POWER
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News
Energy Storage as a Service: Why Renting Can Be Better Than Buying
The burgeoning as-a-service model, offering greater user flexibility and attractive economics, is now a viable option for energy storage. As with transportation, office equipment, and other capital-intensive
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News
Innovative Microgrid Will Power Finnish Distribution Center
A distribution center in Finland is installing what is being called the country’s largest industrial microgrid, a system that will use 100% renewable energy. The system is being built by Schneider Electric
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History
10 Takeaways from the IEA’s Newest World Energy Outlook
The International Energy Agency (IEA) deemed growth and disruptions of the world’s power sector so significant to the future of energy, it dedicated—for the first time—a four-chapter “special focus”
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Connected Plant
Control Room Considerations: What You Need to Know
Control rooms are vital for organizations to efficiently and effectively monitor multiple information streams and make accurate mission-critical decisions. With an ever-increasing number of content sources and
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News
Energy Storage Resources: A Year in Review
From both a regulatory and development perspective, 2018 was a significant year for the expansion of energy storage resources (ESRs). From a significant ruling of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
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Gas
Natural Gas and Renewable Energy to Continue Leading the Market
Cheap natural gas and social pressure to reduce carbon emissions give gas-fired power plants and renewable energy resources a competitive advantage over traditional coal and nuclear generation. Energy storage
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Connected Plant
Blockchain Technology Will Transform the Power Industry
What began in the world of finance has moved into the power sector. Blockchain, a nascent technology most often associated with cryptocurrency, is a new frontier in the energy space, changing the way power is
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News
Game-Changing Coal Power Technologies
To be a relevant player in the future power mix, coal power efficiency and costs must improve, and technologies in the realm of research and development promise to do just that. Although most experts agree
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News
Debate Continues: Can New Technology Save Nuclear Power?
Nuclear power provides carbon-free electricity for a warming world. But is its use still practical, can it still be economic, is its promise still achievable, and is nuclear a key to combating climate change
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Water
Understanding Amine Chemistry in Combined Cycle Power Plants
Many combined cycle power plants have established a pH guideline between 9.6 and 10.0 to minimize corrosion in heat recovery steam generators and condensers. Neutralizing amines are used to achieve these pH
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O&M
How Air Bearings Moved Tons of Nuclear Waste
Heavy loads must often be moved at power plants of all types. Air bearing-based vehicles can make the process safer, faster, and cheaper. Cask relocation at a nuclear waste facility offers one successful
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T&D
Adjusting Power Line Sag in Real-Time
Getting proper sag between power line towers can be time-consuming. However, a new surveying tool allows workers to make adjustments in real-time. The method saves time and money, while also providing
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News
Establishing a Culture of Continuous Learning and Improvement
With many challenges facing both fossil fuel and nuclear power generation facilities, training and workforce development has never been more important. Establishing a culture of continuous improvement is
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News
Mercury Remediation System Reduces Contamination in Power Plant Wastewater
A new system to remove dissolved (ionic) mercury, along with other contaminants, from power plant wastewater is being developed. It is free of the drawbacks of using a traditional stannous chloride reagent
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News
THE BIG PICTURE: Wind Turbine Trends
Average wind turbine capacity, rotor diameter, and hub height increased in 2017, continuing a long-term trend. One reason that wind producers choose bigger turbines is to optimize wind power project cost and performance, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Source: U.S. DOE, 2017 Wind Technologies Market Report, […]
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Cybersecurity
Three Things ICS Security Pros Can Do to Maximize Uptime
Before industrial control systems (ICSs) were network-connected, operators had little to worry about in the way of cyber threats. But as industrial environments, such as energy utilities, become more connected, they’re exposed to vulnerabilities and attacks. ICSs are used in large amounts of critical infrastructure, including the electrical grid, transportation systems, and wastewater plants. How […]
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Distributed Energy
Distributed Energy: A Burgeoning Market
It’s not particularly easy to find reliable and detailed statistics on the deployment of distributed energy systems. One reason is that a lot of distributed energy is installed behind-the-meter. As a result
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News
Australia’s Victoria State Ramps Up Renewables
Victoria state in Australia continues to see dramatic growth in solar and wind power, as well as battery storage systems, as the region rapidly expands its power generation capacity, in large part to serve the
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News
POWER Digest [December 2018]
Veolia Hungary Creates VPP Portfolio. Veolia Hungary in October acquired a 51% ownership share in CHP Eromu Kft., the first step in a process for Veolia to create a virtual power plant (VPP) portfolio. The
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News
Spain Closing Mines in Transition Away from Coal
Coal from domestic mines provides just more than 2% of Spain’s electricity generation, as the country has increasingly moved away from coal-fired power toward renewable sources. The administration of new
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News
Moroccan Molten Salt Tower Project Clears Reliability Test
A 10-day reliability test for the 150-MW Noor Ouarzazate III thermoelectric solar plant in Morocco has wrapped up, demonstrating that the project can provide continuous rated power even in the absence of
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News
Novel Floating Power Plants on the Horizon
For decades, floating power plants have been used widely as a source of flexible, decentralized power generation for several reasons. Among them are that they can be built cost-effectively and rapidly; they
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News
Eliminate Transient Vacuums by Air Injection
Most operators know that air should be kept out of a heat exchanger’s cooling water supply line. Air can collect in pockets and block flow, increasing velocities, increasing system resistance, decreasing
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Commentary
Courts Back State Flexibility on Choice of Generation
Power regulation in the U.S. is split between the federal and state levels, with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) having jurisdiction over the wholesale sales of electricity and the states
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News
Cleanup and Closure Projects on a Massive Scale
Thousands of workers are involved, and billions of dollars are being spent, as U.S. utilities convert and close dozens of coal ash impoundments in an effort to meet government regulations and prevent future
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Environmental
The Impact of Environmental Regulations on Power Generation
For many years, air pollution control (APC) rules and regulations have governed the design and economics of the world’s power generation fleet. These rules have had a tremendous impact, improving air quality
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News
A Legal Guide to Power Generation Mergers and Acquisitions
A myriad of issues come into play when parties execute power industry mergers and acquisitions. Part 2 of this two-part series looks at the issues involved with acquisition agreements, and some of the more
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Connected Plant
Cyber Breaches: Is Fear Misplaced?
The power sector’s terror of a debilitating cybersecurity attack is magnified seemingly every day as new vulnerabilities or destructive threat actors are identified. But according to several industrial
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Nuclear
Molten Salt Reactors: Military Applications Behind the Energy Promises
The commercial nuclear power sector has evolved with great help from the military-industrial complex. Research and development funded for the purpose of national defense has resulted in advances directly
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Safety
Equipment Showcase: Tools and Safety Products
Safety should always be a priority for any business, no matter the industry. This is particularly true for power generation facilities, which feature multiple pieces of complex machinery that can present risks