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An intrinsically motivated safety culture does not usually emerge fully formed. Decisions and actions affecting behaviors are often linked to entrenched attitudes and beliefs within companies. Commitment and

Scaffolding typically ranks near the top of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s most-frequently cited standards. However, developing a strong safety culture and implementing an effective

The human brain is an amazing thing, but it has limitations. However, with the advent of machine learning, the limitations of the human brain no longer have to be the limitations of civilization. Machine

Flow reversal in piping systems can degrade equipment performance and cause significant water hammer, potentially resulting in catastrophic failure. Power plant condenser cooling water systems—or circulating

President Donald Trump will pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, making the nation one of only three in the world not a party to the agreement, joining Syria and Nicaragua. While campaigning, Trump vowed to “cancel” the agreement, the first international climate agreement to include developing as well as developed […]

Exelon Corp. said it plans to retire the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant around September 30, 2019, unless policy reforms are enacted in Pennsylvania. The company used a similar ploy in Illinois to pressure lawmakers into passing the state’s Future Energy Jobs bill, which provides subsidies for nuclear power plants. In that case, Exelon […]

China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) completed the dome lift at Fuqing Unit 5—the world’s first power plant being constructed utilizing the HPR 1000 (also known as the Hualong One) reactor design—15 days ahead of schedule on May 25. The feat was no small accomplishment. The dome weighs about 340 metric tons and has a diameter […]

Under a proposed restructuring agreement, NRG Energy will hand over 100% equity of GenOn Energy, a wholesale generation company it acquired in a $1.7 billion deal in 2012, to the company’s bondholders once GenOn emerges from voluntary Chapter 11 restructuring. NRG, GenOn, and an ad hoc group of GenOn noteholders reached a mutual cooperation agreement […]

CEO Tom Fanning told Southern Co.’s shareholders attending the company’s annual meeting on May 24 that a decision on how to proceed with the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion could take several more months. The Vogtle expansion—one of two new nuclear construction projects underway in the U.S. utilizing Westinghouse’s AP1000 technology—has been in limbo, albeit still in […]

The renewable energy sector employed 9.8 million people in 2016, up 1.1% percent from 2015, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA’s) “Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2017”, released May 24. “Renewable energy employment worldwide has continued to grow since IRENA’s first annual assessment in 2012, but the last two years have seen […]