POWERnews

A renewable energy project in eastern Oregon is being touted as the first in the U.S. to combine wind and solar power with battery storage. Portland General Electric (PGE) plans to build the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility just north of Lexington, Oregon, the company announced last week. The utility is developing the 380-MW project with […]

The Gustav Knepper power plant in Dortmund-Mengede, Germany, was leveled by two controlled explosions on February 17. The facility had been closed for five years. The plant’s boiler house was brought down first. A 210-meter chimney and 128-meter cooling tower were leveled in a second blast, about 45 minutes after the first. The German YouTube […]

February 14, 2019 California Governor Wants ‘Strike Team’ to Develop Utility Plan California Governor Gavin Newsom on February 12 said the state has formed a “strike team” as it works to develop plans to help not only utility ratepayers but also utility… Read More TVA Mulls Coal Plant Closures, Trump Urges Board to Consider All […]

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) appears to have snagged the lead in an intensifying competition in a mostly flat market for heavy-duty gas turbines of above 100 MW, but GE retained its lead both for overall installed gas turbine capacity and units in 2018, a much-watched industry ranking suggests. Data from McCoy Power Reports’ latest […]

Pennsylvania, the nation’s second-largest nuclear power-producing state, is now definitively a battleground for nuclear power subsidies.  Last week, in two memos that were circulated in the state House and Senate, seven lawmakers signaled they would soon introduce legislation that would update a 2004 state law—the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS)—to include nuclear power. The law […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is holding a board meeting today, during which the fate of the corporate agency’s Bull Run and Paradise Unit 3 coal power plants could be decided. Permanent closure of the facilities is strongly being considered. The stakes are high, according to Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R). In a Jan. 4 […]

Some combined cycle plants have two feedwater-control valves: a small startup valve with the extra cavitation protection needed during startup and low-load operations, and a larger main valve with the high flow capacity needed during full-load ops. This design is intended to yield a longer service life of these valves. However, as the plant ages, […]

California Governor Gavin Newsom on February 12 said the state has formed a “strike team” as it works to develop plans to help not only utility ratepayers but also utility employees. The move comes in the wake of the bankruptcy filing by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) as the state’s largest utility deals with its […]

Some high-tech security features meant to protect U.S. power plants from physical attack may not be as effective as good old-fashioned fences and concrete, according to a Georgia Institute of Technology graduate who modeled security measures in a computer simulation while earning her PhD in Public Policy. Jenna McGrath, who graduated in December 2018, published […]

COMMENTARY Launched last week by New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the “Green New Deal” appears to pick up where President Franklin Roosevelt left off with his “Second Bill of Rights” announced in his 1944 State of the Union Address1. More manifesto than mandate, the Green New Deal seeks to be a lens through which legislators’ […]

Multibillion-dollar energy deals that both Siemens and General Electric (GE) signed with the Iraqi government last year may not come to fruition, according to the country’s electricity minister. The Financial Times on February 10 reported that Luay Al-Khatteeb, who took his post late last year after the deals were brokered, told the newspaper, “I don’t […]

February 7, 2019 Financial and Gas Turbine Blade Troubles Plague GE Power GE Power’s financials spun out further on a dismal trajectory during the fourth quarter of 2018, plagued by slack market demand for products and services, technical glitches of a flagship… Read More Decarbonization, Electrification Key Among 8 Priorities for U.S. Investor-Owned Power Companies  […]

GE Power’s financials spun out further on a dismal trajectory during the fourth quarter of 2018, plagued by slack market demand for products and services, technical glitches of a flagship gas turbine model, and poor project execution. Despite a series of divestments and corporate reshuffles, including of leadership, for the 12 months that ended on […]

In line with customer preferences, U.S. investor-owned electric companies are heavily invested in decarbonization and electrification, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) told Wall Street analysts and bankers on Feb. 6. In its annual presentation to potential investors and industry observers, the trade association that represents U.S. investor-owned electric companies lamented a number of uncertainties affecting […]

