POWER

One of the world’s first molten salt tower concentrated solar power (CSP) projects that uses a “Stellio” heliostat was grid-connected at the end of December in China’s Xinjiang province near the

Innovation in worker safety may not be a top priority for some companies, given all the other business concerns managers must focus on, but a culture of listening to workers and identifying ongoing

Albania, a country of about 2.9 million people, is a net importer of electricity, and power supply security is a major challenge for the country, which is situated north of Greece and borders the Adriatic and

Siemens Buys Out Iberdrola, Readying to Spin Off Gas and Power and SGRE Businesses. Siemens AG will acquire Spanish renewables giant Iberdrola SA’s full 8.1% stake in Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE)

Metal loss of the pressurized tubes inside the boiler is a big concern for boiler designers and operators. Changing fuel composition and other service parameters can lead to accelerated erosion and corrosion

There is a near-global drive to replace carbon-based, polluting, resource-constrained energy sources with non-carbon renewables as the primary fuel for the electricity industry. Even traditional sources of

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations to promote “efficient, effective, and timely” NEPA review by federal agencies (85

More states are setting targets for renewable energy. Cities and counties are joining in. Utilities are formalizing commitments. And economics, as always, play a major role. The transition to clean energy

Energy storage is becoming increasingly important to the power industry. Lithium-ion battery technology has been implemented in many locations, but flow batteries offer significant benefits in long-duration

Though much attention has been focused on the exciting realm of nuclear reactor technology innovation, major efforts to improve nuclear fuels—and boost power generation safety and economics—are underway

Utilities and other power generators need to prepare now for increased loads as the electrification of transportation grows. As with any challenge, opportunities exist for those willing to invest in electric

Catastrophic wildfires have devastated California in recent years. This article seeks to outline a plan wherein neighboring utilities can send energy to support a utility that has shut down critical paths during wildfire mitigation efforts. On the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, the Camp Fire erupted 90 miles north of Sacramento, California (Figure 1). This fire […]

Utilities are becoming increasingly skilled at adapting to changes brought on by the digital age: pressure from automation, disruption from new technology, and challenges with how to ingest, manage, and utilize mountains of data. Viewing “data as an asset” is becoming the new industry norm and utilities are beginning to invest heavily in digital tools […]

As more intermittent renewable energy resources are added to the power grid, generator connectivity during a grid fault becomes ever more important to mitigate the risk of cascading blackouts. An innovative

The Connected Plant Conference allows for interaction with the industry’s early adopters. Attendees will meet generators who are using the latest connected plant tools. The speaker lineup (Figure 1) provides

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage and automate many business functions related to operations, technology, services, and

An Electric Power Research Institute study has developed a systematic process for introducing sequence automation to fossil power plants. Researchers are now exploring its implementation in case studies. As

Power plant operators are turning to predictive maintenance applications to monitor equipment and collect performance data. Asset management systems, using artificial intelligence and other methods, are part

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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