POWER

Brazil’s Belo Monte hydropower project includes a complex of dams, numerous dikes, and a series of canals supplying two different power stations with water. With a rated capacity of 11,233 MW, it will be the

Climate change is changing the odds of extreme weather events, Entergy’s Rod West told the audience at the opening keynote session of ELECTRIC POWER 2014. West, who serves as Entergy’s executive vice

Gas, wind, and solar are it for any new generation in North America for the next five to 10 years (with a few one-offs), speakers at this year’s Platts Global Power Markets conference agreed. The annual event for those involved in power project development, financing, and litigation was held in Las Vegas Apr. 7 to […]

Though often lumped together under the term “energy storage,” the field is in fact a wide range of technologies ranging from well established to speculative, each with different functions, advantages, and drawbacks. The discussion below focuses on existing grid-scale (greater than 1 MW rated power) projects and is generally ordered by level of deployment. Pumped […]

India and Russia on Apr. 1 said they had devised a significant deal that will allow the first import of nuclear reactors in India, despite India’s 2010-passed nuclear liability law that allows nuclear power

After a lull that spanned nearly two decades, a hoard of new massive hydropower projects are being developed around the world. Some, like the 11.2-GW Belo Monte dam in Brazil, the 4.5-GW Diamer-Bhasha project

Netherlands to Ban Financing of Coal Plants Abroad. The Netherlands on Mar. 24 joined an initiative of the U.S., the UK, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden to reach a global climate change agreement

The 59-MW Gyeonggi Green Energy fuel cell park (Figure 3) in South Korea’s Hwasung City—one of the world’s largest fuel cell facilities—began operation in February. The five-acre facility built by

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to propose first-of-a-kind greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits for existing power plants by June 2014. The EPA will do so under a rarely used

The Himalayan Mountains tower over some of the most rugged terrain and harshest climate conditions on the planet. Melting snows from Mount Everest, K2, and hundreds of other snow-capped peaks carve out more

Marilu Hastings With all the recent scientific studies, media coverage, and policy decisions about reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, one might think that the emissions issue is the only challenge that

There’s been a lot of talk in the past couple of years about “disruption” to the long-established status quo in the electric utility and power generation sector. But I would argue that both terms in this

The inherently unpredictable and variable nature of wind power can present significant integration challenges when increasing the penetration of wind turbines within already highly stressed medium-voltage (MV)

It’s no secret that equipment requires maintenance. Just as your personal vehicle needs an oil change periodically, a power plant needs to shut down regularly for a tune-up to take care of all those little

The downward trend in solid fuel quality has negatively affected many power generators that rely on imported fuels. For others, this represents a market opportunity. A quick survey of recent installations found that fuel-flexible circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers addressed owners’ fuel source concerns by efficiently burning low-quality, high-moisture coals, even when mixed with biomass and […]

If there is one truth to the power industry, it is that environmental regulations will only proceed down one path—that of stricter limits. Although legislatures and courts may argue over the issue for years

Energy-starved India has been diversifying increasingly into renewable energy (RE), becoming in the process one of the world’s most vibrant markets for this sector. This bodes well for a country that has

Several years ago, Jean and Bob Galey of Catoctin Creek Farm in rural western Maryland installed solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the south-facing roof of one of their outbuildings. Since then, they’ve

After years of dithering on energy policy, the UK government has nearly finalized its plans for electricity market reform. Guaranteed prices for low-carbon power, plus a carbon floor price to discourage the

After operating on the sidelines for years, the energy storage sector is finally poised to begin making its mark, driven by greater policy support and technological advances that have begun making new solutions economic. “Just-in-time” delivery has become an ideal for many industries looking to optimize their efficiency and responsiveness. For the power sector, though, […]

Investor-owned electric utility companies spent $14.8 billion in 2012 to upgrade transmission infrastructure, and investments in 2013 and 2014 are expected to soar even more, peaking at about $17.5 billion, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) says in a new report.   The eighth annual publication of the EEI’s report “Transmission Projects: At  A Glance,” estimates more […]

One of the world’s first power storage systems employing used electric vehicle (EV) batteries began operating on Japan’s Yumeshima Island in Osaka this February. The 600 kW/400 kWh system developed by Tokyo-based Sumitomo Corp. consists of 16 EV batteries that were recovered and inspected by the Sumitomo and Nissan Motor Co. joint venture 4R Energy […]

The crown for the world’s most powerful operating wind turbine was transferred this January to Danish wind turbine maker Vestas, as its first 8-MW prototype began generating power at the Danish National Test Center for Large Wind Turbines in Østerild. Compared to the first 450-kW offshore wind turbine that was installed in 1991 at Vindeby, […]

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Station was inaugurated on Feb. 13 in California. Our news story on the launch included several photos, but below are additional shots of the world’s largest concentrating solar power plant taken during the event. —Thomas Overton, JD is a POWER associate editor (@thomas_overton, @POWERmagazine).    

Dr. Bryan Hannegan The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is spearheading innovation in Energy Systems Integration (ESI) research. ESI is a comprehensive

Mention the word “drone,” and most people will have a mental picture of what a drone is and does. They likely will think first of military drones carrying missiles and other weapons that could malfunction

After decades of planning, Turkey may finally see the first four reactors at the Akkuyu nuclear plant completed by 2023. The country has had plans to establish nuclear power generation since 1970, but several

Second Nuclear Unit in Northeast China Begins Operation. The second nuclear unit at the Hongyanhe plant (Hongyanhe-2) in northeast China’s Liaoning Province entered commercial operation on Feb. 25