POWERnews

  • Honeywell, UT-Austin Join on New Carbon Capture Technology

    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 […]

  • 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 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 […]

  • Best of POWER—December 13, 2021

    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 […]

  • The Billion-Dollar Bet on Electric Vehicles

    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 […]

  • Homeowners Learned a Lot in 2021; Here’s What They’re Looking For in 2022

    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 […]

  • POWERnews—Dec. 9, 2021

    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 […]

  • ISO-NE Warns Fuel Supply Issues May Threaten Winter Power System Reliability

    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, […]

  • Overcoming the Top Three Hurdles to Eliminate Flaring

    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. […]

  • The Benefits of Explosion-Protected Cameras in High-Risk Environments

    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 Benefits of Synthetic Greases: Improved Efficiency, Reduced Maintenance

    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 Announces UK ‘Smart Substation’ Project

    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 […]

  • 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 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 […]

  • 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, 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 […]

  • NRC Accepts Application for Kairos Pebble-Bed Reactor Construction Permit

    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 […]

  • Rooftop Solar and Energy Storage Are Not Republican or Democrat, They’re American

    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 […]

  • POWERnews—Dec. 2, 2021

    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, […]

  • UAE Industrial Giant Will Explore Conversion of 5.2-GW GE Gas Turbine Fleet to Hydrogen, CCUS

    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 […]

  • Next AP1000 Nuclear Reactor Will Be Built in Ukraine

    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 […]

  • DOE Revives Consent-Based Siting Process for Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal

    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 […]

  • Best of POWER—November 29, 2021

    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 […]

  • BP Plans Another Major Hydrogen Production Project

    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 […]

  • POWERnews—Nov. 24, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   November 24, 2021 More Than 20 Coal-Fired Plants Will Close in Wake of Wastewater Rule A new wastewater rule authorized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this year is leading several coal-fired plants to announce closure plans, according to an […]

  • California 3,200-MWh CAES Project Proposed for Grid Stability After Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Retires

    Hydrostor, developer of a 400-MW, 8-hour long-duration advanced compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) facility, has filed an application for certification (AFC) with the California Energy Commission (CEC) for its first project in the state, envisioning its commercial operation as early as 2026. If the 3,200-MWh Pecho Energy Storage Center is built as planned in San […]

  • Could Fusion Energy Transform the Power Industry By 2035?

    Fusion occurs when two atoms slam together to form a heavier atom, such as when two hydrogen atoms fuse to form one helium atom. A tremendous amount of energy is released in the process. This is the same process that powers the sun. In the sun’s core, where temperatures reach 15,000,000C, hydrogen atoms are in […]

  • More Than 20 Coal-Fired Plants Will Close in Wake of Wastewater Rule

    A new wastewater rule authorized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this year is leading several coal-fired plants to announce closure plans, according to an analysis of state regulatory filings by the Sierra Club. The group said at least 26 plants in 14 states have said they will stop burning coal, with 21 […]

  • Portugal’s Last Coal Power Plant Shuts Down, Fourth Country in Europe to Stop Burning Coal

    The 628-MW Pego power station was shut down on Nov. 20, 10 days ahead of schedule, marking the end of coal-fired power generation in Portugal. The country joins Belgium, Austria, and Sweden, as the fourth European nation to discontinue the use of coal. “Portugal is the perfect example of how once a country commits to […]

  • EY Research Highlights New Opportunities for Utilities

    Demand for electricity from the residential sector rose during the first several months of the global coronavirus pandemic, as workers stayed home and students studied remotely. Researchers, using data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), said the second quarter of 2020 saw a 10% rise in residential electricity usage compared to the same months […]

  • Southern Joining Bill Gates-Backed Group on New Reactor Project

    Major U.S. utility Southern Co. said it has agreed to design and build an advanced demonstration nuclear reactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) using technology developed by TerraPower, the Bill Gates-backed company that earlier this week announced it would site a new Natrium nuclear reactor demonstration project in Wyoming. Southern in a Nov. 18 news […]

  • POWERnews—Nov. 18, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   November 18, 2021 NERC Issues Grim Outlook for Bulk Power System Winter Reliability The North American Electric Corp. (NERC) is warning that the bulk of the central U.S.—a region that stretches from the Great Lakes into southern Texas—may face critical power shortages […]

  • 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 during extreme winter weather conditions over the next three months. Natural gas supply disruptions and low hydropower conditions could also imperil power reliability in New England […]