POWERnews

  • Group Says U.S. Utility Will Build $13 Billion Offshore Wind Project in Vietnam

    Vietnamese officials said a U.S. utility company plans to develop a $13 billion, 4-GW offshore wind farm that would be sited off that country’s central province of Binh Thuan. Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade in a statement issued July 29 said AES Corp., a Virginia-based utility that operates in 15 countries, is behind the […]

  • A Global Look at Residential Solar Adoption Rates

    Solar technology is advancing at a rapid rate, making solar easier to adopt. However, there is still a large potential of growth when it comes to the solar market. Looking at global data, solar photovoltaic (PV) generation has steadily increased for the past several years, and showed the second-largest absolute generation growth of all renewable technologies […]

  • POWERnews—July 28, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 28, 2022 Nuclear Power Plants Report Stellar Performance, but Retirements Could Limit Climate Benefits The world’s nuclear power plants generated a total of 2,653 TWh of energy in 2021, up 100 TWh from 2020. It was the third-highest total ever for […]

  • Vogtle Expansion Cost Jumps Again; In-Service Dates Set for 2023

    Southern Co. on July 28 increased its cost estimate for Georgia Power’s share of the two-unit expansion of the Vogtle nuclear plant. Southern, during an investor presentation of the company’s second-quarter financial results, said Georgia Power’s share of capital costs for the project has risen by $52 million, to about $10.5 billion in total. Georgia […]

  • Energy Security, Climate Change Initiatives Endure with Surprise U.S. Senate Deal

    The inclusion of an estimated $369 billion in energy security and climate change investments in a July 27–unveiled U.S. Senate budget reconciliation proposal has prompted optimism from a range of energy sectors. Less than two weeks after negotiations on clean energy and climate provisions within the reconciliation package hit an impasse and suggested their demise, […]

  • Experts Say Hydropower Needs to Double by 2050 to Meet Climate Goals

    Global installed hydropower capacity rose by 26 GW in 2021 to 1,360 GW, but that’s far short of the progress needed to achieve the world’s climate change mitigation goals. “We know that to keep climate change below 2°C, or the more challenging 1.5°C net zero target, we will need to see a huge increase in […]

  • Canada’s National Nuclear Lab Backs Fuel Development for ARC Fast Reactor

    Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and ARC Clean Energy Canada have agreed to collaborate on a two-year joint project to “deliver a technology demonstration for the fuel fabrication process” customized for ARC Canada’s ARC-100, a 100-MWe/286-MWth, sodium-cooled “advanced small modular reactor” (aSMR), the parties announced on July 26. The development marks a pivotal boost for ARC […]

  • Nuclear Power Plants Report Stellar Performance, but Retirements Could Limit Climate Benefits

    The world’s nuclear power plants generated a total of 2,653 TWh of energy in 2021, up 100 TWh from 2020. It was the third-highest total ever for global generation from nuclear, just 4 TWh short of the output in 2019 and 7 TWh less than the record set in 2006. The results were reported by […]

  • The POWER Interview: SMR Growth Tied to Plan for Nuclear Waste

    A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, based on research from Stanford University and the University of British Columbia, addressed the problem of nuclear waste from small modular reactors (SMRs). The study said that many designs for SMRs would increase the amount of nuclear waste in need of disposal, […]

  • Putting AI to Work for Better ESG Data

    Environment, social, and governance (ESG) reporting has never been easy—and with pressures rising from investors, corporate leaders, and the government, organizations are struggling to meet the needs of all stakeholders. Facility managers must grapple with reaching and documenting progress toward ESG goals that align with the desires of sustainability-minded investors while boards and corporate leaders […]

  • Here’s How Utilities Are Primed to Lead America’s Race to Clean Energy

    The U.S. will rely on utility leaders to scale smart grid infrastructure and reduce carbon emissions. Climate change has captured the world’s attention for decades. We’ve seen countless intergovernmental summits, worldwide protests, and documentaries on global warming over the years. Although momentum has been building across the public and private sectors, leaders are preparing for […]

  • Best of POWER—July 25, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 25, 2022 GE's Energy Business Will Have a New Name—Vernova General Electric (GE) is again announcing changes to its corporate structure, with the company on July 18 saying its energy and other businesses will operate under new brand names. H.… Sponsored […]

  • Ferris State University’s Construction Management Program Expands Its MEP Courses

    The Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) trades make up a significant portion of a construction project’s budget, and MEP scope continues to grow in complexity and size as we get further into the 21st century. Depending on the type of project, the MEP scope can account for upwards of a third of an overall project’s […]

  • UK Throws Support Behind Sizewell C Nuclear Plant Construction

    The UK government has given the go-ahead for construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in southeast England, which officials have called an important project for the country to meet its net-zero climate goals. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on July 20 confirmed the government’s support, saying UK officials consider it a major infrastructure project […]

  • Community Choice Aggregation Provides Renewable Energy at Reduced Costs

    Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) programs have become quite prominent in communities across California, and have begun to spring up in other states including Illinois, Massachusetts, and Ohio. Through CCA, communities can purchase electricity on behalf of residents and businesses, in place of investor-owned utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), San Diego Gas & […]

  • Kairos Commissions Molten Salt Coolant Production Plant for High-Temperature Nuclear Reactors

