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With COVID-19 filling the news throughout 2020, it’s very likely you missed some of the most important developments that occurred in the power sector this year. Here’s a look at some of the highlights and big stories covered by the POWER staff this year. MOX Nuclear Fuel Loaded In January, Russian engineers announced the loading […]

Italy’s Enel is decommissioning one of its coal-fired power plants in Chile two years sooner than originally planned, with the unit’s closure coming two days after the Chile-based unit of a U.S. utility announced it would accelerate the closure of a pair of coal-fired power plants in the country. Enel on Dec. 31 is closing […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 31, 2020 12 Big Power Stories You May Have Missed in 2020 With COVID-19 filling the news throughout 2020, it’s very likely you missed some of the most important developments that occurred in the power sector this year. Here's a look […]

Over the past year, power generators that depend on wholesale electricity markets for the bulk of their revenues endured remarkable pressure stemming from the pandemic, changing company business priorities, and environmentally driven policy shifts. But customer-centric efforts, founded on principles of healthy competition, have helped them persevere, said the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA).  The […]

Innovation in the design of onshore wind turbines continues, with GE Renewable Energy announcing Dec. 28 that it will supply eight of the company’s 3 MW-137 turbines as part of the Phuoc Minh Wind Farm in Vietnam. Monday’s announcement comes just days after Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) announced the largest deal ever for its […]

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to lead three advanced energy storage projects. The projects will study innovative, non-battery-based bulk energy storage solutions integrated with fossil assets. “Investing in research and development to improve energy storage is critical at this moment in time,” Neva Espinoza, vice […]

Nuclear power capacity continues to grow worldwide, as larger reactors are added to the grid while smaller units are retired. Furthermore, uprates to some existing reactors have also added to the world’s nuclear power capacity. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports the total net installed capacity is about 393 GW today. Nuclear reactor additions […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 28, 2020 New Generator Technology Cuts Emissions, Embraces Sustainability The search for more efficient methods of power generation at a time when climate change is top of mind continues to foster innovation. A U.S. company is among the latest…   China […]

Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom has signed an agreement confirming its participation in construction of a small modular nuclear reactor project in the Russian Republic of Sakha. Officials from Sakha—an area also known as Yakutia—on Dec. 23 signed a deal with Rosatom outlining the formation of “electric power tariff principles” for an SMR power […]

The U.S. bulk electric system consists of more than 360,000 miles of transmission lines, including approximately 180,000 miles of high-voltage lines, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. That means power companies have a lot on their plates when it comes to inspecting and maintaining those assets. Furthermore, the stakes are high. As wildfires in […]

Provinces across China are reportedly grappling with crippling power shortages prompted by a surge in power demand from a stunning ramp up in industrial activity, an especially harsh winter, and tight coal supplies, which may be exacerbated by a ban on Australian coal.  Power shortages have been reported in Zhejiang province, an economic powerhouse in […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 24, 2020 Nuclear, Carbon Capture, and Energy Storage Advocates Happy; Co-ops Disappointed by Stimulus Package Although provisions in the $900 billion stimulus package agreed to by Congress on Dec. 21 that will extend the solar investment tax credit (ITC) and the […]

The shift from energy consumers to prosumers is fundamentally changing the relationship between utilities and their customers. Behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (DERs) transform the ways households consume, generate, and store power. In the U.S., there are now about 15 million smart thermostats, 2 million solar installations, and 1.5 million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road. And […]

Although provisions in the $900 billion stimulus package agreed to by Congress on Dec. 21 that will extend the solar investment tax credit (ITC) and the wind production tax credit (PTC) received the greatest publicity, lawmakers also authorized about $35 billion for clean energy research and development (R&D) programs focused on solar technology, advanced nuclear […]

Congress agreed on legislation that would extend the investment tax credit (ITC) for solar projects for two years and the production tax credit (PTC) for wind projects for one year. The full legislative package combines a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package and an omnibus spending bill for 2021 with tax extenders and energy policy changes. […]

