POWERnews
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Commentary
Power of Integration—Users Shaping Future of Distributed Control Systems
As plant owners accelerate the Industry 4.0 digital transformation, attention is increasingly being focused on the evolution of Distributed Control Systems (DCS) to enable them to become more flexible and adaptable. There are many key initiatives that are helping to set the standard for systems offering new levels of openness, security and interoperability. COMMENTARY Originally […]
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Power
Is Delivering 100% Renewable Energy on an Hourly Basis at Cost-Competitive Rates Achievable?
Cynics might argue that it’s impossible to operate the power grid economically with 100% renewable energy on an hourly basis, but a model developed by Peninsula Clean Energy, a community choice aggregation agency that serves San Mateo County and the City of Los Banos, California, suggests it’s possible—at least in its little slice of the […]
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Best of POWER—January 30, 2023
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store January 30, 2023 NRC Rejects New Review of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Operating Extension The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has denied a request from California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to renew a review of an operating license application for […]
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POWERnews—Jan. 26, 2023
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store January 26, 2023 NRC Rejects New Review of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Operating Extension The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has denied a request from California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to renew a review of an operating license application for […]
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T&D
Ukrainian Workers Fight to Keep Power Available for Critical Infrastructure and War-Stricken Communities
With Russian forces having damaged many power plants and power lines in parts of Ukraine, linemen and plant workers have persevered, repairing and rebuilding equipment and systems needed to keep the lights on and critical facilities in operation. But the job is not easy, and much of the country’s power generation capacity is currently unavailable. […]
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Legal & Regulatory
EPA Moves to Deny Coal Ash Disposal at Six Massive Coal Power Plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed barring six coal-fired power plants in various states—a combined 11 GW—from disposing coal ash into unlined surface impoundments. The agency, however, also proposed to provide disposal extensions if the coal plants are needed to maintain grid reliability. The EPA’s proposed determinations, issued on Jan. 25, fall under its […]
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Management
FPL CEO Retiring Amid Probe Into Utility’s Political Actions
The president and CEO of Florida Power & Light (FPL) announced he will step down from his role as leader of the utility. Eric Silagy, who became FPL’s president in 2011 and was named CEO in 2014, on Jan. 25 said he will move into a transitional role with the utility next month. Silagy, 57, […]
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Energy Storage
Milestone for Major Pumped Hydro Storage Project in Wyoming
A Utah-based company is developing a pumped hydro energy storage project in the heart of coal country, one of several renewable energy deployments being sited in Wyoming in an effort to diversify that state’s energy and power portfolio. Officials with the 900-MW Seminoe Pumped Storage Project, being developed by rPlus Hydro, part of rPlus Energies, […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Benefits of Adding Storage to Solar Power Systems
Utilizing energy storage with a solar power system is a way for power generators to help balance the supply of energy with demand for electricity. Energy storage can be used during periods when the sun isn’t shining, and it also help support periods of high demand for power along the grid. Many residential and commercial […]
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Nuclear
Oklo Readying to Deploy Commercial-Scale Nuclear Fuel Recycling Facility
Oklo has kicked off regulatory activities for a first-of-its-kind nuclear fuel recycling facility that could produce commercial material from used light water reactor (LWR) fuel before the decade’s end. The advanced nuclear technology firm in December submitted a licensing project plan (LPP) to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its Fuel Recycling Technologies facility. The […]
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Nuclear
NRC Rejects New Review of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Operating Extension
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has denied a request from California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to renew a review of an operating license application for the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. The move at least temporarily puts on hold plans to extend the operation of two reactors at Diablo Canyon, the last operating […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Abu Dhabi’s Plan for Renewable Energy in the UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in the midst of an energy transition, moving away from its nearly exclusive use of natural gas-fired power generation to a strategy based on renewable energy resources. The country has an abundance of natural gas, and it also has significant solar power potential. The UAE also is adding nuclear […]
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Coal
Texas Utility Will Close Remaining Coal-Fired Units
The largest municipally-owned electric and gas utility in the U.S. will close its remaining coal-fired power units by 2030. The board of trustees for San Antonio, Texas-based CPS Energy on Jan. 23 voted 4-1 to approve a plan to shutter the last two coal-burning units at the J.K. Spruce power plant. The plan, known as […]
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Coal
Group Says China Will Add 70 GW of Coal- and Gas-Fired Generation in 2023
A lobbying group for China’s power generation sector said the country will add about 70 GW of fossil fuel-powered capacity this year, even as renewable energy is set to provide more than half of China’s electricity production in 2023. The China Electricity Council in a report published Jan. 19 said the 70 GW of new […]
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Solar
Power for the People: Community Solar Project Achieves High Efficiency and Good Return on Investment
A 6.2-MW solar farm in Foster, Rhode Island, provides 3.35 GWh per year of clean, renewable energy for more than 700 community solar subscribers. The state of Rhode Island has ambitious targets for renewable energy production, including from solar. Many residents—especially those with the most to gain from cost-savings linked to solar power—are unable to […]
