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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 […]

Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is ready to make about $122 million available to establish what the DOE calls “innovation centers” for coal. Brouillette and the DOE on June 26 said these centers will focus on the manufacturing of value-added, carbon-based products from coal. The facilities also would work […]

Two coal plants operated by Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) will close early after the agency’s board voted June 26 to retire the facilities. The move will leave Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest utility, as the only group still operating coal-fired units in the state after 2030. The CSU board in a 7-2 vote Friday decided to […]

Gas-fired power generation in the U.S. remains the top source of electricity production, even as renewable energy continues to take market share. A POWER analysis of projects shows nearly 180 gas-fired units are either under construction or in development nationwide, with more than 2,000 gas-fired plants currently in operation. One of the most-recent plants to […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 25, 2020 Featured Three Big Players Work Together on Bulgarian Nuclear Plant Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom is working with Paris-based Framatome and GE Steam Power, which is headquartered in the U.S., to secure contracts to construct the Belene nuclear […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on June 23 accepted for formal review Centrus Energy Corp.’s application to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at its Piketon, Ohio, facility. The move marks a third major regulatory milestone for advanced nuclear over the past month. The NRC’s acceptance of Centrus’ application follows a 4-0 vote by the commission on […]

Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom is working with Paris-based Framatome and GE Steam Power, which is headquartered in the U.S., to secure contracts to construct the Belene nuclear power plant in northern Bulgaria near the Danube River, which forms the country’s border with Romania. An On-Again Off-Again History The Belene project has a long […]

A pilot hydrogen project has begun providing fuel for the gas turbines at a facility near Tokyo, Japan. Chiyoda Corp. on June 25 said the project using imported hydrogen is now powering generators at the Toa Oil Co. refinery in Kawasaki. Chiyoda, along with Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co., and Nippon Yusen, has been working […]

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the power sector has so far been immense, resulting in supply chain disruptions, labor constraints, construction delays, restrictions on business activities, and, crucially, financial challenges. But according to Dr. Colin Parris, senior vice president and chief technology officer (CTO) at GE Digital, the sector’s response has been adaptive, and digitalization […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it will provide loans and loan guarantees to rural electric cooperatives and utilities to build or improve infrastructure in 21 states. The funding was announced on June 22 and amounts to more than $1.6 billion, including nearly $386 million for investments in smart grid technology, which uses digital […]

Energy industry analysts have said government support will be needed to help the sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced legislation that includes measures to help the solar and energy storage industries. The $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill introduced in the House on June 22, known as […]

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has conditionally received an order for 100 units of its newly launched SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbine model—one of the largest wind turbine models ever introduced to date. The 14-MW units are to be installed at innogy’s proposed 1.4-GW Sofia Offshore Wind Farm in the UK starting in 2024. […]

Ancient Chinese fortune tellers used heated metal pokers to create cracks in bones or empty turtle shells. By reading the patterns in the cracks, they attempted to calm the unease that comes with the innate uncertainty of the world—especially the ancient world. They predicted the future and doled out advice that affected the fate and […]

A federal judge in California has approved Pacific Gas & Electric’s plan to exit bankruptcy, clearing the way for the utility to compensate victims of a series of wildfires in the state that left more than 100 people dead in 2017 and 2018.  The action by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali on June 20 authorized […]

A British company that manufactures a fuel that it says mimics coal said it “has received a significant endorsement” for the use of its product in the power generation sector. An analysis by Uniper Technologies said Helvellyn Group’s alternative fuel, known as SERF, “is technically suitable for use in large scale thermal power plants in […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 25, 2020 Featured Siemens Gamesa Has New Head After Terminating CEO Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has announced Andreas Nauen, who has led the growth of the company’s offshore wind power business, is taking over leadership of the company after the… […]

The first GE 7F gas turbine began commercial operation 30 years ago this month. Since coming on the market, more than 950 7F machines have been commissioned, including four 7F.04 units that entered service recently at Techint’s Norte III combined cycle power plant in Mexico. The 907-MW Norte III facility is located in the municipality […]