POWERnews

A successful clean energy transition depends on maximizing output and minimizing the costs of renewable investments.In particular, wind turbines are highly effective assets but require frequent detailed inspections and maintenance to ensure they are fully operational and maximize their energy production. This can be ‘easier said than done’ for many wind turbine owners and operations […]

Marking a significant inroad to establish a South Korean foothold in the world’s gas turbine technology market, heavy industrial company Doosan Enerbility this summer began commercial operation of its first

The U.S. Air Force’s first nuclear microreactor planned for Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska under a federal nuclear microreactor pilot program will be an Oklo liquid metal-cooled fast reactor. The Defense of Logistics Agency (DLA), acting on behalf of the Department of Air Force (DAF), on Aug. 31 issued a Notice of Intent to Award […]

An innovative battery energy storage project, using a non-lithium technology, will be deployed at a research center in Arizona. Salt River Project (SRP), the state’s community-based, not-for-profit public power utility, and Germany’s CMBlu Energy, which designs and manufactures energy storage systems, on August 31 announced a pilot project for a 5-MW, 10-hour, long duration energy […]

A 200-MW onshore wind farm project is under construction in Texas, an installation that will add to the state’s U.S.-leading renewable energy portfolio. RWE, a German multinational energy provider, on August 31 said the Montgomery Ranch Wind Farm is being built in Foard County. The company said it the project will increase RWE’s installed wind […]

Kenya’s government is pinning a nationwide blackout on Aug. 25 to the loss of 270 MW from the 310-MW Lake Turkana Wind Power Plant (LTWP), though the wind generator has denied it was the cause. The blackout, which lasted more than 20 hours, began at about 9:45 p.m. on Friday, plunging the East African country’s […]

A number of companies with ties to the power industry revealed new projects and other interesting developments this week. The following are some the more noteworthy announcements that POWER has been monitoring. BWXT to Manufacture HALEU Feedstock for Advanced Reactors BWX Technologies Inc. announced on Aug. 30 that it had entered into a contract to […]

While power outages are not uncommon in the U.S., widespread blackouts that last more than a couple of hours are pretty rare. However, this summer marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most significant blackouts in North American history. The incident didn’t just affect the U.S., but also major parts of Canada. The blackout […]

Energy transition is progressively being adopted globally, pushing combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) to embrace flexible operation also on islands. CCGTs are, or will be, ramping loads up and down to accommodate intermittent renewable power inputs into the grid. These maneuvers compromise operational stability and jeopardize plant availability. Plant trips on small to mid-size islands […]

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law just more than a one year ago, improves the economics for battery energy storage projects in the U.S. Standalone storage projects are now eligible for a 30% investment tax credit (ITC), a figure that could reach 70% with additional incentives around the use of domestic equipment, and […]

Centrus, a firm poised to demonstrate high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) production, will partner with microreactor technology developer Oklo on several pioneering steps to build out the HALEU front-end supply chain, including pivotal commercial deconversion capabilities. The landmark collaboration could also make Centrus one of Oklo’s first commercial power off-takers for two reactors planned in Southern […]

GE Vernova’s Gas Power division announced the start of commercial operations for a major natural gas-fired power plant in Chiba, Japan, following completion of equipment upgrades at the facility. The Futtsu Power Plant-Group 4, operated by JERA, Japan’s largest power generation group, features three GE 9HA.01 gas turbines. GE Vernova on August 28 said the […]

A California judge rejected a lawsuit from an environmental group seeking to keep Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) from extending the operating life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The judge on August 24 said a move by California lawmakers last year to extend the plant’s lifespan as part of the state’s regulatory oversight […]

Westinghouse Electric Company signed a long-term agreement with Slovenské elektrárne to license and supply VVER-440 fuel assemblies to its nuclear power plants in Slovakia. Westinghouse said the agreement “supports Slovakia’s energy security and diversification of nuclear fuel.” Slovakia has five operating nuclear reactors (Bohunice 3 and 4, and Mochovce 1, 2, and 3) and one […]

Hydrogen is a key ingredient in any country’s future energy plans. In the U.S. the hydrogen sector is on the launch pad, ready for liftoff. However, its trajectory hinges on a critical question: what criteria will be used to define “clean hydrogen”? “Clean” is not synonymous with “green” when talking about hydrogen, although the terms […]

