POWERnews
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News
Newly Minted Hitachi Energy Pushing ‘Urgency’ of Clean Power
A technology leader in the power generation sector officially has a new name today, as the former Hitachi ABB Power Grids is now Hitachi Energy. The rebranding, announced during the summer and taking effect Oct. 13, is the latest move by a joint venture formed in the summer of 2020 when Hitachi and ABB closed […]
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Best of POWER—October 11, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store October 11, 2021 Terrestrial Energy Launches 390-MW Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor Design Terrestrial Energy has unveiled an upgraded 390-MWe design of its Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) power plant to meet utility requirements and boost its cost-competitiveness as part of an effort… […]
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Technology
Emerson Merging Software Business with AspenTech in $11 Billion Deal
Emerson Electric Co. said it will merge its software business with rival Aspen Technology (AspenTech) in an $11 billion deal that will bring together both companies’ expertise in industrial software applications. It’s the latest move by Emerson to support the rapid growth of digitization in the power generation industry. “We saw an attractive opportunity to […]
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Solar
India Group Starts on $10 Billion Plan for Solar Power
A subsidiary of one of India’s largest conglomerates announced two deals as part of its plan to invest more than $10 billion in renewable energy assets over the next few years. Reliance New Energy Solar (RNESL), part of Reliance Industries Ltd., on Oct. 10 said it was buying Norwegian-headquartered solar panel maker REC Solar Holdings […]
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Legal & Regulatory
CEQ Proposes to Restore Impactful NEPA Provisions
The federal government’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on Oct. 7 issued a proposed rulemaking to rescind several Trump-era regulatory amendments that limit the scope of environmental reviews completed by federal agencies under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). If finalized, the proposed rule would restore agencies’ discretion to broaden the scope of NEPA reviews. […]
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POWERnews—Oct. 7, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store October 7, 2021 GE Gas Turbines Installed to Support California Power Supply Four General Electric (GE) gas turbines have been deployed in California as part of the follow-up to Gov. Gavin Newsom's emergency order to safeguard the state's power grid. GE recently… […]
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Hydrogen
Pioneering 10-MW Baseload Hydrogen Power Plant Breaks Ground in French Guiana
Hydrogene de France (HDF) Energy, an independent power producer and fuel cell manufacturer, has kicked off construction of one of the world’s first multi-megawatt baseload hydrogen power plants. The company says the project in French Guiana, which is being “duplicated” in about 20 countries, will provide 128 MWh of green hydrogen storage. HDF Energy’s $200 […]
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IIOT
Three Things Utility Companies Need to Do to Prevent the Next Cyberattack
For the better part of the past decade, utility companies have been more concerned with the potential for outages than cyberattacks, but this has changed over the past several months. The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and the remote cyberattack on a Florida water treatment plant put cybersecurity top-of-mind and made it clear hackers can do […]
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Coal
India’s ‘Unprecedented’ Coal Shortages Paralyzing Power Generation
Stricken by a surge in global coal prices and freight costs, several Indian coal power plants are fielding a critical coal supply shortage that has forced some to curtail power. Fearing a power crisis, the Ministry of Power recently directed hydropower generators to defer scheduled maintenance through October. The Ministry of Coal, meanwhile, this week […]
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Gas
GE Gas Turbines Installed to Support California Power Supply
Four General Electric (GE) gas turbines have been deployed in California as part of the follow-up to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency order to safeguard the state’s power grid. GE recently announced two of the company’s 30-MW TM2500 aeroderivative turbines have been installed at the Roseville Energy Park in Roseville, with another two installed adjacent to […]
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Climate change
Enel CEO: ‘Please Put Price on Carbon’
The head of Europe’s largest utility said countries need to put a price on carbon in order to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and meet climate targets. Francesco Starace, CEO of Italy-based Enel, speaking Oct. 5 at the Reuters Impact virtual summit, said the world’s larger economies need to lead on developing strategies and taking […]
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IIOT Power
Monitor, Teach, Protect: Three Priorities for Insider Threat Prevention in the Energy Sector
In December 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a new subcommittee focused on the nation’s electric grid. The Grid Resilience for National Security subcommittee was a response to increasing threats to the country’s expansive electric grid that reliably delivers electricity to power the digital age. Today, those threats are even more relevant than ever […]
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Technology
Distributed Intelligence: Empower Consumer Control and Uncover New Possibilities
Consumers today want their utilities to provide an experience like any other service provider, offering the same control and transparency. User-friendly smart meter technology has allowed consumers to play a bigger role in managing their energy usage and cost. But to give customers true command of their energy consumption, the industry needs distributed intelligence technology. […]
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Distributed Energy
The New Wave of the Decentralized Energy Market
Ten years ago, the energy market was based around the conventional, centralized generation of oil and coal plants. It was predictable and formulaic. These staples of yesterday’s energy market are no longer the future of energy generation. Instead, we see a global push toward clean energy with wind and solar power, and companies are accelerating […]
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Workforce
Energy Transition Outlook
As the energy sector transforms and innovates into a decarbonized, digitalized industry, it is crucial that talent pools are available with the right balance of skills and experience to deliver the projects and operations needed for a brighter tomorrow. NES Fircroft, a staffing company dedicated to providing the skilled engineers and technical workforce needed to […]
