POWER
-
Connected Plant
Using Self-Service Analytics to Improve Power Plant Efficiency
There is a widespread movement to reduce carbon emissions around the world. One way to do so is by improving plant efficiency, but that can be easier said than done. However, self-service analytics could play
-
Fuel
Is Biomass Dead?
With subsidies running short and emissions regulations still a challenge, the promise of biomass as a sustainable source for utility-scale power generation remains elusive. Yet, there are novel applications
-
Solar
Community Solar: Ready for the New Decade
Community solar refers to local solar facilities shared by multiple subscribers who receive credit on their electricity bills for their share of the power produced. Community solar allows homeowners, renters
-
News
Taking Efficiency and Flexibility to the Next Level
In a rapidly changing energy market, the competitiveness of any power producer increasingly depends upon the reliability, efficiency, and flexibility of its power plants. As the share of renewable energy
-
News
Backup Power for Critical Loads Can Save Lives and Money
In a modern economy increasingly dependent on electric power, blackouts can wreak havoc when the loads are critical to life, business, and even a comfortable lifestyle. The problem may be growing, but there
-
IIOT
Hype and Hope: Artificial Intelligence’s Role in the Power Sector
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a term power professionals are seeing increasingly to describe sophisticated digital technologies. Could it be the breakthrough that is so highly hyped? There is no argument
-
Commentary
Energy Storage—Operational Versatility Causes a Regulatory Identity Crisis
The next decade could belong to energy storage. Project development costs are dropping. Enhanced state and corporate focus on climate-related issues is producing more opportunities for renewable generation and
-
News
Seal Design Key as ORC Turbine Manufacturer Enters Geothermal Market
When a global leader in the design, manufacture, and maintenance of binary Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power systems entered the geothermic energy market, company engineers knew its existing turbines would be
-
News
Minimizing Exposure: RVI Videoscopes Take Radiation Exposure to a New Low
For personnel in nuclear power plants, time and distance are critical measurements when it comes to safe inspections. When workers need to enter a high-radiation area to examine a potential problem or make a
-
Coal
A Closer Look at Coal Power Plant Impacts
When I see estimates of premature deaths attributable to coal-fired power plants, I usually take the data with a grain of salt. It’s not that I don’t trust researchers to do their best to calculate the
-
News
POWER Digest [February 2020]
Indonesia Readying to Build 145-MW Floating Solar Plant. Pembangkitan Jawa Bali (PJB), a subsidiary of Indonesian state electricity company PT PLN, is planning to begin construction of the $129 million Cirata
-
News
Endesa to Close Two Giant Spanish Coal Plants
Endesa on Dec. 27 formally moved to shutter two massive coal-fired power plants—the 1.4-GW As Pontes plant in A Coruña, Galicia, which is the biggest coal-fired power plant in Spain, and the 1.16-GW
-
News
South Korea Continues Nuclear Phase-out
South Korea has announced the permanent closure of another nuclear reactor, as the country continues to phase out thermal power generation and increase the use of renewable resources for electricity. The
-
Fuel
Australia, Long a Uranium Champion, Mulls Nuclear Power
An Australian federal inquiry last December recommended partially lifting a nationwide ban on nuclear energy, urging that the government pursue a “goal-oriented” and community-focused strategy as it
-
News
India’s Energy Market Overhaul—Infrastructure, Renewables, and Keeping Coal in the Mix
India wants to reform its power generation sector, including upgrades to energy infrastructure, and plans to introduce new technology to make its electricity supply more reliable and resilient. It’s part of
-
Carbon Capture
Policy Support for Carbon Capture Critical to Clean Energy Future
Analysis by both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and International Energy Agency shows that achieving a zero-carbon energy system by 2050 will require large-scale deployment of carbon capture
-
News
THE BIG PICTURE [Infographic]: Solar’s Explosive Growth
According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) World Energy Outlook 2019, solar photovoltaic (PV) is set to become the largest source of installed electrical capacity in about 2035, if countries pursue policies as planned. By 2040, solar could make up 24% of global installed capacity—up from 7% in 2018—but its share of generation could hover […]
-
News
Obrador Administration Rolling Back Energy Reform in Mexico
The future of energy in Mexico is being shaped by the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who wants state-owned energy companies to have more influence over the country’s power
-
News
POWER Digest [January 2020]
Engie Will Close 1 GW of Coal Generation; Adding Solar, Wind. French energy group Engie in mid-December said it will close 1 GW of coal-fired power generation assets in Peru and Chile over the next five years
-
Technology
Power Industry Disrupters: Gas, Renewables, and Storage
The power industry is experiencing significant changes. Natural gas, wind, solar, and battery storage seem to be the wave of the future. What’s compelling the transformation? Some people point to
-
Commentary
Structural Effects of Climate Change on the Utility Business
Developers and other sellers of electricity have traditionally viewed utilities as creditworthy counterparties. Utilities are longstanding institutions that provide a public service and receive a regulated
-
News
Evolution of the Smart Grid at Forefront of Transformative Change
The power industry is in the midst of a shake-up, a revolution in how electricity is generated and distributed. Smart grid technology is changing the way utilities and customers interact, and providing support
-
Coal
Transformative Coal Power Technologies Take Shape
The coal power industry acknowledges that to play a stable role in future power markets, it needs to modernize, and perhaps even overhaul its long-held status as a “conventional generator.” Could new
-
Nuclear
Innovation Propels Nuclear Power on New Trajectory
Innovation is ushering in a new age for nuclear power. As well as boosting plant economics, efficiency, and flexibility, advanced technologies could open up new markets to meet soaring demand for heat and
-
Water
Water Chemistry: Power Plant Life and Death
Power plants that use steam to generate electricity need water. Without it, they can’t do their job. But water and steam are complicated, much as is blood in our veins and arteries. So, water chemistry is a
-
Hydro
Hydraulic Stability of Surge Tanks
When needed, surge tanks can provide a critical feature to the hydraulic design of hydropower projects. Principally, they can mitigate the overpressure effects of pressure transients or water hammer and allow
-
Connected Plant
Optimizing Power Plant Decisions with 5G Technology
The power industry is always looking for ways to improve efficiency and enhance reliability. 5G, that is, fifth-generation wireless technology, may help utilities reach new heights. Every day, we learn a
-
Coal
Electric Power Generation: Coal Is Currently a Vital Component
Over the past decade, there has been a significant change in the U.S. system of power generation in the lower 48 states. The major factors that resulted in these changes were the discovery of new natural gas
-
Connected Plant
From Smart Cities to Smarter Services: The State of the Energy Industry in 2020
How the energy industry and the cloud can partner to meet the challenges of smart city development. More than half of our global population resides in urban environments—and by the end of this century, the