POWERnews
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Best of POWER—February 28, 2022
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store February 28, 2022 Ethiopia Produces First Power at GERD Mega-Dam Ethiopia began delivering power from a 375-MW turbine at its flagship 5.15-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Feb. 20, marking a significant milestone for the project that could become… Solar Developer […]
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Geothermal
Well-Constructed Solution: Geothermal to Power Bitcoin Mining
The mining of cryptocurrency, or bitcoin, is an energy-intensive process, and entrepreneurs are looking at several technologies—including innovative geothermal energy techniques—to power their operations. Among the latest is a service from a California-based renewable energy group, RenewaBit, which has joined with CeraPhi Energy, a Houston, Texas-based company, to produce geothermal energy with integrated crypto mining […]
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Wind
Largest U.S. Wind Project Online in New Mexico
A wind farm comprised of four projects in central New Mexico, serving areas of that state and California, is now online and takes the title of the largest wind power installation in the U.S. Pattern Energy Group, among the world’s largest privately-owned developers and operators of wind, solar, transmission, and energy storage projects, on Feb. […]
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POWERnews—Feb. 24, 2022
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store February 24, 2022 Ethiopia Produces First Power at GERD Mega-Dam Ethiopia began delivering power from a 375-MW turbine at its flagship 5.15-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Feb. 20, marking a significant milestone for the project that could become… Solar Developer […]
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Hybrid Power
Solar Developer Has Plan to Turn Oil Wells Into Energy Storage
A California developer of concentrated solar power (CSP) systems has announced an innovation that it says combines the company’s technologies to turn existing oil wells into energy storage sites that can provide clean energy. Hyperlight Energy on Feb. 24 said it was launching Tectonic Sun, an electricity generation technology that when paired with the company’s […]
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O&M
The Economics of Reliability: U.S. Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution
The U.S. power network received attention for tragic reasons in 2021. From February 10 through 20, Texas suffered a severe power crisis due to a confluence of catastrophic winter storms. Failures occurred across all types of electricity generation facilities—natural gas, coal, and nuclear plants shut down, and wind turbines froze. Problems cascaded, as the compressors […]
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Hydrogen
Decarbonizing the World: Hydrogen Technology Is the Next Big Thing
Many experts believe hydrogen holds great promise as a clean energy resource that can help nations achieve carbon-free goals. Green hydrogen, which is made from water through electrolysis powered by renewable energy, could be used to decarbonize a wide range of hard-to-abate industries, including petrochemical, cement, and steel, which often require high temperatures and combustion […]
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Offshore Wind
Siemens Gamesa Will Supply Turbines for Polish Offshore Wind Farms
Poland’s pursuit of offshore wind took a step forward with the announcement that Siemens Gamesa will supply turbines for two new installations in the Baltic Sea. The MFW Baltyk II and MFW Baltyk III projects, being developed by Equinor and Polenergia, will use SG 14-236 DD offshore wind turbines, as part of two “Preferred Supplier […]
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Interview
The ‘Weakest Link’ in Supply Chain Security
The energy transition will bring with it a new generation of cybersecurity challenges for the power sector. While information-sharing has been valuable, strategies to address issues related to vendor security, cyber talent, and lagging investment will also be critical, a former utility supply chain executive who led the development of an industry-wide cybersecurity risk exchange […]
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Distributed Energy
India Investing Millions for Microgrids
A Colorado company that serves rural communities with solar power-based microgrids announced an investment that would provide more than 100 installations across two states in India. Husk Power Systems on Feb. 17 said it had closed $4.2 million in debt financing from the India Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to build as many as 140 […]
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Hydro
Ethiopia Produces First Power at GERD Mega-Dam
Ethiopia began delivering power from a 375-MW turbine at its flagship 5.15-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Feb. 20, marking a significant milestone for the project that could become Africa’s largest hydropower producer. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed inaugurated the project in a celebration broadcast widely in the East African nation on Sunday. Officials […]
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POWERnews—Feb. 17, 2022
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store February 17, 2022 GE-Led Carbon Capture Project at Southern Company Site Gets DOE Funding A GE Gas Power front-end engineering design (FEED) study will receive $5,771,670 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon […]
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Hydrogen
Large-Scale Green Hydrogen Infrastructure System Unveiled for California
SoCalGas, North America’s largest gas distribution utility, has unveiled the Angeles Link, a proposed green hydrogen energy infrastructure system for Southern California that it says could be the largest of its kind in the nation. The Angeles Link proposes to utilize between 25 GW and 35 GW of curtailed or new solar, wind, or battery […]
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Coal
Duke Energy Eyeing Coal Phaseout by 2035
Duke Energy, the nation’s largest power producer, will dramatically slash coal generation’s share from the current 22% of total generation to 5% by 2030 and achieve a full phaseout of unabated coal by 2035. The company instead expects to deploy more than $130 billion over the next decade—$63 billion of which it will spend over […]
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IIOT
Why Smarter Grids Start with Mesh Networks and Open Standards
Smart grids have been with us for over a decade. But for many power industry stakeholders, they’re associated almost exclusively with smart meters. Remote meter reading is certainly a compelling use case, and one which justified many initial deployments, especially in the U.S. where end-customer sites are spread out over large distances. But there’s much […]
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Environmental
White House Releases Guidance on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration
