POWERnews

  • Cybersecurity: Power Industry–Led Vendor Software Assurance Inventory Launched

    Several major power companies have launched a software assurance database that will serve as a software bill of materials (SBOM) repository for the power industry. Part of a long-sought solution to address a critical supply chain cybersecurity risk, the collaborative effort announced on Feb. 8 seeks to help vendors identify and remediate vulnerabilities in software […]

  • Large Solar-Plus-Storage Project Underway in California Desert

    Construction of a major solar-plus-storage installation in California has been approved by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Desert Quartzite project, sited on about 3,000 acres near Blythe in eastern Riverside County, will feature a 300-MW solar array along with 600 MWh of energy storage. Desert Quartzite, being developed by EDF Renewables North […]

  • Accelerating the Transition to Green Energy with Product Lifecycle Management

    Rising concerns over climate change have caused a major shift in the energy ecosystem, away from fossil fuels and toward renewable, clean, and sustainable energy. Currently, the earth is about 1.1C warmer than in the late 1800s. As outlined in the Paris Agreement, the goal is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, limit global warming […]

  • DOE, NREL, EPRI Announce Program to Support Grid Integration of DERs

    The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) has announced a new competition designed to support the integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) into the nation’s power grid. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm unveiled the program Feb. 7 during a presentation to attendees of the DISTRIBUTECH 2023 event at the San Diego Convention Center in California. The program […]

  • Cutting Costs with Technology-Driven Improvements

    If you’ve been in the power industry workforce for any significant length of time, you may have asked your supervisor at some point “Why am I doing this?” regarding a task that you were assigned, only to have them respond, “We’ve always done it this way.” That’s because the power industry has a reputation for […]

  • Pakistan Inaugurates Third Reactor at Karachi Nuclear Plant

    The third unit of the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) in Pakistan was inaugurated by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Feb. 2, adding another 1.1 GW of power generation capacity to the country’s national grid. Pakistan, like other countries, is battling an ongoing energy crisis with a lack of generation capacity to meet current […]

  • POWERnews—Feb. 2, 2023

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 2, 2023 Siemens Gamesa Posts Nearly $1 Billion Quarterly Loss Siemens Gamesa chief executive Jochen Eickholt acknowledged equipment failures in both the company’s onshore and offshore wind turbines, leading to higher warranty provisions, contributed to a nearly $1 billion net… Major […]

  • First LNG-Fired CCGT Unit Begins Operation at JERA’s Giant Modernized Gas Plant in Japan 

    Japanese power generator JERA has launched commercial operation of the first of three liquefied natural gas (LNG)–fueled 650-MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) units that will modernize the Anegasaki Thermal Power Station, a mammoth 3.2-GW, six-unit gas and oil power plant in Chiba Prefecture.  The new Anegasaki Thermal Power Station Unit 1, opened on Feb. […]

  • Major Nuclear Players Team on Innovative Construction Delivery Approach for BWRX-300 SMR at Darlington

    Ontario Power Generation (OPG), GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), SNC-Lavalin, and Aecon have signed a trailblazing six-year alliance agreement designed to bolster the deployment of a BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at the Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP) in Clarington, Ontario. The contract unveiled on Jan. 27—a year after OPG selected GEH’s BWRX-300 for the […]

  • Texas Utility Will Add More Peaking Power

    The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) said it will build a new 190-MW peaker power plant in central Texas to provide additional dispatchable power to the state’s electric grid. A peaker plant is one that is typically used only for brief periods during times when the demand for power approaches or surpasses the amount of […]

  • Siemens Gamesa Posts Nearly $1 Billion Quarterly Loss

    Siemens Gamesa chief executive Jochen Eickholt acknowledged equipment failures in both the company’s onshore and offshore wind turbines, leading to higher warranty provisions, contributed to a nearly $1 billion net loss for the company in the last three months of 2022. Eickholt on Feb. 2 said the company’s October to December—the group’s fiscal first quarter—loss […]

  • Energy Trilemma: A Case for Africa Power Utilities

    A trilemma is a situation that presents three possible choices to a complex challenge. Due to mutual exclusivity of the available choices, achieving them simultaneously is always a daunting task. The overarching objective is to achieve the three possible solutions in a balanced manner. Energy trilemma refers to the need to find a balance between […]

  • Distributed Generation in Cuba: Present and Future

    Distributed generation stands out in the Cuban power system, where there are hundreds of units dispersed throughout the country. In times of contingency, and as usually happens when a hurricane hits the country, distributed generation ensures the vitality of electrical service through interconnected systems in the form of “islands.” Of the slightly more than 6,000 […]

  • The POWER Interview: Shift to Renewables Requires Energy Storage

    Jamal Burki is president of IHI Terrasun, a company that provides energy storage systems, including standalone systems and also those paired with solar power installations.  Burki, who has spent just short of two years in his current role and has been with the company since 2015, recently provided POWER with insight into the energy storage […]

  • LNG Floating Terminal Will Supply New 840-MW Gas-Fired Plant in Greece

    A joint venture featuring three energy companies is developing an 840-MW natural gas-fired power plant at the Aegean port of Alexandroupolis, Greece. The plant will be linked to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating terminal at the port. It is expected to supply electricity to Greece and also to markets in southeastern Europe. Damco Energy, […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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. […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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, […]

  • 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, […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]