POWERnews

  • Moss Landing Battery Project Offline After Overheating

    The first phase of the battery storage project at the Moss Landing complex in California was taken offline after an overheating issue caused some parts of the installation to be damaged. Vistra said the incident happened late on Sept. 4. Fire crews responded to the site, and though no fire was found, officials said battery […]

  • Power Restoration Continues After Ida; Storm’s Death Toll Tops 60

    Power restoration efforts continue along the Gulf Coast and in the U.S. Northeast, as utilities work to bring electricity back to areas in Louisiana hit hard by Hurricane Ida, and around New York City and New England due to heavy rainfall from remnants of the storm. The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) in a Sept. […]

  • POWERnews—Sept. 2, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   September 2, 2021 NRC Cites Problems at Vogtle, May Increase Project Oversight Continuing issues with the two-unit expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia have led federal regulators to say they are considering increasing oversight of the project. The U.S.… […]

  • Entergy: Hurricane Ida Took Out Eight Critical High-Voltage Transmission Lines

    Moving quickly after devastating winds from Hurricane Ida on Aug. 29 took out eight critical high-voltage lines and blacked out New Orleans, Jefferson, and two other Louisiana parishes, Entergy hashed out two options. One—the “preferred solution”—was to restore some of the critical transmission lines that tie Greater New Orleans to the larger MISO grid, and […]

  • Drought-Crippled Hoover Dam, Glen Canyon Hydropower Plants Operating at Substantially Decreased Capacity

    The iconic 2-GW Hoover Dam and 1.3-GW Glen Canyon Dam hydropower plants are operating at substantially reduced capacity, paralyzed by enduring drought conditions across the West, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) has revealed. Weeks after USBR on Aug. 16 declared the first-ever federal water shortage at Lake Mead, the agency told POWER this week […]

  • 3D Printing: More Than Just a Cool Process, It Offers Real Benefits

    3D printing is a process used to create an object by sequentially adding build material in successive cross-sections, one stacked upon another. It is a form of additive manufacturing. Once considered more of a novelty, 3D printing has evolved into an incredibly valuable production method used to create very intricate designs, including gas turbine components […]

  • What’s Your Heat Exchanger Maintenance IQ?

    Heat exchangers are at the heart of many critical industrial systems. From power plants to industrial chemical plants and everything in between, the heat exchanger in all its forms is a critical aspect of heat management systems. Therefore, organizations must take heat exchanger maintenance extremely seriously. A heat exchanger failure can be a potentially deadly […]

  • The Human Side of Digital Adoption

    A pervading theme at the ongoing 5th annual Connected Plant Conference has been to explore the human side of digital adoption. Attendees have so far heard from several experts who are deeply involved in the future of the power plant workforce. Steven Ford, Compliance and Support manager at Southern Co.’s Plant Barry, in his presentation […]

  • Best of POWER—August 30, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   August 30, 2021 California Will Add Gas-Fired Units to Increase Power Supply The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved licenses for gas-fired power units to help the state cope with continued electricity shortages. The move comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier declared… […]

  • NRC Cites Problems at Vogtle, May Increase Project Oversight

    Continuing issues with the two-unit expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia have led federal regulators to say they are considering increasing oversight of the project. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Aug. 26, in a letter to Southern Nuclear, which is leading the project along with its sister company Georgia Power, […]

  • POWERnews—Aug. 26, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   August 26, 2021 California Will Add Gas-Fired Units to Increase Power Supply The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved licenses for gas-fired power units to help the state cope with continued electricity shortages. The move comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier declared… […]

  • JERA Kicks Off Hydrogen Co-Firing Pilot at LNG Power Plant

    JERA has received the Japanese government’s green light for a pilot project to demonstrate 30% hydrogen co-firing at an existing large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) thermal power plant by 2025. The project is Japan’s “first initiative to use a large amount of hydrogen as fuel in a large-scale commercial LNG thermal power plant,” the company […]

  • Japanese Firm Unveils Ship Dedicated to Storing and Transmitting Offshore Wind Power

    A Japanese firm has set out to shake up energy storage and transmission with a freshly launched “power transfer vessel” concept that is designed to carry electricity from offshore wind farms to shore. The company’s first electric ship model, which will have an energy storage capacity of 200 MWh, is slated for completion in 2025. […]

  • Reliable Air Compressors for Power Generation: Malaysian Hydroelectric Case Study

    Malaysia, one of the Tiger Club Economies, is dissociating from fossil energies and has put its Ulu Jelai Power Station into operation. The hydroelectric power station successfully contributes to peak load coverage and power supply stabilisation. With its high-performance compressors, Sauer Compressors is part of this sustainable showcase project. The machines generate the compressed air […]

  • Standardized Software Bill of Materials Needed to Power Energy Cybersecurity

      COMMENTARY Supply chain security is top of mind these days for policymakers and regulators focused on protecting the utility industry and other critical infrastructure. A cyber vulnerability with a single supplier can take down an entire supply chain network and the entities that use its products. The organizations that support and supply products and […]