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POWERnews—Sept. 30, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store September 30, 2021 Three Coal-Heavy Utilities Team Up on New Gas-Fired Power Plant Bismarck, North Dakota-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative will join Dairyland Power Cooperative and ALLETE Inc. as co-owners of the planned Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC), a combined cycle natural […]
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International
China Grappling with Another Crippling Power Crunch
China’s tightening coal supplies, more stringent energy intensity and environmental restrictions, and soaring industrial power demand have triggered another widespread power crisis. Blackouts and brownouts have reportedly afflicted numerous provincial jurisdictions across the economic powerhouse this week, most prominently in Guangdong in the south, and Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning in the northeast, according to state-run […]
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Nuclear
Terrestrial Energy Launches 390-MW Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor Design
Terrestrial Energy has unveiled an upgraded 390-MWe design of its Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) power plant to meet utility requirements and boost its cost-competitiveness as part of an effort to ramp up its candidacy for deployment at Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG’s) Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. This week, the Canadian firm also announced a series […]
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Distributed Energy
Distributed Energy Platforms a Key for Sustainable Power
The energy industry has been going through a revolution, and more and more businesses are looking to transition from non-renewable fossil fuel energy sources such as coal and oil to renewable energy sources like solar, wind and hydroelectric energy. There are a plethora of reasons for this shift, but there are three issues that are […]
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Gas
Three Coal-Heavy Utilities Team Up on New Gas-Fired Power Plant
Bismarck, North Dakota-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative will join Dairyland Power Cooperative and ALLETE Inc. as co-owners of the planned Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC), a combined cycle natural gas power plant proposed for construction in Superior, Wisconsin. The deal between Basin Electric and ALLETE was announced on Sept. 28. Basin Electric will become a […]
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Nuclear
Experimental Advanced Fuel Rods Loaded in Russian Nuclear Reactor
The first Russian-made nuclear reactor fuel bundles with experimental ATF (Advanced Technology Fuel) rods have been loaded into Unit 2 at the Rostov nuclear power plant (NPP) in southwest Russia. The reactor resumed operations earlier this month after a scheduled maintenance and refueling outage. The Rostov site is home to four VVER-1000 reactor units (Figure […]
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Energy Storage
Former SpaceX Engineer Driving New Battery Technology
An executive and entrepreneur who designed battery packs for SpaceX has partnered with a leader of India’s transportation industry in a venture designed to improve the lifecycle of lithium-ion batteries, and help that country’s transition toward electric passenger vehicles. Porter Harris, a battery engineer known for his work in thermal cooling and heating methodology, and […]
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O&M
Improving Power Plant Efficiency with Nanocomposite Surface Treatments
There is no doubt that the energy industry is moving toward decarbonization and renewable sources. But, despite the $2.7 trillion spent on renewables over the past decade, that future is still a long way off. It all comes down to the economics. It’s cheaper to operate an existing fossil fuel plant than build new renewable […]
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Best of POWER—September 27, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store September 27, 2021 Ethiopia Outlines $40 Billion Plan as GERD Hydro Startup Nears Ethiopian officials have said they are moving closer to commissioning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) hydropower installation, part of 71 power projects included in a $40 billion investment […]
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POWERnews—Sept. 23, 2021
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store September 23, 2021 Nuclear Is the Bastion of Pennsylvania’s Newest Climate Action Plan Pennsylvania, a major power producer that relied on fossil fuels for 66% of its net power generation in June, plans to maintain its nuclear generation at current levels until […]
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Nuclear
Nuclear Is the Bastion of Pennsylvania’s Newest Climate Action Plan
Pennsylvania, a major power producer that relied on fossil fuels for 66% of its net power generation in June, plans to maintain its nuclear generation at current levels until it can ramp up other carbon-free supplies to 100% by 2050, the state’s Sept. 22–released 2021 Climate Action Plan suggests. The measures are part of a […]
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Nuclear
SMRs May Replace Polish Coal; GE Hitachi in Fuel Supply Pact
Poland’s push for nuclear power could include repurposing of coal-fired power plants with small modular reactor (SMR) technology from NuScale Power. NuScale on Sept. 23 announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two Polish companies, KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. (KGHM), and Piela Business Engineering (PBE), to explore how NuScale’s technology could be […]
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Offshore Wind
On Heels of $2.3B Financial Close, Vineyard Wind Joint Venture Partners Announce Restructuring
Partners developing the 800-MW Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm have announced they will swap assets jointly owned by their 50/50 Vineyard Wind joint venture to allow each party to focus on its separate expansion within the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind industry once the 800-MW Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm is operational. The Vineyard […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Is America Ready to Take a ‘Baby Step’ Toward Carbon Pricing?
Most people recognize that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas (GHG), and while not everyone agrees, a majority of climate scientists believe increasing concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere are causing climate change on Earth. Carbon pricing is a market-based strategy for reducing CO2 emissions. The goal of carbon pricing schemes is to place […]
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Renewables
SSE Backs Top Power Execs With New UK Renewable Energy Group
A group of energy sector entrepreneurs, supported by a Scottish multi-national energy company, has announced the launch of a business venture focused on rolling out large-scale wind and solar farms across the UK and Europe. Renewco Power on Sept. 22 said it wants to develop more than 4 GW of renewable energy projects in the […]