POWERnews

  • POWERnews—June 23, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 23, 2022 Germany Set to Increase Coal-Fired Generation in Face of Gas Crunch A leading German economic official said the country must increase the burning of coal for power generation and reduce its use of natural gas to avoid an energy […]

  • AEMO Begins Cautious Lift of Australian Electricity Market Suspension

    The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on June 22 initiated the first step to lift a suspension of its National Electricity Market (NEM), citing a “clear improvement in market conditions.” The measure comes more than a week since it indefinitely suspended spot markets in all regions of its NEM, given critical power generation supply shortfalls […]

  • NASA Picks Three Nuclear Power Concepts for Demonstration on the Moon

    Three teams comprising some of the most prominent engineering and technology firms in the U.S. will provide initial designs for a fission surface power (FSP) system as part of a federal project to demonstrate a 40-kW nuclear reactor for power applications on the moon. NASA and Battelle Energy Alliance—the contracted entity that manages and operates […]

  • Rhode Island Targets 100% Renewables Procurement by 2033

    Legislation passed in Rhode Island will commit the state to procure 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2033. If Gov. Daniel McKee, as expected, signs the bill into law, the Ocean State could have the nation’s fastest timeline for a 100% renewables procurement. The New England state’s legislature on June 17 approved […]

  • Addressing the Challenges Presented by a Retiring Utility Workforce

    POWER magazine has always held a special place in my heart. After my father left the Navy, he became a power engineer and a loyal subscriber to the magazine. As a kid, I remember stacks of the publication all over the house. At the high point my father had hundreds of issues amassed over decades. […]

  • Large-Scale Enhanced Geothermal System Trial Successfully Completed

    A federally backed effort to advance enhanced geothermal system (EGS) technologies in Utah marked a significant milestone with successful completion of its first large-scale 10-day stimulation in a deep-deviated well. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE), which is sited near the town of Milford on the western […]

  • Germany Set to Increase Coal-Fired Generation in Face of Gas Crunch

    A leading German economic official said the country must increase the burning of coal for power generation and reduce its use of natural gas to avoid an energy crisis later this year. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck in a statement on June 19 said the country’s move away from receiving natural gas from Russia due […]

  • Unit 3 at Barakah Nuclear Plant Licensed, Set to Load Fuel

    The third unit of the Barakah nuclear power plant (NPP), the first such facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Arab world, is ready to begin fuel loading, according to a statement issued by the country’s nuclear regulatory agency on June 19. The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) on Sunday said it […]

  • China Group Announces Successful Test of Space-Based Solar Power

    A research team at Xidian University in China announced it has successfully tested technology that would enable a space-based solar power plant that could transmit energy to Earth, akin to similar technology earlier announced by NASA and studied by other groups over the past decade. The “Daily Project” team, led by Duan Baoyan of Xidian […]

  • POWERnews—June 16, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 16, 2022 Australian Energy Crisis Prompts Suspension of National Electricity Market The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on June 15 indefinitely suspended spot markets in all regions of its National Electricity Market (NEM), citing critical power generation supply shortfalls that it… […]

  • Southern Co. Gas-Fired Demonstration Validates 20% Hydrogen Fuel Blend

    A demonstration project at Georgia Power’s 2.5-GW natural gas–fired Plant McDonough-Atkinson facility has validated a natural gas fuel blend with 20% hydrogen by volume on one of its six Mitsubishi Power advanced-class gas turbines. The test, one of the largest of its kind to date, provided an approximately 7% reduction in carbon emissions compared to […]

  • Australian Energy Crisis Prompts Suspension of National Electricity Market

    The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on June 15 indefinitely suspended spot markets in all regions of its National Electricity Market (NEM), citing critical power generation supply shortfalls that it said made it “impossible to continue” operations under national electricity rules. AEMO—the independent system operator (ISO) that operates the competitive market serving New South Wales, […]

  • Finnish Nuclear Plant Under Construction Since 2005 Faces Yet Another Delay

    Commercial operation of Olkiluoto 3 (OL3), a nuclear power plant (NPP) unit that has been under construction in Finland for nearly 17 years, will be delayed for another three months due to foreign material issues observed in the turbine’s steam reheater, plant owner Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) reported on June 15. The setback is just […]

  • Hydrogen Poised to Play Prominent Role in the World’s Energy Transition

    People around the world are searching for ways to decarbonize, and green hydrogen is a fuel that can help in that effort. Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis using renewable energy, such as wind and solar power. Although most hydrogen produced today is made from natural gas, often referred to as gray hydrogen, new capacity […]

  • Best of POWER—June 13, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 13, 2022 GE Debuts First 7HA.03 Gas Turbines at 1.3-GW Plant in Florida The first two GE 7HA.03 machines—the largest 60-Hz heavy-duty gas turbines in the world and the most efficient in GE’s fleet—are now operational at Florida Power & Light’s […]

  • Latest APR-1400 Reactor Now Online at South Korea’s Shin Hanul Nuclear Plant

    The first of what could be as many as four APR-1400 nuclear reactors at the Shin Hanul site in South Korea is now supplying electricity to the country’s power grid. Unit 1 at Shin Hanul is a 1,400-MW reactor. It was connected to the grid on June 9, just more than two weeks after the […]

