pilot plant at the 15-acre facility at Southwest Research Institute’s (SwRI’s) San Antonio, […]

  • On-line chloride and sulfates monitoring prevents corrosion

    Continuous monitoring of chlorides and sulfates using microfluidic capillary electrophoresis (MCE) technology provides a proactive approach to controlling the impact of some of the most corrosive contaminants in power plant water. Find out how Nearman Creek Power Station in Kansas City simplified the process with on-line measurement.

  • Public Protection Strategies for 8 Critical Infrastructure Sectors

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has defined 16 critical infrastructure sectors in the U.S. IT professionals can utilize best practices to contribute to the overall safety and security of these sectors. Threat analysis should consider the likelihood of a particular group or categorization of cyber adversary.
    Once defined, the tactics, techniques, and procedures that are

  • Test Your Knowledge: Competitive Maintenance Strategies

    Competitive maintenance uses an analytical process and condition-monitoring tools to select the optimum maintenance strategy for each plant system. For example, the optimum strategy for the plant’s steam turbine will be different than that for its gas turbine, and vastly different than that of its feedwater pumps. How well do you know your maintenance strategies? […]

  • Test Your Knowledge Archive

    Test Your Knowledge The quizzes provided here offer an easy way to test your knowledge of various power-related subjects. If you want to learn more about the quiz topics, follow links to articles from the POWER archive, which are provided on each individual quiz webpage. Competitive Maintenance Strategies Quiz https://www.powermag.com/test-your-knowledge-competitive-maintenance-strategies/ Scaffold Safety Quiz https://www.powermag.com/test-your-knowledge-scaffold-safety/ Monitoring and Treatment of Closed-Loop […]

  • Competitive Generators Look to the Supreme Court After Seventh Circuit Declines Rehearing on Nuclear Subsidies

    The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to rehear a case that challenges nuclear subsidies in Illinois, effectively dealing a blow to a group of competitive generators, which have fought the measure for several years. In an order issued on October 9, the appellate court said its full judicial panel had voted to deny […]