POWERnews

Asset owners want to get the most out of their solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, which is why many today are adding energy storage to an installation or upgrading a project through repowering. Companies working in the space recognize that both new and older solar power systems can be optimized, thanks to innovative technologies and new […]

X-energy will demonstrate its four-unit 320-MWe Xe-100 advanced nuclear reactor facility under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) at a Dow site in the U.S. Gulf Coast region by the end of the decade—not in Washington State as originally planned. The shakeup stems from a joint development agreement (JDA) the nuclear […]

A California-based group said it has completed the first-ever hydrogen-boron fusion experiments to produce a sustainable fuel for utility-scale fusion power. TAE Technologies on Feb. 28, in a peer-reviewed paper published by the scientific journal Nature Communications, said its research supports the path to providing electricity from nuclear reactors fueled with hydrogen-boron, also known as […]

Madagascar has significant hydropower potential, but to date less than 20% of the country’s energy comes from hydroelectric facilities. The Economic Development Agency of Madagascar (EDBM) estimates the island nation, located in the Indian Ocean off the cost of Southeast Africa, could produce as much as 7.8 GW of power from hydro resources, but at […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 27, 2023 European Project Launches to Demonstrate High-Volume Hydrogen Gas Turbine Combustion Ansaldo Energia and partners have kicked off the FLEX4H2, a four-year project to design, develop, and validate a highly fuel-flexible gas turbine combustion system based on Ansaldo’s sequential combustion […]

A new report from a two global energy research groups found that China last year approved its most new coal-fired power generation projects since 2015. The report from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) shows the Chinese government approved permits for 106 GW of new coal-fired […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 23, 2023 Biden Administration Announces First Offshore Wind Lease Sales for Gulf of Mexico The Biden administration on Feb. 22 announced the first-ever lease sale for offshore wind power development in the Gulf of Mexico. The Dept. of the Interior, through […]

The global market for energy storage is driven by several factors, with power producers continually looking for ways to improve their storage systems and enhance performance. Battery technologies for energy storage are becoming more important as project developers look for ways to control costs and optimize battery energy storage systems (BESS). Advancing technology supports lowering […]

Ammonia could be a potentially lower-cost alternative fuel for gas turbines in Japan than liquid hydrogen if the full import value stream is considered, suggests a joint study between GE Gas Power and Japanese heavy industry manufacturer IHI Corp. As part of the year-long study, the companies mapped a value stream for hydrogen and ammonia […]

Indonesia’s efforts to decarbonize the country’s power generation sector took a major step on Feb. 22 as the government launched the first phase of mandatory carbon trading for coal-fired power plants. Officials in the capital of Jakarta have said they want to increase electricity production from renewable energy resources and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by […]

The Biden administration on Feb. 22 announced the first-ever lease sale for offshore wind power development in the Gulf of Mexico. The Dept. of the Interior, through its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), said it would open more than 300,000 acres in the Gulf, an area that long has been a major part of […]

The first phase of a new natural gas-fired power plant has been brought online in the Dominican Republic (DR), a project designed to support demand for electricity across the island nation. The SIBA Energy plant, located in Boca Chica in Santo Domingo province, is owned by a consortium led by SIBA Energy Corp. The group […]

Westinghouse and Poland’s Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe (PEJ) have finalized a contract for pre-design work on what would be that country’s first nuclear power plant (NPP). The agreement announced Feb. 22 moves forward a project that began late last year when Westinghouse was selected by the Polish government to build a nuclear plant using AP1000 reactor […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has broken ground on the Generation 3 Particle Pilot Plant (G3P3), a novel concentrating solar power (CSP) facility at Sandia National Laboratory that will use sand-like ceramic particles instead of molten salt to produce and store high-temperature energy. When completed in 2024, the “multi-megawatt” solar thermal pilot project will utilize an existing […]

