Latest
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Renewables
Elon Musk: ‘The Future Is Bright for Utilities’
Although many observers consider Elon Musk—the visionary entrepreneur who leads Tesla Motors and SpaceX—to be a disruptive force threatening the conventional power industry, he believes power companies have a bright future, if his goal to expand the use of electric cars and install vast numbers of rooftop solar systems is achieved. Speaking during a presentation […]
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O&M
Technical Guidance Documents Provide Global Standards
The International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam (IAPWS) is an international nonprofit association of national organizations concerned with the properties of water and steam, particularly
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Legal & Regulatory
More Regulators Rely on Risk-Based Decision-Making
The dangers of the U.S.’s failing infrastructure have united both major political parties in calling for substantial capital investments to shore up safety and reliability. In California, the tragic explosion of the gas pipeline in San Bruno and the massive methane leak from the gas storage wells at Aliso Canyon have highlighted the potential for […]
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Nuclear
TOP PLANT: Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia
Owner/operator: Rosenergoatom Fast-neutron reactors are pivotal to Russia’s ambitious nuclear power plans. The successful construction, grid-connection, and testing of the country’s first BN-800 reactor at its Beloyarsk nuclear plant is a major achievement in the right direction. Since the Soviet Union began its first experimental nuclear power projects in the 1940s, Russia has embraced nuclear’s […]
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Nuclear
TOP PLANT: Ningde Nuclear Power Plant, Fujian Province, China
China is on an epic build-out of its nuclear generating capacity, and developing indigenous expertise and technology is central to that goal. The first completed plant leveraging the nation’s CPR-1000 design
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Legal & Regulatory
Next-Generation FGD Wastewater Bioreactor Technology Introduced for ELG Compliance
Compliance with one of the latest federal environmental regulations, the Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG), can be both costly and complicated. A newly available option offers features and capabilities that may make it a more attractive alternative than conventional approaches. In September 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a new rule affecting flue gas […]
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O&M
Ultra-High-Pressure Cavitation Peening Offers New Way to Maintain Components in Operational Nuclear Reactors
To power generation professionals, the word “cavitation” typically has negative connotations, but a new process offers a way to control this normally destructive effect and deploy it as a cost-effective life-extension technique. As operators of commercial nuclear energy facilities consider subsequent license renewals and life extensions, finding new ways to safely maintain reactor components remains […]
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Coal
Pushing the Ultra Envelope: Advanced Power Technologies Are Mainstream in China
China, which continues to build more new coal plants than any other nation, is also on the forefront of deploying the most advanced coal plant technologies. However, these advanced units could face
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Legal & Regulatory
The State of Solar: New Tech, Outdated Rate Designs
As installed capacity in the U.S. continues its breakneck growth, the solar photovoltaic sector is poised for another leap forward with a variety of new technologies—if increasingly ill-suited regulations and rate designs can be updated to keep pace. The global solar market has moved beyond its early, uncertain days. The luxury of behaving like start-ups […]
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Commentary
Meet the Beetles
Bark beetles have discovered the good life in California’s overgrown forests. A combination of extended drought and mild winters has led to an enormous infestation of these pests. They have killed over 66