POWERnews

Most new utility-scale renewable energy projects, such as installations of solar and wind generation, are now including battery storage.  The growing trend of integrating storage is making such projects more financially attractive, as it enhances the generation profile of the installation. Storage helps smooth the power supply, enabling electricity to flow from a project even […]

Increasing the reliability and resiliency of the electricity supply is a focus of today’s power generation industry. In concert with that, more and more utilities, companies, and institutions are establishing internal clean energy goals, wanting to reduce their carbon footprint while ensuring a consistent supply of power for their operations. An (date) session of Experience […]

As many as 179 million Americans are at risk of losing utility services as the country heads toward winter, and electric and gas utility companies are looking at $24.3 billion in unpaid bills, according to an analysis released Oct. 1 by the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA). Many utilities at the start of the […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   October 1, 2020 Vistra Shuttering More Coal, Adding Solar and Storage Vistra has announced seven new renewable energy projects that will add about 1,000 MW of solar and energy storage to the company’s generation fleet. The company also said it would… Despite […]

President Trump’s action to ban oil and gas drilling off the East Coast and through much of the Gulf of Mexico also eliminates leases for offshore wind farms, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Trump earlier this month issued two memos withdrawing the potential to lease land for oil and gas extraction on […]

Developing a power plant safety culture takes time and constant effort, but the payoff is priceless, safety leaders at three major power companies said during a morning session at the Experience POWER virtual event on Sept. 30.  Jeffrey Mullins, safety and health consultant for the 2.6-GW coal-fired Gavin Power Plant owned by Lightstone Generation, kicked […]

Distributed energy resources (DERs) are physical and virtual assets that are deployed across the power distribution grid. They are typically close to load, and though they initially began as behind-the-meter assets, today may be as likely to be deployed in front of the meter. DERs include renewable energy, and are the key component in microgrids, […]

Asia now accounts for the most growth in renewable electricity generation, at a whopping 40% of the global production, while Europe and North America are each at 20%, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Particularly, solar power was at its peak at the start of 2020, with a record-breaking first quarter in the […]

If you’ve worked in the maintenance department at a power plant, you know how important planning and scheduling are to success. There’s an old saying that goes, “plan the work, and work the plan.” Effective teams do that well, but it’s not easy. “Planning drives scheduling, not surprisingly, but planning is not scheduling,” Keith Berriman, […]

Vistra has announced seven new renewable energy projects that will add about 1,000 MW of solar and energy storage to the company’s generation fleet. The company also said it would retire its coal-fired power plants in Illinois and Ohio as part of an effort to reduce carbon emissions as it established new long-term emissions reduction […]

The digitalization of power generation includes many new technologies, all designed to increase efficiency, along with reliability and resiliency. A group of energy industry experts came together Sept. 30 at Experience POWER, the virtual event supported by POWER magazine, to discuss “Microgrids and DERs—Leveraging the Benefits.” The session explored how data analytics and the Industrial […]

A team of innovators from Consolidated Edison (ConEd) took home the Real-World Safety Solutions award during the Experience POWER event on Sept. 28. The invention the group created is called a Cubical Inspection and Repair Safety (CIRS) device. The team that designed and developed the solution includes Eric Fell, senior safety specialist with ConEd; Joe […]

The U.S. power industry lacks forward-looking ways to measure grid resiliency and traditional reliability metrics could become irrelevant as more intermittent generation inundates the bulk power system. But rather than continually looking backward to learn from ever-increasing emergencies or close-shaves, power system operators must work to cultivate a balanced portfolio that considers all aspects of […]

Distributed energy resources (DERs) have become a major part of today’s power generation landscape. DERs are physical and virtual assets that are deployed across the grid. They are typically close to load, and can be deployed both in front of and behind the meter. Bill Strohecker, Country Managing Director, Canada, for Hitachi ABB Power Grids, […]

Winners of individual and team awards were revealed at Experience POWER as the virtual event kicked into full swing on Sept. 28. Among the recipients were a number of exceptional leaders and innovators drawn from the power industry. Top Young Professional. Meriem Bellizim, senior manager, Business Development, ACWA Power, was chosen as 2020’s Top Young […]

