POWERnews

Earlier this month, AES Corp. unveiled Atlas, a first-of-its-kind solar installation robot. The cutting-edge, artificial intelligence–enabled technology behind Atlas is a major advancement for the industry, making it faster, more efficient, and safer to construct new solar facilities, the company said. The innovative robot was designed by AES through a multi-year process and built in […]

What is a microreactor and why would you want one? The definition could be debated, but nuclear reactors in the 1 MW to 20 MW range generally fit the bill, and there are countless possible applications for the technology. “This could be used for disaster relief. This could be used for mines, remote communities—on a […]

The Netherlands is set to install that country’s largest energy storage system in an effort to support power grid stability. Technology group Wärtsilä on Dec. 20 said it will supply a 25-MW/48-MWh storage system to GIGA Storage BV, a Netherlands-based energy storage company with multiple projects under development, including several hybrid renewable energy-plus-storage systems. The […]

If you’ve paid attention to the cleantech news cycle this year, you know it’s been a roller-coaster ride. I’ve been in the cleantech/energy transition sector for 20 years and wrote the first history on the term cleantech 15 years ago. I’ve seen the many ups and downs surrounding the industry. Today’s current playing field is […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 16, 2021 More than 32 GW of New Gas-Fired Power Plants in U.S. Pipeline Recent reports from groups analyzing U.S. power generation note how states near the nation’s largest shale plays are expected to bring significant new natural gas-fired generation online […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a request for information (RFI) on a planned temporary federal program to ensure enough high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) will be available to jumpstart deployment of a new fleet of advanced nuclear reactors.  Comments received over the next month in response to the DOE’s Dec. 14–issued RFI will inform […]

Nuclear power remains one of the cleanest forms of energy available to us. Unfortunately, current challenges in measuring nuclear power plant waste and contamination levels make it difficult to manage. The inability to effectively measure these levels makes it difficult to validate nuclear power, and in some cases, is even causing some political tensions. Machine […]

2021 was a boom year for solar as a record number of new projects were registered with ANEEL, Brazil’s electricity industry regulator. Now, new distributed generation legislation is in the offing, and, when ratified, it will introduce gradual charges for use of transmission networks through distribution system use tariffs (TUSD). The legislation proposes a 10-year […]

In a Dec. 14 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Ameren Missouri announced its intent to retire two 600-MW units at the Rush Island Energy Center 15 years earlier than previously planned due to “changed circumstances since the Remedy Ruling.” The court’s remedy ruling, delivered on Sept. 30, 2019, […]

A leading company in the design of technology for a variety of industries is part of an effort to advance carbon capture from power plants, along with providing a solution to emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial facilities. Honeywell, the Charlotte, N.C.-based conglomerate known for products from residential thermostats to advanced aerospace applications, on […]

Recent reports from groups analyzing U.S. power generation note how states near the nation’s largest shale plays are expected to bring significant new natural gas-fired generation online over the next few years, despite concerns about recent market volatility that sent gas prices to their highest levels in more than a decade. With a long-term outlook […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 13, 2021 Why Thermal Energy Storage Offers Hot Prospects for Power Thermal energy storage (TES) is gaining interest and traction as a crucial enabler of reliable, secure, and flexible energy systems. The array of in-front-of-the-meter TES technologies under development Darlington Nuclear […]

President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Nov. 15, which allocates $550 billion in new spending over the next five years to improve U.S. infrastructure, including critical investments in the energy sector. These investments will cover power grid infrastructure, electric vehicles (EVs) and charging stations, renewable energy, nuclear power, hydropower, and […]

The events of the past year and a half have irrevocably changed the way we live, especially at home. Pandemic-related restrictions and lifestyle changes have greatly increased the amount of time Americans spend at home—at one point, more than 50% of the population spent more than 18 hours in their homes. Rising energy costs and […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 9, 2021 EIA: U.S. Coal Stockpiles Lowest Since 1978 The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently said it expected coal-fired power generation in 2021 to be 22% higher than in 2020, producing the first year-over-year increase in U.S. electricity… ISO-NE Warns […]