The joint venture (JV) of an Irish energy developer and two Spanish companies has announced its second large floating offshore wind project. IberBlue Wind, a JV created to develop gigascale arrays in waters near the Iberian Peninsula, on Feb. 17 said it would build a 990-MW project off the coast of Figueira da Foz. IberBlue, […]

The market for energy storage projects continues to grow as utilities recognize the benefits of storage for demand response, along with the integration of renewable energy resources to the power grid. Incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for standalone storage provide even more support for the sector. Storage companies are growing, and more deals […]

The aging energy grid is in need of an upgrade. Converging challenges, such as distributed energy resources, electric vehicles and frequent extreme weather events, are pushing our infrastructure—some of which is over a half a century old—to the limit. As grid modernization efforts move full steam ahead to meet these challenges, security implications are often […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 16, 2023 Vogtle Unit 3 In-Service Date Slides to May or June Southern Company said in its annual report filing issued on Feb. 16 that remediating certain equipment and component issues will force the projected in-service date for Plant Vogtle Unit […]

Ansaldo Energia and partners have kicked off the FLEX4H2, a four-year project to design, develop, and validate a highly fuel-flexible gas turbine combustion system based on Ansaldo’s sequential combustion technology that will be capable of operating with up to 100% hydrogen. The FLEX4H2 (or Flexibility for Hydrogen) officially began on Jan. 1 and will run […]

Southern Company said in its annual report filing issued on Feb. 16 that remediating certain equipment and component issues will force the projected in-service date for Plant Vogtle Unit 3 to be pushed out to May or June 2023. “The projected schedule for Unit 3 primarily depends on the progression of final component and pre-operational […]

Three major electric power trade groups in a letter on Feb. 15 urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to reconsider proposed energy efficiency conservation standards for distribution transformers, citing “severe and ongoing supply chain challenges that have prolonged and complicated distribution transformer production and availability.” The letter was sent ahead of a public meeting scheduled […]

A new report issued this week by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) says hydropower, which is already the largest source of renewable electricity in the world, must double in capacity if the world is to meet the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement by 2050. The report says installed hydro capacity must reach […]

Physical security at power plants has received renewed concern of late, owing to a spate of gunfire vandalism events in the U.S. However, power plants have long-fielded several other physical security risks, including from terrorism, sabotage, natural disasters, insider threats, and physical breaches. Power plants have typically employed a set of physical security tools, such […]

A diverse mix of companies and experts in the solar power and energy storage sectors are in Long Beach, California, this week for the annual Intersolar North America (ISNA) and Energy Storage North America (ESNA) conference. The event, which is supported and attended by POWER, provides a look at the latest innovations in solar and […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 13, 2023 GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 Small Modular Reactor Gets Another Win Fermi Energia, a privately held company formed to develop a small modular reactor (SMR) in Estonia, announced that it has selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 design for deployment.… […]

Two more units at a natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Iran are producing electricity for the country’s national grid. The Mahtab Kavir plant in Zarand County in Kerman Province now has total power generation capacity of 484 MW after the two new 162-MW units were synchronized with the grid on Feb. 9. The […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 9, 2023 Centrus Competes Construction, Initial Testing of HALEU Demonstration Cascade Marking a major milestone, Centrus Energy—a firm under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) with domestic technology—on Feb. 9 said… […]

Marking a major milestone, Centrus Energy—a firm under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) with domestic technology—on Feb. 9 said it completed construction and initial testing of its advanced uranium enrichment centrifuge cascade as well as most of its associated support systems. Once the company […]

Kenya is readying to kick off construction of the 35-MW Menengai geothermal power project in Nakuru County as part of the first phase of the wider Menengai complex, the country’s second large-scale geothermal field developed after Olkaria. The project is being developed by Globeleq, an Africa-focused independent power producer and project developer that is 70% […]

Fermi Energia, a privately held company formed to develop a small modular reactor (SMR) in Estonia, announced that it has selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 design for deployment. Kalev Kallemets, CEO of Fermi Energia, said in September last year that the company’s nuclear technology selection process had begun in 2019, with a mapping […]