POWER

Successfully operating a power plant or other industrial facility depends on many things, including the vendors who supply equipment for construction of the facility, along with those who provide the materials

Taishan-2 EPR Achieves Criticality. A second EPR unit in China’s Guangdong province attained a sustained chain reaction on May 28, marking another major milestone for Framatome, EDF, and China General

What does the 21st century power market look like? That is the question the European Union (EU) is attempting to answer with the new electricity regulation and revised electricity directive passed at the end

Chile, a country that relied on coal for about two-fifths of its power generation in 2016, in June announced it would mothball eight coal plants, totaling 23 GW, of its existing 28-plant coal fleet over the

Japan’s government this June adopted a new energy white paper that suggests the country must rely on a larger share of nuclear and renewables to slash its carbon emissions and meet its target of a 26%

Ultrasonic nondestructive testing, also known as ultrasonic NDT or simply UT, is a method of characterizing the thickness or internal structure of a test piece using high-frequency sound waves. The

Industrial gas turbine (IGT) manufacturers and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) personnel are continually seeking new ways to improve the performance and longevity of critical components. High-value

Every company invested in our nation’s clean energy transition is aware that 2019 is the last year that solar energy can take advantage of the 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) under Internal Revenue Code

Winning POWER’s highest honor is a set of three gas-fired power plants and related infrastructure—the Egypt Megaproject—which was the single biggest order ever in Siemens’ long history. Completed in a

An estimated 5 million U.S. workers wear respirators. Employers are required to provide National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-certified respirators using a written respiratory protection program enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Design and manufacturing focus on fit, comfort, and ease of use across product lines incorporating advanced technologies, such […]

Siemens AG, the global technology conglomerate that today has headquarters in both Berlin and Munich, in May 2019 announced it will spin off its energy units to focus on its digital “core.” The news has stunned many in the power sector, where Siemens has clenched a formidable presence since 1866. But restructuring at Siemens is […]

Household batteries could contribute to making the grid more cost effective, reliable, resilient, and safe—if retail battery providers, utilities, and regulators can resolve delicate commercial, operational, and policy issues. The growth of battery storage in the power sector has attracted a great deal of attention in the industry and media. Much of that attention focuses […]

Are you properly quantifying and assessing the health of your plant’s transformers? Oil testing, infrared scanning, electrical testing, and inspection provide a much deeper understanding of what is happening

It’s no secret that the power industry workforce is aging and managers are struggling to find qualified candidates interested in filling open positions. In my April column, I referenced a

Proper valves, pipes, and fittings are important for the successful operation of power generation facilities. This equipment includes products with versatile designs to establish effective joining and sealing

Ansaldo Leads Research Initiative for Low-NOx High-Hydrogen Retrofit Solution. The Dutch government has awarded six partners—Ansaldo Thomassen, Delft University of Technology, OPRA Turbines, Vattenfall

Fifty years ago this July, NASA successfully landed men on the moon and safely returned them to Earth. In this year’s documentary about the mission, Apollo 11 , director Todd Douglas Miller draws on a

Swedish power company Vattenfall is testing a technology that stores energy in salt, with a goal of proving whether the process would be useful for storage of renewable energy such as from wind and solar

A blockchain pilot wrapped up by European transmission operator TenneT and storage solutions provider sonnen Group this May showed “tremendous potential” when used to network decentralized home storage

The first solar power plant licensed to operate in Vietnam came online in late April, another signal of the country’s increasing reliance on renewable energy. But analysts forecast that coal-fired power

The Department of Energy (DOE) in March 2018 released a 52-page report outlining its multi-year strategy to improve cybersecurity. In the report’s introduction, Assistant Secretary Bruce J. Walker noted that

Numerous articles have boldly declared Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to be the first of many climate change-related bankruptcies to come. The authors wag their fingers in caution at corporations across

Increasingly, today’s electric power grids are interacting with microgrids and in more complex ways. Yet, much work needs to be done to integrate microgrids and flexible demand into the wide-area synchronous

Many combined cycle power plants are being operated as peaker plants, rather than as baseload units. That can pose a problem for economizer safety valves. Pilot-operated safety valves offer several advantages

Burning garbage to make electricity, or waste-to-energy, faces headwinds in the U.S., with low electricity prices, slowing demand for power, and local opponents that want to close or have closed plants. But a

A German power plant experienced premature wear and excessive seal corrosion in its boiler feed circuit and flue gas desulfurization slurry pumps. By upgrading the performance of the pump seals and

Early detection of increased temperatures helps avoid power distribution asset-related failures and unplanned shutdowns. Wireless technologies make implementing this predictive maintenance solution practical

Hydropower has evolved through multiple industrial revolutions. Today, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 offer solutions to take the industry to a whole new level. Rules-based analysis

Wireless pressure gauges keep nine continuous emissions monitoring systems operating reliably, and wireless position monitoring helps close the loop on 90 control valves. Existing operations in power plants

The design of a power plant often revolves around efficiency and mapping out operations in a manner that decreases unnecessary expenditures, while increasing productivity. This challenge produces the need for