New England faces a precarious fuel supply risk that could necessitate emergency actions if a severe prolonged cold snap hits the region this winter, ISO New England (ISO-NE) has warned.  The regional grid operator expects power demand will peak at 19,710 MW during average winter weather conditions of 10F, but if temperatures plunge below 5F, […]

Despite exacting a heavy environmental and financial toll, routine flaring remains a persistent practice in the oil and gas sector. This gas could be captured and used for productive purposes, but a lot of it simply isn’t. While flaring levels are down 5% from 2019, this is still a huge amount—142 billion m3/yr in fact. […]

Many critical infrastructure sites contain areas that are classified as hazardous due to a high risk of explosion. What makes most of these locations dangerous is the presence of flammable materials such as liquids, gases, vapors, and dust. In these areas, the use of network cameras can significantly improve the overall health and safety posture […]

The optimal grease to use in power plant equipment is rarely contemplated by people other than truly dedicated operations and maintenance managers, and the workers on their teams who feel the pain when a piece of equipment breaks down due to inadequate lubrication. Yet, for those individuals, the choice of which grease to use in […]

GE Digital has announced a partnership with UK Power Networks (UKPN) for the launch of a smart substation project designed to support renewable energy power generation across the United Kingdom. The agreement announced Dec. 9 involves the installation of powerful computers in a series of substations. The project, known as Constellation, will leverage advances in […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently said it expected coal-fired power generation in 2021 to be 22% higher than in 2020, producing the first year-over-year increase in U.S. electricity generation from coal since 2014. That higher generation, though, has reduced inventories of coal at the nation’s power plants, with EIA on Dec. 7 reporting […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will build a GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at its Darlington Nuclear Station in Clarington, Ontario, marking a major triumph for the nuclear vendor in a stiff competition for the much-watched utility-scale project. OPG announced the selection of the GE Hitachi BWRX-300 SMR over competitors X-energy […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will review Kairos Power’s construction permit application (CPA) for its Hermes non-power demonstration reactor, which the firm has proposed to build at the East Tennessee Technology Park Heritage Center site, in Oak Ridge, and begin operating by 2026. The NRC formally accepted the CPA for review on Nov. 30, noting […]

There is a common misperception that “green energy” appeals mostly to liberals. However, at least some of the facts don’t support that view. A case in point can be found in the rooftop solar sector. “It’s not Republican or Democratic. It’s really American. It’s free enterprise,” Jayson Waller, founder and CEO of POWERHOME SOLAR, said […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 2, 2021 Darlington Nuclear Plant Will Get a BWRX-300 SMR as GE Hitachi Bags Lucrative OPG Selection Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will build a GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at its Darlington Nuclear Station in Clarington, […]

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), an integrated aluminum producer that is also the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) third-largest power generator, will develop a roadmap to decarbonize its 33 GE natural gas–fired turbines via hydrogen-switching and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) solutions. EGA and GE announced they signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to pursue the […]

Ukraine is set to host its first Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactor at state-owned Energoatom’s 2-GW Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant in the western part of the country. Under a contract signed on Nov. 22 by Patrick Fragman, president and CEO of Westinghouse, and Petro Kotin, Energoatom’s acting president, the two companies will begin engineering and procurement for […]

Potentially jumpstarting long-paralyzed efforts to address the federal management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Nov. 30 issued a request for information (RFI) that could determine where the agency will temporarily consolidate and store spent fuel from nuclear reactors across the nation. Under the RFI, the DOE is seeking […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   November 29, 2021 NERC Issues Grim Outlook for Bulk Power System Winter Reliability The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) is warning that much of the central U.S.—a region that stretches from the Great Lakes into southern Texas—may face critical power deficiencies […]

Energy major BP plans to build a large-scale green hydrogen production plant in northeast England, a facility that would use renewable energy resources to produce as much as 60 MWe of fuel by 2025. The group’s Nov. 29 announcement of its HyGreen Teesside project comes eight months after BP said it would build Britain’s largest […]