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The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is working feverishly to get a provision into the next COVID-19 stimulus package that would allow electric cooperatives to reprice loans from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) at current low interest rates without penalties. The change could save co-ops more than $10 billion. The RUS, which is a […]

A microgrid project pairing natural gas with solar power is taking shape at Pittsburgh International Airport, with the installation expected to be the primary source of electricity for the property by the summer of 2021. Construction of the microgrid (Figure 1) began a few weeks ago with site preparation work, which included rerouting an electrical […]

Is gas generation quickly going down the same path as coal? Will gas power generation built today be abandoned in 30 years? How can you be serious about climate change and still build gas power generation? As governments, utilities, and private enterprises continue to set aggressive net-zero emissions goals, these are the hard questions being […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 16, 2020 FERC Finalizes PURPA Rule Reforms The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finalized a long-awaited rule revising regulations that govern qualifying small power producers and cogenerators under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA).… Xcel Energy Approved to […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finalized a long-awaited rule revising regulations that govern qualifying small power producers and cogenerators under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). While FERC said the rule was necessary to respond to significant market changes, the action drew mixed reactions from industry.  FERC’s final rule issued on […]

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved Xcel Energy’s request to offer two of its coal units into the Midcontinent Independent System Operator market on a seasonal basis. That means the company can idle the two units for six months of the year, which is expected to save customers money while also reducing air emissions. “This […]

NuScale Power has completed its second submittal to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for pre-licensing Vendor Design Review (VDR) of its small modular reactor (SMR). A pre-licensing VDR is an optional service provided by the CNSC when requested by a supplier. It provides a mechanism that enables CNSC staff to provide feedback early in […]

The renewable energy sector was on a steep growth curve entering 2020 with a lot of experts predicting a record year. Then COVID-19 disrupted the entire world, causing trouble in supply chains and putting millions of workers in unemployment lines. However, a new report released by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), a renewable […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 13, 2020 Featured Siemens' Roadmap to 100% Hydrogen Gas Turbines Aligning with a target set by European industry association EUTurbines, Siemens Gas and Power rolled out an ambitious roadmap to ramp up the hydrogen capability in all its gas turbine models […]

Microgrids offer an “all of the above” approach to distributed generation, incorporating a variety of technologies into their design. As microgrids continue to evolve, incorporating renewable power resources, fuel cells, battery energy storage, diesel and gas generator sets, microturbines, and other technologies, they also provide the opportunity to expand the business models for power producers. […]

With the advantages of clean, renewable energy, wind power has become one of the fastest-growing energy sources and one of the most economical solutions for electricity generation. There are already 350,000 wind turbines installed globally, with more than 650,000 MW of  installed generation capacity. In light of climate change, demand continues to grow. However, to […]

Summertime heat is cresting at the same time many economic restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic are easing in communities across the United States.  Meanwhile, as extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, much of the country is on alert as forecasters predict severe hurricane, tornado, and wildfire seasons will continue.   Utilities know they need […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 9, 2020 Featured U.S. Bank Set to Lift Ban on Supporting Nuclear Power A government-run development bank is expected to end its ban on investment in nuclear energy, a move that could allow U.S. companies to take a greater role in […]

Two reports analyzing energy transitions toward low-carbon resources released this week offer mixed assessments of how the power industry is faring in efforts to tamp down carbon emissions.  The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), a broad group of stakeholders committed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations (UN) in 2015, on July 6 launched […]

Taking its first major step to act on President Trump’s May 1 executive order (EO) to limit foreign bulk power equipment transactions in the U.S., the Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a definitive list of six foreign “adversaries” that pose threats to the U.S. bulk power system (BPS): China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, […]

The five owners of a 410-MW coal-fired unit at the Craig Generating Station in Colorado have said they will retire the generator on Sept. 30, 2028, about one year before what will then be the last operating unit at the facility will be shuttered. Owners of the Yampa Project—Units 1 and 2 at the site […]

A distributed energy resource management system, or DERMS, is a software platform used to manage a group of distributed energy resource (DER) assets—such as rooftop photovoltaic solar panels, behind-the-meter batteries, or a fleet of electric vehicles—to deliver vital grid services and balance demand with supply to help utilities achieve mission-critical outcomes. As a guest on […]

A government-run development bank is expected to end its ban on investment in nuclear energy, a move that could allow U.S. companies to take a greater role in foreign nuclear power projects. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) as early as this week could lift its prohibition on supporting nuclear power. The DFC on […]

Germany’s plan to end coal-fired power generation in the country is now official, as both houses of the German parliament approved the plan to shut down the last coal units by 2038. Lawmakers signed off on the deal July 3. Environmental groups have supported the measure, though some say it does not go far enough […]

More than half of the population of Africa, or about 640 million people out of about 1.2 billion, does not have access to energy. It’s the lowest access rate for electricity worldwide. Bringing power to those people is important work, being led by people such as Damien Simon,  marketing and strategy director for Paris, France-based […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 2, 2020 Featured Hitachi Absorbs ABB Power Grids in New $10B Joint Venture Hitachi on July 1 commandeered a majority share of ABB’s lucrative Power Grids business and officially launched a joint venture company—Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The new company, which […]

Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan may be poised to end a decade-long dispute over waters from the River Nile, agreeing on June 27 to conclude trilateral negotiations and reach final agreement about the first filling and annual operation of the massive 6.4-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) within the next two weeks. The agreement announced on […]

The imperatives of maintenance management have always been maximizing the availability, quality, and effectiveness of the equipment. And all of these must be achieved at the lowest possible cost in terms of machine and material. According to a report, the maintenance of manufactured products costs more than 30% of the operating costs. Over the past […]

Hitachi on July 1 commandeered a majority share of ABB’s lucrative Power Grids business and officially launched a joint venture company—Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The new company, which already has a volume of about $10 billion, is expected to provide financial muscle to support ambitious projects and new business opportunities as the sector embraces decentralization […]

Two German energy heavyweights have completed an asset swap that will have a major impact on the global market for renewable energy. RWE and E.ON on July 1 closed a deal that had been months in the making, with RWE taking on the assets of Innogy, an E.ON subsidiary (and former RWE company), to make […]

Some experts have predicted there will be as many as 50 billion connected devices in service by the end of this year. That number basically includes all of the equipment, sensors, and gadgets around the world that together make up the internet of things (IoT). But how are they all connected, what allows them to […]

A California company that produces renewable hydrogen has joined with a Louisiana construction group on a project to build a modular waste-to-hydrogen production facility. Ways2H, based in Long Beach, California, and Ford, Bacon & Davis, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based engineering, procurement, and construction firm, on June 30 announced a joint effort to design and build […]

A Georgia power plant that has held the title of the largest coal-fired facility in the U.S. will give up that title by 2022, as the board of directors of a utility that owns a portion of the plant has agreed to a deal that will result in the closure of Unit 4 at the […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 29, 2020   Dear POWERnews subscriber, You may have noticed a new e-letter with the subject line “Best of POWER…” in your inbox a couple of weeks ago and again today. This new offering is our attempt to keep you abreast […]

The last operating reactor at France’s oldest nuclear power plant is scheduled to shut down June 30, some 43 years after the plant entered commercial operation. The French government, though, on June 27 ruled out further full closures of nuclear plants, according to Reuters, which cited sources in the country’s energy ministry. France had said […]