  • The Regulatory Structures or Economic Opportunities that are Driving—or Hindering—Building Electrification

    Although the electricity generation and transportation sectors account for a far greater share of greenhouse gas emissions than the residential and commercial building sector, policy makers are targeting building electrification as a means for making a significant contribution to economy-wide emission reductions. Federal, state, and local governments are using various policy levers toward this goal, […]

  • [UPDATED] Researchers Say SMRs Will Produce More Waste Than Large Nuclear Reactors, NuScale Disputes Claim

    Findings from research led by a team that included a former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) chairperson and experts from Stanford University suggests small modular reactors (SMRs) will generate more radioactive waste than conventional gigawatt-scale nuclear units. The results were released in a research article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences […]

  • POWERnews—June 9, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 9, 2022 GE Debuts First 7HA.03 Gas Turbines at 1.3-GW Plant in Florida The first two GE 7HA.03 machines—the largest 60-Hz heavy-duty gas turbines in the world and the most efficient in GE’s fleet—are now operational at Florida Power & Light’s […]

  • DOD Picks BWXT Design for ‘Project Pele’ Prototype Nuclear Microreactor 

    The Department of Defense (DOD) has picked BWX Technologies’ (BWXT’s) microreactor design for its “Project Pele” full-scale transportable prototype. The selection closes out a much-watched contest with X-energy for the contract from the DOD’s Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) to build and operate what could be the nation’s first advanced microreactor.  Lynchburg, Virginia-based BWXT will now […]

  • Massive Utah Hydrogen Storage Project Garners Finalized $504M DOE Loan Guarantee

    The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) first official loan guarantee for a new clean energy technology project since 2014 will go to the Advanced Clean Energy Storage 1 project in Utah—one of the world’s largest renewable hydrogen energy projects.  The DOE on June 8 announced it closed on the $504.4 million loan guarantee for the first […]

  • Advantages of Leak Detection Technology in Power Plants

    The first step to solving a problem is recognizing that one is present. An operations team cannot adequately put a sufficient maintenance plan in place if there is no awareness that maintenance is required. One particular area that used to suffer much more regularly from this lack of diagnosis in a power plant setting is […]

  • Fuel of the Future: How the World Can Build a True Hydrogen Economy

    Versatile and plentiful, hydrogen could go a long way toward helping the world meet its climate targets. Already, it’s a component in all eight of the European Commission’s (EC’s) net-zero emissions scenarios for 2050. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Department of Energy has initiatives that will spur significant investment in the hydrogen economy—efforts boosted by […]

  • DOE Q&A: Assistant Secretary Dr. Kathryn Huff Discusses Top Priorities for Nuclear Energy

    The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) on June 8 shared an interview with Dr. Kathryn Huff, the DOE’s new assistant secretary for nuclear energy. Huff was confirmed by the Senate earlier this month and takes over a $1.7 billion research and development portfolio for the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). Prior to her confirmation, she served […]

  • GE Debuts First 7HA.03 Gas Turbines at 1.3-GW Plant in Florida

    The first two GE 7HA.03 machines—the largest 60-Hz heavy-duty gas turbines in the world and the most efficient in GE’s fleet—are now operational at Florida Power & Light’s (FPL’s) newly inaugurated 1,260-MW Dania Beach Clean Energy Center (DBEC) in Broward County.  FPL officially declared the Dania Beach Clean Energy Center near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, commercially […]

  • Biden Pausing Solar Tariffs, Pushes for U.S. Production

    The White House is moving to support the solar power industry, including U.S. manufacturing of solar panels and other equipment, by pausing tariffs on imported solar panels from four Southeast Asian countries. The 24-month moratorium announced June 6 will exist while U.S. officials continue to look at the practices of Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, […]

  • The POWER Interview: Solving Issues in the Solar Sector

    The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) for the past few years has talked about the importance of “building a strong solar manufacturing sector and supply chain in America” to support the nation’s economy, and to help “keep pace with rising domestic and global demand for affordable solar energy.” Recent events, including further disruption of global […]

  • Two Killed in Collapse of Coal Pile at Colorado Power Plant

    Two employees of a company that manages coal-handling operations for Xcel Energy’s Comanche Generating Station in Colorado were killed June 2 when they were trapped in a coal pile that collapsed at the power plant. The collapse happened Thursday morning about 8:30 a.m. Mountain time, according to officials. Rescue crews located the victims Thursday afternoon. […]

  • Zinc Batteries Power Stationary Energy Storage

    As solar, wind and other renewable resources play a larger role on the power grid, renewables’ essential partner—energy storage—must keep pace to provide power at peak hours when the sun doesn’t shine, and the wind doesn’t blow. Rechargeable zinc batteries offer an ideal energy storage solution; they can release power back to the grid for […]

  • POWERnews—June 2, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 2, 2022 Researchers Say SMRs Will Produce More Waste Than Large Nuclear Reactors, NuScale Disputes Claim Findings from research led by a team that included a former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) chairperson and experts from Stanford University suggests small modular […]