In conjunction with the Biden-Harris administration’s recent announcement of new agency actions to promote clean manufacturing, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on Feb. 16 published its Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration Guidance (“Guidance”) in the Federal Register. Unlike traditional legal guidance documents, the Guidance addresses multiple federal agencies and provides numerous recommendations for efficiently […]
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Nuclear
Poland Secures NuScale SMR as Urgency for Nuclear Energy Ramps Up Across Central, Eastern Europe
NuScale Power has signed a definitive commercial agreement with mining and processing firm KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. to deploy a VOYGR power plant of up to 924 MWe as early as 2029 to support KGHM’s copper and silver production in Poland. Under an “early works agreement” signed in a ceremony on Feb. 14 in the […]
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Gas
GE-Led Carbon Capture Project at Southern Company Site Gets DOE Funding
A GE Gas Power front-end engineering design (FEED) study will receive $5,771,670 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management following successful completion of the award negotiation phase. The funding is focused on carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) for power generation applications with a goal […]
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News
U.S. Tops 200 GW of Renewables, but Deployment Slows
A report from a trade group representing the U.S. renewable energy industry says the nation now has more than 200 GW of operating utility-scale generation capacity, but the pace of growth has slowed as projects have been delayed due to regulatory and equipment supply issues, among other factors. The “Clean Power Quarterly 2021 Q4 Market […]
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International
Current Generation Capacity, Future Investment Plans, and Photovoltaic Projects of the Cuban Energy Industry
The state-owned Unión Eléctrica (UNE) is responsible for supplying electricity to the Cuban population and the national economy. This is a complex process in which more than 50,000 workers intervene, highlighted Jorge Armando Cepero Hernández, UNE’s general director during a recent press conference. The executive explained that electrical energy is produced with a generation fleet […]
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Best of POWER—February 14, 2022
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store February 14, 2022 China Starts Up First Fourth-Generation Nuclear Reactor The first of two units at China’s much-watched high-temperature gas-cooled modular pebble bed (HTR-PM) demonstration project was successfully connected to the grid on Dec. 20. The achievement marks a major TVA Unveils […]
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Nuclear
French President Calls for Major Increase in Nuclear Power, Offshore Wind
France, already a world leader in nuclear power generation, plans to build at least six new reactors, with President Emmanuel Macron on Feb. 10 saying the country will consider building an additional eight on top of that as it also moves forward with developing small modular reactors (SMR). Macron, who is up for re-election in […]
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Wind
Siemens’ Renewable Arm Cutting 200 U.S. Jobs
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) plans to lay off 200 workers at two U.S. wind power equipment manufacturing facilities. The company on Feb. 9 said the job cuts are due to a reduction in orders for commercial wind turbines. An SGRE spokesperson said more jobs cuts at the plants—one in Hutchinson, Kansas, and the other […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Wind Power Developers Encouraged by Findings on Bald Eagle Population
In the race to generate and distribute renewable energy, developers must clear numerous regulatory hurdles. For many projects, this may include obtaining a voluntary “incidental take” permit under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA). The BGEPA incidental take permitting program has frustrated both developers and operators due to, among other things, uncertainty of […]
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Electric Vehicles
U.S. Details $5 Billion Plan for EV Charging Network
The promise of a nationwide network of charging stations to serve drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) received a major boost on Feb. 10, with two federal agencies announcing nearly $5 billion has been earmarked to support such infrastructure. The U.S. Departments of Energy and Transportation said the money will be made available under the new […]
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Nuclear
TVA Unveils Major New Nuclear Program, First SMR at Clinch River Site
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will invest in a major program that will explore the construction of multiple advanced nuclear reactors—starting with a GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at its Clinch River site in Tennessee. TVA Board members during a meeting on Feb. 10 unanimously approved TVA’s “New Nuclear Program,” a broad new initiative […]
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POWERnews—Feb. 10, 2022
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store February 10, 2022 TVA Unveils Major New Nuclear Program, First SMR at Clinch River Site The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will invest in a major program that will explore the construction of multiple advanced nuclear reactors—starting with a GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular […]
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Nuclear
Fusion Energy Breakthrough: Record Performance Achieved at JET
Scientists and engineers working at the Joint European Torus (JET) have set a new record for sustained fusion energy. The team on Feb. 9 reported producing 59 megajoules of fusion energy, more than doubling the previous record of 21.7 megajoules set in 1997 at JET. The achievement was touted as “a major step forward on […]
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Commentary
Renewable Energy Future Includes DERs to Support Decarbonization
All market indicators show that distributed energy resources (DERs) boom will continue into this year and beyond. In fact, a recent Frost & Sullivan report states the global annual investments in DERs will increase by 75% by 2030. We’ve seen many advancements contributing to the growth of the renewable energy market, due to the convergence […]
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News
GE Confirms Sale of Lucrative Nuclear Steam Turbine Segment to EDF
GE has signed an exclusive agreement with EDF Group, an entity majority held by the French government, to sell the equipment segment and some services that make up Steam Power’s nuclear-serving steam turbine business—part of a portfolio that GE adopted during its 2015 merger with French equipment giant Alstom. The American technology conglomerate confirmed it signed […]