Latest

  • Microturbine Market Ready to Expand

    Deployment of microturbine energy technology has been slow to develop, but analysts predict growth on the horizon as more businesses use the small units to power their facilities and reduce their carbon

  • Natural Gas Infrastructure Is Much More Concerning Than a Solar Eclipse

    Recently, many articles in a variety of publications speculated on how the August 21, 2017, solar eclipse would impact the electric grid. Most utility people expected no serious outages or disruptions, and

  • 135th Anniversary—Engineering a Legacy: Marmaduke Surfaceblow

    Marmaduke Surfaceblow was a crusty character, providing POWER magazine readers with imaginative tales of engineering feats, and lending his name to one of our most-coveted awards. He might be fictional, but Marmaduke Surfaceblow became synonymous with POWER magazine, a colorful character with a distinctive way of finding solutions to engineering problems. Author Stephen Elonka introduced […]

  • DOE Offers Another $3.7 Billion in Loan Guarantees for Vogtle Project

    Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement that the “future of nuclear energy in the United States is bright” as his agency on September 29 announced another $3.7 billion in loan guarantees for continued construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia. The Department of Energy (DOE) has guaranteed another $1.67 […]

  • [UPDATED] DOE to FERC: Force Competitive Markets to Value Coal and Nuclear Resiliency, Reliability Attributes

    A rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on September 29 directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to mandate that competitive power markets develop and implement market rules to “accurately price” what it calls “fuel-secure” generation. The DOE’s “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule” directs FERC—an independent regulatory government agency that is officially organized as […]

  • Faster Power Plant Cycling

    Rapid startup is critical for modern power plants, as peaks and valleys in demand fluctuate with the increased use of alternative, renewable sources. But power plant cycling comes with risks to expensive equipment. Maintaining control of water cycle chemistry is vital to help mitigate them.  

  • Vibration Monitoring Best Practices [PODCAST]

    Most large power plants have continuous vibration monitoring systems installed on turbine generators and other critical equipment. The systems have evolved greatly since the 1970s. In this episode of The POWER Podcast, Steve Sabin, SETPOINT product manager for Brüel & Kjær Vibro, offers some tips to get the most out of these systems. He talks […]

  • Entergy Gives Palisades Nuclear Plant Five More Years to Run

    Entergy Corp. will keep the Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Michigan, open until the spring of 2022, owing to a shortfall in recovery granted to Consumers Energy by state regulators. In a bid to actively exit the merchant nuclear power business, investor-owned Entergy had decided to shutter the 798-MW plant by October 1, 2018.  […]

  • SCANA, Santee Cooper Monetize Settlement Payments from Toshiba to Minimize Risk

    SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper moved to cash in a $2.2 billion settlement with Toshiba—even though it will cost them $171 million—rather than risk collecting guaranty payments from the Japanese conglomerate over the next five years for the unfinished V.C. Summer nuclear expansion. Just days before the utilities decided to abandon the project, Toshiba on […]

  • Westinghouse Asks Court to Stop Cancellation of Vogtle Contract

    Westinghouse Electric has asked a New York bankruptcy court to stop Georgia Power from terminating Westinghouse’s contract to continue construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Georgia. Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, in large part due to massive cost overruns from the Vogtle project and the V.C. Summer nuclear […]