POWER

Ensuring the reliability of the power system is the responsibility of many industry participants. In this POWER exclusive, one regional reliability entity, the Midwest Reliability Organization, explains its role. In response to the 2003 Blackout—which affected parts of the U.S. Northeast and Midwest, plus portions of the Canadian province of Ontario—the U.S. Congress mandated adoption […]

For most of the history of the power industry, utility jobs were secure and long-tenured. Though they continue to offer greater stability than many other comparably paid jobs, forces on both sides of the

Ghana Starts Up Key Gas-Fired Power Unit. Ghana has inaugurated the first of two 180-MW units of a natural gas–fired power plant that it is banking on to boost the West African country’s electric reliability. President John Dramani Mahama inaugurated the first unit of the Sonon-Asogli project at Kpone, near the capital Accra, on April […]

Oil-rich Venezuela is gripped by a power crisis so debilitating that the government has instituted four-hour daily blackouts across most of the country, forced hotels and malls to generate their own power, and

It’s axiomatic that state governments believe they can manage their own affairs better than the federal government. But our system reserves certain bailiwicks for federal oversight, and one of those is the

Plans are under way to install a pilot 1-MWh lithium battery–based storage system in 2018 at the world’s first floating wind farm in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The “Batwind” system, to be installed at

Human workers are imperfect, which is why there’s no magic bullet that will give you a safe workplace. But new research on human behavior and how that translates into safety attitudes is helping some in the power industry get beyond the traditional platitudes. Safety first. Safety is no accident. Be aware—Take care. Those and others […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s rule to regulate the disposal of coal combustion residuals as solid waste went into effect last fall. After evaluating the available solutions and technologies, here’s what some experts consider the safest and most effective approaches for complying with the rule and protecting the environment. A little over a year ago, the […]

An industry rooted in tradition is facing unprecedented changes and challenges, and meeting them requires “thinking big” and embracing disruptive technologies that will change how we think about electricity generation and delivery. That was the message from the keynote session at ELECTRIC POWER 2016.  Two senior power sector executives opened the 2016 ELECTRIC POWER Conference […]

This year’s much-awaited Environmental Mega Session at the 18th annual ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans, La., on April 19 was titled “Navigating Clean Power Plan Compliance”

The annual panel discussion by high-level leaders from diverse power companies is a cornerstone of the ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition, and it has been consistently emblematic of the state of the

Power generators have always had to make afetyome changes as each new generation enters the sector, but today’s new workers are bringing with them attitudes and skills that challenge traditional plant management, for good and ill. Here’s what some companies and plants are doing to make the best use of younger workers while getting them […]

The nuclear industry has been expecting big things from small modular reactors (SMRs) for a long time, but to date, no SMRs have reached commercial construction phase. That may change soon. Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems has a plan to deploy NuScale Power’s Integral Pressurized Water Reactor at a site in Idaho. Will others follow […]

Spain’s power sector, which has been shaken financially in recent years owing to plunging power demand, posted its first electricity tariff surplus in 14 years at the end of 2015. The National Markets and

A small modular reactor (SMR) system that uses a supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) Brayton cycle instead of the steam Rankine cycle is under development at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and

When management decided to purchase and install a new, vented lead-acid battery system at the Dogwood power plant, decision-makers also investigated the benefits of adding a continuous battery-monitoring

It’s not being overly dramatic to say that the power industry is at its biggest inflection point to date. Even ignoring the effects of environmental regulations and (in North America, at least) cheap natural

States across the U.S. have begun to commit themselves to expanding the reach of distributed energy resources (DERs), primarily rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV), throughout their communities. In particular

What are distributed energy resources (DERs)? For many people, rooftop solar is the first thing that comes to mind, but when you ask that question of an independent system operator (ISO)—the folks who

Microgrids have been around for decades, but today, more potential customers, owners, technologies, and vendors than ever are part of the market. Increased interest in this special grid resource means there’s more competition, which is generally a good thing, but there are also new challenges. “You have to have some serious staying power” to be […]

Getting the most cost-effective use out of a battery storage system isn’t just a matter of plug-and-play. Where and how you site a battery can make a big difference in how well it does its job. Several battery experts who spoke to POWER explain what you need to think about. So you want to buy […]

A research photobioreactor designed to capture significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from power plant flue gas for high-density algae cultivation is showing promise. The bioreactor patented by California-based algal firm PHYCO2 is undergoing a multi-year trial at Michigan State University’s (MSU’s) T.B. Simon Power Plant, a co-generation plant that provides steam, heat, and power […]

Keeping a power plant’s surface condenser in proper working order requires paying attention to balance-of-plant systems as well. Failure to monitor and maintain cooling towers and vacuum pumps in particular can lead to performance penalties or worse. The surface condenser at a power plant has a significant effect on power generation—specifically, the efficiency with which […]

Taking full advantage of the international political thaw with Iran, Germany has begun working closely with the fossil fuel–rich nation to develop renewable energy strategies based on the successes and failures its policymakers have learned from its own Energiewende (energy transition). To jumpstart this, Germany’s government recently released a commissioned report titled “Enabling PV Iran,” […]

In the information technology world, open-source platforms and software, as an alternative to proprietary ones, have long been commonly accepted. In process controls, not so much. That could be changing if some large customers have their way. For decades, the norm with industrial plant distributed control systems (DCS) has been that you buy a proprietary […]

Malaysia, a country that has historically depended on oil and natural gas for energy, put online a $1.67 billion ultrasupercritical coal-fired power plant this March. Malaysian firm Malakoff Corp.’s giant 1-GW Tanjung Bin Energy Power Plant (T4) entered commercial operation this March, on schedule, four years after construction began (Figure 6). 6. The face of […]

Although the December attack on Ukraine’s power infrastructure mostly affected the distribution grid, generators are just as vulnerable to cyberattack, in part because they tend to rely more on outside contractors working remotely. Here’s the latest on the attackers’ path and methods, areas in generation that are potentially vulnerable, and recommendations to address the vulnerabilities.  […]

South Africa’s power system is preparing to receive a critical capacity boost. In March, state-owned utility Eskom grid-synchronized the first of four units of the Ingula Pumped Storage project in

Today’s energy system is ripe for disruption. Whoever designs the next generation of energy systems will own the platforms that will enable tomorrow’s products and lock in the emerging consumer base from the developing world. This disruption will be as great as the shift from whale oil to rock oil, altering the energy landscape permanently. […]