Paul DeCotis, senior director in West Monroe Partners’ Energy and Utilities practice, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. West Monroe, in partnership with Greentech Media, conducted a survey of more than 1,700 utility customers, 140 utility executives and managers, and more than two dozen regulators in major markets across North America. Its findings were […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) want to explore how federal and state authorities could incentivize cybersecurity and physical security in the power and natural gas sectors. The agencies issued a notice on Feb. 4 announcing they would jointly hold a technical conference on Thursday, March 28, 2019, from […]

Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO), which is phasing out coal-fired power as part of its “Your Energy, Your Future” plan announced late last year, on Feb. 1 said it will develop three new wind farm projects in the state that will add about 800 MW of renewable power generation capacity to its portfolio. The […]

January 31, 2019 Colstrip Power Plant Threatened by Westmoreland Bankruptcy The Colstrip Power Plant, a four-unit, 2,094-MW coal-fired station located about 100 miles east of Billings, Montana, could see its coal supply contract nullified as a result of Westmoreland Coal… Read More Sponsored Content Piping Solutions Using Non-Welded Connections For hydropower and dams, welding has […]

Brutally cold temperatures in the midwestern and northeastern U.S. spurred grid operator alerts as natural gas demand has surged, power prices have soared, and there have been forced generator outages.  The polar vortex, an extreme cold event characterized by back-to-back cold fronts, has so far prompted states of emergency in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. On […]

The Colstrip Power Plant, a four-unit, 2,094-MW coal-fired station located about 100 miles east of Billings, Montana, could see its coal supply contract nullified as a result of Westmoreland Coal Co.’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Westmoreland operates the 25,000-acre Rosebud coal mine, among others. Rosebud is adjacent to the Colstrip plant and supplies almost all […]

GE has announced it will integrate its renewables, grid, and energy storage assets into a simplified, single business that nearly doubles the size of its Renewable Energy division, as the company banks on the accelerated uptake of grid-connected renewables worldwide.  The expansion will see GE’s grid solutions, solar solutions, and storage businesses move from GE […]

California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 29, as the company faces as much as $30 billion in potential liabilities for its role in a series of wildfires in the state. The filing was expected after the company notified its workers two weeks ago it was preparing a […]

Small modular reactors (SMRs) are becoming a technology of choice among those who continue to push nuclear power as a zero-emissions source of generation. The collapse of plans to build new large reactors in the UK has meant companies there are looking at SMRs in an effort to keep that country’s nuclear power program viable. […]

Laura Stern, co-founder and president of Nautilus Solar Energy, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. Founded in 2006, Nautilus is a leading acquirer, developer, and operator of community solar projects. During the past five months, the company has acquired community solar projects in Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, and Rhode Island. Community solar refers […]

A final rule the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plans to publish this spring to replace pivotal actions it issued after the Fukushima accident will require U.S. nuclear generators to ensure they can mitigate severe events at reactors within a two-year compliance timeframe. More than three years after it was proposed, the NRC’s five commissioners on […]

Shares of beleaguered California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) soared on Jan. 24 after a state agency said the company bore no responsibility for a 2017 wildfire in the state. A statement from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) on Thursday said, “After an extensive and thorough investigation, Cal Fire […]

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) has again told New Jersey officials it needs subsidies to continue operating its three nuclear power units in the state, reiterating that without financial help it will begin closing its Hope Creek Generating Station and Salem Nuclear Power Plant as early as 2022. The three reactors are the only remaining […]

January 24, 2019 PG&E: Judge’s Proposal Could Cost Utility $150 Billion Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on Jan. 23 said a federal judge’s proposal that the utility mitigate fire danger in its service territory by trimming trees, along with inspecting and… Read More Sponsored Content On February 19-21, the 3rd Annual Connected Plant Conference will […]

Power companies worldwide are struggling to balance talent shortages with changing skills needed for an increasingly digitalized business, the newly released Global Energy Talent Index (GETI) suggests.  The Jan. 22–released annual energy recruitment and employment trends report by Airswift, a global energy workforce provider, and Energy Jobline, an online jobsite dedicated to the energy and […]

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on Jan. 23 said a federal judge’s proposal that the utility mitigate fire danger in its service territory by trimming trees, along with inspecting and repairing thousands of miles of power lines, could cost the company as much as $150 billion this year. William Alsup, a judge in the U.S. […]