    Kairos Power, an advanced nuclear reactor developer, has commissioned a molten salt purification plant (MSPP) that will produce “large quantities” of a high-purity coolant for reactors based on its fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) technology. The MSPP, one of the largest of its kind, is located at materials supplier Materion Corp.’s campus in Elmore, Ohio. […]

  • BOEM’s First Two Offshore Wind Areas in the Gulf of Mexico Could Feed Texas, Louisiana

    The Biden administration’s push to accelerate offshore wind deployment formally expanded into the Gulf of Mexico as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on July 20 unveiled two draft wind energy areas (WEAs) off the coast of Galveston, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana. The sites represent a “small subset” of its original 30-million Gulf […]

  • POWERnews—July 21, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 21, 2022 GE's Energy Business Will Have a New Name—Vernova General Electric (GE) is again announcing changes to its corporate structure, with the company on July 18 saying its energy and other businesses will operate under new brand names. H.… Sponsored […]

  • Digitalisation and Cyber Resilience: Why the Energy and Utilities Sector Is a Top Target for Cybercrime

    The energy and utilities sector is not just the lifeblood of the world’s economy, but fundamental to society’s existence as a whole. Yet, recent events have highlighted just how volatile and unpredictable it can be. Output is influenced by everything from weather patterns to war, and no business, consumer, or household is immune from the […]

  • Explosion, Fire Reported at Hoover Dam

    A transformer exploded and caught fire at Hoover Dam in Nevada on July 19, according to local officials. Bureau of Reclamation official Jacklynn L. Gould said that at about 10 a.m. local (Pacific) time, the A5 transformer at the site caught fire. The blaze was extinguished at about 10:30 a.m., according to Gould. Gould said […]

  • GE’s Energy Business Will Have a New Name—Vernova

    General Electric (GE) is again announcing changes to its corporate structure, with the company on July 18 saying its energy and other businesses will operate under new brand names. H. Lawrence Culp Jr., the company’s chairman and CEO, and CEO of GE Aerospace, on Monday said the strategy involves a planned separation into three groups, […]

  • Europe May Need Temporary Coal, Oil Power Increase to Ready for ’Hard’ Winter, IEA Warns

    European leaders should minimize gas use in the power sector and temporarily ramp up coal- and oil-fired generation while accelerating low-carbon sources to guard against energy market turmoil that has grown “especially perilous,” the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on July 18. “I’m particularly concerned about the months ahead,” wrote IEA Executive […]

  • POWERnews—July 14, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 14, 2022 New 1.1-GW GE-Powered Gas-Fired Plant Enters Service in Michigan A new $1.1-billion natural gas-fired power plant, built by Kiewit and featuring equipment from General Electric (GE), has entered service in southwest Michigan. The Indeck Niles Energy Center in Niles,… […]

  • JERA Readying to Start 1-GW Coal Plant as Japan Scrambles to Secure Power Supplies

    Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has called for up to nine nuclear plants to be put into operation to mitigate tight supplies expected this winter. The country could meanwhile resume operation of more than 10 thermal power plants to ensure electricity security this summer, he said. Kishida’s comments at a press conference on July 14 […]

  • Regasification Project Will Provide New Power for Papua New Guinea

    The government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has entered a joint venture with a nationally-owned power producer in a project to bring additional electricity generation capacity to the island nation. The system will utilize a process featuring liquefied natural gas (LNG) and could eventually be converted to work with hydrogen as the fuel. Singapore-based Twenty20 […]

  • Best of POWER—July 11, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 11, 2022 Wudongde Project Takes Hydro to New Heights A multi-year, multibillion-dollar undertaking on China’s Jinsha River has achieved several “firsts” for the hydropower sector, earning POWER’s highest honor thanks to its development, design, and Supreme Court Limits EPA Authority to […]

  • New 1.1-GW GE-Powered Gas-Fired Plant Enters Service in Michigan

    A new $1.1-billion natural gas-fired power plant, built by Kiewit and featuring equipment from General Electric (GE), has entered service in southwest Michigan. The Indeck Niles Energy Center in Niles, a community just north of South Bend, Indiana, will provide 1,100 MW of generation capacity. Indeck Niles LLC, a joint venture among Indeck Energy Services […]

  • Clearway, Wartsila Partner on Five Large Solar-Plus-Storage Projects

    A series of large solar-plus-storage installations is set for deployment in California and Hawaii, with Clearway Energy Group and Wärtsilä announcing five sites where the companies will install solar photovoltaic (PV) resources along with battery systems. The projects announced July 11 include 500 MWac/2-GWh of power in total, installed at solar power sites operated by […]

  • POWERnews—July 7, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 7, 2022 Nuclear Power on the Upswing, Numerous Projects Take Shape Around the World The International Energy Agency (IEA) says momentum is building for nuclear power in many countries amid soaring fuel prices and growing energy security concerns. “In today’s context […]

  • IEA Calls for More Diverse Solar PV Supply Chains

    The International Energy Agency (IEA) is urging the development of more diverse solar PV supply chains, suggesting the sector’s heavy reliance on China has led to imbalances that pose risks to its future growth. A dedicated study of the world’s solar PV supply chain issued by the Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization on July 7 acknowledges that government […]