The past week has marked several significant developments in the offshore wind segment. GE Renewable Energy snagged a key agreement for the third 1.2-GW phase of the 3.6-GW Dogger Bank wind farm in the UK, saying the project will use an “upscaled” 14-MW version of its Haliade-X wind turbine. In a potential win for Siemens […]

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the energy industry saw surplus supply and a change in usage patterns in 2020, to which it had to adapt painfully. Utility crews had to deal with a tedious hurricane season, with socially distant, limited staff. Artificial intelligence (AI) could have played a role in prioritizing essential tasks […]

Electrical environments are extremely dangerous for workers, with arc-flash hazards on the rise due to an increased demand in electricity and energy, meaning that workers are at risk now more than ever. In these environments, personal protective equipment (PPE) such as arc-flash clothing acts as essential protection for workers while performing jobs, from maintenance checks […]

We’re at the electric tipping point as electric stoves, vehicles, and construction equipment displace the fossil fuel guzzlers of the past. Yet, before a carbon-neutral future can truly take off, utilities and the electric grid need to innovate. For the world to hit net-zero emissions targets by 2050, grid investments need to almost triple to […]

China is the largest manufacturer and installer of solar photovoltaic power systems in the world, and the country appears ready to increase its solar installations based on information contained in the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP). The plan, covering the period 2021-2025, is being developed and expected to be implemented beginning in March 2021. The […]

Operational technology (OT) electronics and networks for manufacturing, energy production, and virtually every other industrial application, are targets for cyberattacks. For infrastructure-related companies, such as power producers, transportation, and water plants, the OT networks are not only the revenue producers, but also important targets for destabilizing national security. Successful attacks can be destructive and costly, […]

The search for more efficient methods of power generation at a time when climate change is top of mind continues to foster innovation. A U.S. company is among the latest to release a new technology, with development of a self-contained generator that doesn’t run on fossil fuels and works on the premise that once created, […]

Demolition of the Navajo Generating Station, a 2,400-MW coal-fired power plant that generated electricity for several cities in the U.S. Southwest, continued Dec. 18 as explosions brought down the facility’s three large smokestacks. The plant was closed in November 2019. The NGS, located near Page, Arizona, is being demolished by Salt River Project (SRP). The […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a “prohibition order” in line with President Trump’s May 2020 broad bulk power system (BPS) security executive order (EO 13920) that will ban some utility procurement of specific grid equipment from China.  When it takes effect on Jan. 16, 2021, the Dec. 17–issued “Prohibition Order Securing Critical Defense […]

The leader of North Carolina’s agency overseeing environmental issues in that state will be nominated to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), POWER learned on Dec. 17. Michael Regan, 44, who previously worked at EPA and has served with the North Carolina Dept. of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) since 2017, is expected to be nominated […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 17, 2020 GE All-in to Fight Climate Change, Urges Accelerated Replacement of Coal Power General Electric (GE) has taken a marked step to position itself in the global fight against climate change, advocating for immediate and effective power sector decarbonization through […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has chosen five assorted advanced nuclear reactor concepts under the second Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) risk reduction pathway. TerraPower and X-energy, which the DOE chose to support under the first ARDP pathway, are looking at siting their advanced nuclear demonstrations in Washington State, the DOE said.  The ARDP program, which […]

A European company considered a leader in the offshore wind sector has signed on to help develop a major project off the Massachusetts coast. Ventolines, a Dutch company that worked on the first commercial U.S. offshore wind project, on Dec. 16 announced it has opened a U.S. office and will support construction of the Mayflower […]

Ventolines, known for clean energy projects in Europe and for supervising installation of the first U.S. offshore wind turbines at Block Island off the Rhode Island coast, on Dec. 16 announced it will take a leading role on Mayflower Wind, an 804-MW project in the waters off Massachusetts. Ventolines, headquartered in the Netherlands, also announced […]

Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm will be President-elect Joe Biden’s choice to run the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE), POWER learned Dec. 15. She is poised take over the agency at a time when the DOE grapples with the nation’s move away from electricity generation from fossil fuels, and toward the use of more renewable […]