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Commentary
The Energy Transition: What Is Needed to Achieve Clean Energy Goals
As fuel and power price volatility continues across the U.S., the push to transition away from fossil fuels to lower-cost renewable, clean energy intensifies. But in order to reach President Biden’s goal of 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035, utilities, developers, and regulators need to align and work together to improve the interconnection process. COMMENTARY Though […]
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POWERnews—Jan. 19, 2023
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store January 19, 2023 Fast Neutron Reactor Installed at Russian Research Facility Workers at the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (RIAR) in Dimitrovgrad, Russia, have installed what they call the world’s largest multipurpose fast neutron research reactor, or MBIR, at the site.… Third […]
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Nuclear
Fast Neutron Reactor Installed at Russian Research Facility
Workers at the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (RIAR) in Dimitrovgrad, Russia, have installed what they call the world’s largest multipurpose fast neutron research reactor, or MBIR, at the site. The group on Jan. 18 said the installation of the MBIR, a milestone in the assembly of the reactor facility, was completed 16 months ahead […]
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Coal
140 Workers Cut Permanently with Sammis Coal Plant Closure
Workers at the W.H. Sammis coal-fired power plant have been notified that a mass layoff will begin “sometime between March 14, 2023, and April 14, 2023.” The announcement was made public through a letter Energy Harbor Corp., owner of the plant, sent to the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services, as required under the […]
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News
Third North Carolina Power Substation Targeted by Gunfire as BPS Physical Security Concerns Mount
A third power substation has been damaged by gunfire in North Carolina, prompting an FBI investigation. The incident on Jan. 17 is part of a spate of gunfire vandalism that has renewed physical security concerns at a federal level. The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office in Thomasville, central North Carolina, said the latest incident, believed to […]
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Hydrogen
Japan’s Largest Power Generator Signs Deals in Pursuit of Ammonia for Coal Power Plant Co-Firing Project
JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s largest power generation company, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) “for potential collaboration for the joint project development and sales & purchase of clean ammonia” with CF Industries Holdings Inc., the world’s largest producer of ammonia. Under the MOU, JERA and CF Industries have agreed “to jointly study […]
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Offshore Wind
Ørsted Buys PSEG Stake in Offshore Wind Project, Announces Major Texas Solar Farm
Danish energy developer Ørsted continues to expand its presence in the U.S. market, with the company on Jan. 18 announcing it has signed a deal to acquire Public Service Enterprise Group’s (PSEG’s) 25% stake in the 1.1-GW Ocean Wind 1 project about 15 miles off the coast of New Jersey. The move will give Ørsted […]
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T&D
New Mexico Transmission Line Will Support Renewable Energy Development
A major power transmission project will proceed in New Mexico after a regulatory group approved a public-private partnership for development of a 400-mile high-voltage direct current line. The New Mexico North Path project could move as much as 4 GW of renewable energy from sites in northeastern New Mexico to the state’s Four Corners region, […]
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Nuclear
South Korean President: Country Needs More Nuclear Power
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his country’s push to be carbon-neutral by 2050 must include construction of more nuclear power generation, in a reversal of his predecessor’s call to move away from the technology. Yoon, speaking Jan. 16 at an event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said his country would renew its […]
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Best of POWER—January 17, 2023
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store January 17, 2023 Pipe Issue Delays Startup of New Vogtle Nuclear Unit Startup of the first of two new reactors at the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia is being pushed back to at least April, one month after officials with Georgia Power… […]
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Gas
Energy Storage Being Added to California Gas-Fired Peaker Plants
A North Carolina-based group that provides battery energy storage and software technology is set to co-locate 420 MWh of storage at four natural gas-fired facilities in California. Durham-headquartered FlexGen Power Systems on Jan. 17 said it would provide energy storage to Middle River Power (MRP), a Chicago, Illinois-based independent power company. MRP was created in […]
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Coal
Watch Implosion Topple Florida Coal-Fired Plant
A six-month-long project to demolish the last coal-fired unit at Lakeland Electric’s C.D. McIntosh Power Plant in Lakeland, Florida, reached a milestone on Jan. 14 with the implosion of the facility’s 260-foot stack and 90-foot selective catalytic reduction unit (video below). Unit 3 at McIntosh, the plant’s last operating coal-fired unit, was closed in 2021, […]
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Nuclear
Officials Give Go-Ahead for UK-Based Fusion Power Project
A prototype fusion power plant designed by a UK-based architectural and design firm has been approved by local regulators. The South Oxfordshire District Council’s planning committee on Jan. 11 gave the go-ahead to a project led by renowned architect Amanda Levete. Levete’s AL_A group is expected to build the prototype, developed by Canada’s General Fusion, […]
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POWERnews—Jan. 12, 2023
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store January 12, 2023 Pipe Issue Delays Startup of New Vogtle Nuclear Unit Startup of the first of two new reactors at the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia is being pushed back to at least April, one month after officials with Georgia Power… […]
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Ocean/Marine
Pioneering U.S. Wave Energy Power Plant Unveiled
One of the first U.S.-based wave energy power plants is set to be deployed at AltaSea’s 35-acre campus located at the Port of Los Angeles. Israeli firm Eco Wave Power, which unveiled the project on Jan. 12, said the AltaSea pilot would help the company make inroads in the U.S. Eco Wave’s onshore wave energy […]