Technological innovation has forever been part of the power generation sector, as electricity producers strive for more efficient and more economic ways to deliver power. The POWER magazine editorial staff, in a “State of the Industry” presentation on Sept. 28 to open the virtual 2020 Experience POWER conference, identified four trends in power generation that […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   September 28, 2020 Former SpaceX Engineers Tout New Microreactor A California company is gathering funding for development of a portable nuclear microreactor, designed for use in areas where other forms of power generation are not practical. Radiant, founded by… Entergy Moves Heavily […]

Chinese President Xi Jinping said he wants his country to “achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.” It will not be an easy task for the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG). China, though it has canceled some planned thermal power plants over the past several years, has as much as 200 GW of coal-fired facilities […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   September 24, 2020 Former SpaceX Engineers Tout New Microreactor A California company is gathering funding for development of a portable nuclear microreactor, designed for use in areas where other forms of power generation are not practical. Radiant, founded by… GE Throws in […]

The Versatile Test Reactor (VTR), a planned experimental fast neutron reactor that the Department of Energy (DOE) says is crucial to support domestic advanced nuclear reactor research and development has cleared “Critical Decision 1,” paving the way for the engineering design phase to begin. Critical Decision 1—also known as “Approve Alternative Selection and Cost Range”—is […]

What is a “Smart City”? According to one definition, it’s an urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect data, with insights gained from that data used to manage assets, resources, and services efficiently. Clint Vince, chair of Dentons’ U.S. Energy Practice and co-chair of Dentons’ Global Energy Sector, was […]

Marking another major federal effort to address potential supply chain risks to the bulk power system (BPS), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Sept. 17 sought industry’s perspective on a number of important considerations, including possible actions the regulatory body could take to address security gaps. The U.S.-based power sector, meanwhile, has moved quickly […]

Entergy Corp., an integrated energy company with a 30-GW power generating fleet, took a bold step toward decarbonization on Sept. 23, announcing it would join forces with Mitsubishi Power to integrate green hydrogen into utility businesses in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.  Entergy will focus on developing hydrogen-capable combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) facilities and […]

A California company is gathering funding for development of a portable nuclear microreactor, designed for use in areas where other forms of power generation are not practical. Radiant, founded by former SpaceX engineers, on Sept. 22 said it has raised $1.2 million from angel investors as it designs what the company calls a “clean energy […]

GE said it will exit the new-build coal power market, subject to applicable consultation requirements. “GE’s Steam Power business will work with customers on existing obligations as it pursues this exit, which may include divestitures, site closings, job impacts and appropriate considerations for publicly held subsidiaries,” the company said in a Sept. 21 announcement. It […]

The electric power sector in the United States has a long history of facing threats to our infrastructure—whether they are natural or man‐made. While cyberthreats are indeed much more complex, particularly when you consider that some of our cyber adversaries are nation states, the industry has a strong foundation of preparedness, resilience, and response. Though […]

“Tedious.” If you ask electric utilities for one word on powerline inspection, that would probably be it. “Time-consuming” and “expensive” would probably also feature. Yet, “vital” would be just as valid: there is no way to safely operate a transmission and distribution network without inspecting lines for damage or risk from factors such as vegetation. […]

The Texas power market made headlines in August 2019 when wholesale prices for electricity repeatedly spiked close to and even hit the $9,000-per-megawatt-hour (MWh) cap. This August, average hourly prices peaked at “just” $1,700 per MWh, the afternoon of Aug. 15. There were many reasons for the reduced price volatility in Texas this year. First, […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   September 17, 2020 DOE-Backed Hydrogen Project Underway in Texas A California energy company is collaborating with its parent and the University of Texas on a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) project to show that renewable hydrogen can be a… Hitachi Out of […]

The use of coal for North American power generation will continue to decline, natural gas will continue as the leading source of power, and the use of renewable resources to provide electricity will continue to grow, according to a report from Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The outlook, titled “North America Power Reference Case: Spring 2020” […]