The North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) will for the first time consider “energy policy” among five significant evolving and interdependent risks to grid reliability. In its latest biennial ERO Reliability Risk Priorities Report, the designated North American Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) identifies energy policy as a new risk priority alongside grid transformation, resilience to extreme […]

Canada’s federal government has committed C$74 million ($55 million) to support SaskPower’s potential deployment of a 300-MW small modular reactor (SMR) in the mid-2030s. Federal agency Natural Resources Canada on Aug. 19 confirmed that up to C$50 million is designated for SaskPower from the agency’s C$250 million Electricity Predevelopment Program. Another C$24 million will be […]

In 2021, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Director John Wagner set a lofty goal for the lab to achieve net-zero carbon emissions within 10 years. An uninformed observer might think that would be an easy task for an organization as focused on energy as INL, but it’s important to recognize that the lab is spread over […]

The International Energy Agency says electrification “means replacing technologies or processes that use fossil fuels, like internal combustion engines and gas boilers, with electrically-powered equivalents, such as electric vehicles or heat pumps. These replacements are typically more efficient, reducing energy demand, and have a growing impact on emissions as electricity generation is decarbonized.” The transition, […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in April of this year announced proposed regulations to tighten restrictions on tailpipe emissions for light and medium-duty vehicles and greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles beginning with the 2027 model year. In order to meet the new requirements, the proposed regulations could effectively require automakers to produce zero-emission […]

The writer Lewis Carroll famously said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” Well, the road the utility industry is currently on is perhaps the bumpiest and most circuitous one it has ever seen, and knowing where it is going, or needs to go, is paramount. Utilities find […]

In February 2021, more than 4 million people lost power for days on end throughout Texas. The now-infamous outage resulted from extreme winter weather the state’s power grid wasn’t prepared to handle. This incident is spurring power companies nationwide to get proactive about preparing for increasingly severe winters. What steps are they taking to safeguard […]

Coal, oil, and natural gas have a long history as the world’s primary energy sources. Many communities have sprung up around mines and drilling sites, and generations of people have relied on hardworking laborers to brave the cold, darkness, or rough seas to keep the lights on at home. As the world transitions to renewable […]

Two companies supporting different technologies in the energy sector have formed a joint venture to develop an industrial park in Virginia that could feature data centers powered by hydrogen gas generators and small modular reactors (SMRs). Green Energy Partners (GEP), a Pennsylvania-based group better known for its development of solar power, and IP3 International—a nuclear […]

Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) said the company’s new 1.2-GW Three Rivers Energy Center in Illinois has entered commercial operation. The natural gas-fired facility, built in collaboration with GE Vernova’s Gas Power business, features two generating blocks, each with a GE 7HA.02 gas turbine, an STF-A650 steam turbine, a W84 generator, and GE’s integrated Mark* Vle […]

Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is proceeding faster than anticipated even a year ago. Recent projections say EVs could account for 30 to 42 million light-duty vehicles on U.S. roads in 2030. That does not include municipal and school buses, delivery vans or medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which are also undergoing electrification. All will be new […]

American Electric Power (AEP), one of the nation’s largest power producers, has completed the sale of its 1,365-MW unregulated contracted renewables portfolio to an Invenergy-led consortium. IRG Acquisition Holdings (IRGAH)—a partnership between Invenergy, CDPQ, and funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners—confirmed the close of the transaction on Aug. 16 for a $1.5 billion enterprise value. […]

California has long been a leader in the U.S. solar industry, largely due to lucrative financial incentives encouraging adoption. Recently, the California Public Utilities Commission announced it will not be holding another hearing on net energy metering (NEM), confirming that recent changes made to the rules are permanent. In this question and answer article, Amir […]

New global renewable energy deployments are set to increase by more than 440 GW by the end of 2023, the largest increase to date. To put that into perspective, a power plant with a capacity of 1 GW could power approximately 876,000 households. So, this increase is expected to provide the renewable energy equivalent of a plant […]

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies have long been seen as a tool to tackle climate chaos, but the potential was largely theoretical. Two projects at Sleipner and Snohvit off the coast of Norway have been capturing and safely storing millions of tons of CO2 for 27 years and 15 years, respectively, but overall deployment has […]