Latest
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Renewables
ERCOT Anticipates Summer Supply Crunch Amid Unit Retirements
The recent retirement of older generating units and high peak usage owing to economic growth could tighten operating reserves in the region served by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) this summer. The grid operator said on March 1 that total resource capacity for the upcoming summer (spanning June through September 2018) is expected […]
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Nuclear
Vogtle Improves Safety and Productivity Following Westinghouse Bankruptcy
According to Georgia Power’s Eighteenth Semi-annual Vogtle Construction Monitoring Report (VCM) released on February 28, more than 12 million man-hours have been worked without a lost-time injury at the Vogtle expansion project since Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy on March 29, 2017. Additionally, the company said productivity has improved since Southern Nuclear Operating Company assumed overall […]
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IIOT Power
ICS Cybersecurity Threatened, but Defense Woefully Inadequate
Though increasingly serious cybersecurity threats loom, nearly two-thirds of U.S. industrial control system (ICS) vulnerabilities identified in 2017 could cause severe operational impact if exploited, cybersecurity firm Dragos Inc. warned in a series of reports published March 1. The reports, which cover ICS vulnerabilities, ICS threats, and reactions to existing threats, draw a dire picture […]
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Infographics
The Big Picture: Energy Storage Mandates
While 29 states and the District of Columbia currently have Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)—goals for power producers to provide a certain amount of power from renewable sources by a specific date—a growing number of states are also instituting standalone targets and mandates for energy storage procurement. Sources: Energy Storage Association, North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, Lawrence Berkeley […]
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IIOT Power
How to Automate Workforce Scheduling
If you’re a power plant supervisor, you’ve undoubtedly been forced to find a worker during off-hours on the spur of the moment. New tools are being used today that allow automating the callout process—and workforce schedule. Last summer City Utilities (CU) of Springfield, Missouri, joined a list of power companies automating workforce scheduling and callout […]
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Coal
King Coal Is Alive and Kicking in Poland
Running counter to the overwhelming trend in Europe, coal remains the king in Poland. The country’s governing party unabashedly champions the industry as the foundation of its energy sector—a footing it doesn’t want to abandon. In December 2018, as ministers and delegates from all over the world attend the United Nations-sponsored climate conference (COP24) in […]
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Legal & Regulatory
A Break in the Nuclear Waste Impasse?
Spent nuclear fuel has continued to accumulate at sites across the nation, paralyzed by a government deadlock on a nuclear waste management strategy formally established 35 years ago. Can recent developments
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Legal & Regulatory
Successful Torrefied Biomass Test Burn at a Coal Power Plant
The ability of a coal power plant to accommodate significant changes in fuel quality is often limited by many constraints. When faced with a challenging goal to test torrefied biomass fuel at its Boardman
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O&M
Design and Care of Reverse Osmosis Systems
Reverse osmosis (RO) systems offer power plant owners and operators a reliable and well-proven water treatment solution. However, designing and caring for an RO system requires a thorough understanding of a
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Solar
Can C&I Customers Lead the Energy Storage Revolution?
The private sector is traditionally known as a driver of innovation, so it may be surprising to some people that many businesses have only recently begun to consider advanced energy technologies. Looking at