  • The Benefits of Mobile Aero-derivative Gas Turbines for Power Generation

    If you’ve flown on a commercial airplane, you’ve likely sat within a hundred feet of an operating gas turbine engine. Gas turbines have been used to power aircraft since the 1940s. But gas turbines like those on airplanes are also used for generating electricity. These designs are known as aero-derivative gas turbines and occupy a […]

  • Regulators Rattle AEP’s Plans to Operate 4.2-GW of Coal Power Through 2040

    The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) on Aug. 23 rattled American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) plans to operate the 2.9-GW John Amos and 1.3-GW Mountaineer coal power plants through 2040 when it partly denied cost recovery for expenses that the West Virginia plants need to comply with the federal Steam Electric Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) rule. The […]

  • ‘Smart Grid Ready’ Generator Changes Game for Backup Power

    Residential applications for smart grid technologies continue to grow as electricity customers take more control of their energy usage and costs. Homeowners with rooftop solar have been selling power back to the grid for years, and more opportunities for power customers are coming as electric vehicle owners tap into the market via energy storage. Homeowners […]

  • Record Growth Continues for Renewable Energy Projects

    The pace of installations of renewable energy projects across the first six months of 2021 hit a new high for the sector, according to a report released Aug. 24 by the American Clean Power Association (ACP). ACP, which works with solar, wind, energy storage and power transmission companies to promote renewable energy, said the U.S. […]

  • California Will Add Gas-Fired Units to Increase Power Supply

    The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved licenses for gas-fired power units to help the state cope with continued electricity shortages. The move comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier declared a state of emergency for California’s power grid. The state’s Dept. of Water Resources is procuring what it called five temporary gas-fueled generators, each with […]

  • POWERnews—Aug. 19, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   August 19, 2021 EIA: Large-Scale U.S. Battery Power Capacity Slated for Fourfold Expansion in Two Years Large-scale battery power capacity in the U.S. surged 35% over 2020 to reach 1,650 MW, and according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), utilities are planning […]

  • Breakthrough: Laser-Powered Fusion Experiment Nears ‘Ignition’

    An experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) National Ignition Facility (NIF) appears to have approached fusion ignition as it recreated the extreme temperatures and pressures at the heart of the sun for a tiny fraction of a second. The momentous step has fueled new optimism for fusion energy. The experiment on Aug. 8 “was […]

  • Former Westinghouse Executive Charged with Conspiracy, Fraud in Connection with V.C. Summer Nuclear Project

    Former Westinghouse Electric Co. Senior Vice President Jeffrey A. Benjamin was charged with 16 felony counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud, and causing a publicly traded company to keep a false record, for his part in failing to truthfully report information regarding construction of new nuclear units at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in […]

  • Vistra Finishes Second Phase of California Energy Storage Project

    Vistra, the Texas-based integrated retail electricity and power generation company, said it has completed the second phase of its Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility expansion project in California. The group on Aug. 19 announced it has added 100 MW/400 MWh to what at present is the world’s largest battery energy storage facility. “This facility provides […]

  • EIA: Large-Scale U.S. Battery Power Capacity Slated for Fourfold Expansion in Two Years

    Large-scale battery power capacity in the U.S. surged 35% over 2020 to reach 1,650 MW, and according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), utilities are planning to ramp up that capacity by 10 GW over the next two years. In a newly released report, Battery Storage in the United States: An Update on Market Trends, […]

  • Is the World on the Brink of a Mass Extinction Event?

    It’s not unusual for species to go extinct; it happens all the time. In fact, scientists estimate that at least 99.9% of all species of plants and animals that have ever lived on Earth are now extinct. That’s pretty amazing, considering how many species still exist—up to 8.7 million, according to some experts. Mass extinction […]

  • Not Always Plug and Play—Challenges Utilities Face Managing DERs on Their Grids

    The proliferation of renewable energy is necessary for communities and countries to meet their goals of reducing carbon emissions, but it also presents new challenges for those managing power distribution. Much of the world’s renewable energy is now generated and stored by distributed energy resources (DERs), such as residential solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles […]

  • Seizing the Opportunity to Supply Better Energy Solutions via Carbon Capture

    Clean firm power, which refers to carbon capture and storage (CCS)-enabled, baseload, dispatchable electricity, is critical to achieving emission reduction goals and meeting energy demands affordably and reliably. New plant designs and retrofitting of existing power plants should be advanced rapidly, while at the same time building jobs and wealth creation across many parts of […]

  • Using Asset Data to Create Effective Maintenance Strategies

    Relationships between asset data utilization and maintenance strategies often get complicated, especially in cases where data collection practices are designed to merely follow and not build strategies. In the maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) sector, the best approach is to optimize the strategy from time to time, which requires comprehensive analysis of asset data collection […]

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    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   August 16, 2021 Sponsored Content On-line Silica and Phosphate Measurement to Protect Power Plant Assets In power plants, water is the lifeblood of the electrical generating process. The characteristics of water/steam impact overall performance. Preventing silica deposition on assets and ensuring proper […]