flexibility

Like its Gunsmoke namesake, Miss Kitty—a Plains, Texas behind-the-meter microgrid project—is tough, pragmatic, and distinctly Western. Faced with a hard ceiling on utility power and years-long waits in the

Across the U.S., new AI-driven data centers are causing a significant increase in power demand. Carbon Direct projects that data center capacity in the U.S. will grow from roughly 25 GW in 2024 to 120 GW in 2030, a nearly five-fold increase that could make data centers a double-digit percentage of national electricity demand. In […]

The past few years have brought decades worth of change to electric utilities. An increasing fraction of supply is coming from intermittent sources like solar and wind. Energy storage technology has become economically viable and has seen widespread deployment. And the industry as a whole is grappling with what seems like insatiable new demand from […]

Modern reciprocating engines are enabling reliable power generation while balancing renewable energy growth. Their rapid-response capabilities and multi-fuel flexibility are crucial to grid stability

Researchers from Duke University have said that integrating more flexibility into U.S. power grids could help provide the energy needed to power future load growth, particularly the electricity needed to support artificial intelligence and data centers. The group in a Feb. 19 webinar discussed their findings, which are contained in their recent report titled “Rethinking […]

Using voltage data down to the consumer level is essential for grid optimisation and operational flexibility in the new era of intermittent generation and fast-changing user demand. Power grids were designed

The seven European countries that make up the Pentalateral Energy Forum—Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland—will strive for the decarbonization of their interconnected electricity system by 2035. The countries, which form the Pentalateral Energy Forum—a 2005-convened voluntary framework for regional energy cooperation—in a joint statement on Dec. 18 formally concluded, “timely decarbonization […]

Despite a dismal outlook for coal, countries with substantial coal fleets are intensifying efforts to develop new technologies and operational capabilities to improve coal power’s environmental impact

Fifty-eight projects spearheaded by major U.S. power stakeholders will receive up to $3.5 billion in federal funding to improve grid flexibility and boost power system resiliency against extreme weather and climate change, the Biden administration announced on Oct. 18. The projects mark the  Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) first competitive selections under the Grid Resilience and […]

Electrification is often presented as an optimal way to reduce carbon emissions, but it’s simply not practical to rely on electricity alone. No single energy source can solve the long-term environmental challenges the world faces. Why isn’t all electrification the answer? The infrastructure required to keep up with the electrification movement would take decades to […]

In order to meet decarbonization goals and limit the impacts of climate change, national power systems need to reach 100% renewable power generation without delay. Renewables like solar and wind will be needed in vast amounts, alongside flexible technology solutions, such as engine power plants and energy storage, to balance the intermittency of these power […]

Aging power plants are not necessarily liabilities. Owners must consider all of their options for both sites and equipment before they inadvertently discard valuable assets. The shift toward renewable energies

The first two GE 7HA.03 machines—the largest 60-Hz heavy-duty gas turbines in the world and the most efficient in GE’s fleet—are now operational at Florida Power & Light’s (FPL’s) newly inaugurated 1,260-MW Dania Beach Clean Energy Center (DBEC) in Broward County.  FPL officially declared the Dania Beach Clean Energy Center near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, commercially […]

The operating profiles of traditional generators has changed to manage the variability of renewable resources. Several critical processes were not engineered to manage these highly variable operating profiles

The Arizona Corporate Commission (ACC) has delivered a major blow to the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District’s (SRP’s) urgent plans to expand the 575-MW gas-fired Coolidge Generating Station with 820 MW of fast-start capacity. The ACC in a 4–1 vote on April 12 denied approval of the public power utility’s Certificate of […]

While 2021 unfolded with some relief from the chaotic global pandemic that jolted the world in 2020, the year may be remembered for its extraordinary series of energy crises. After a cold snap prompted mass

Power producers today need to address multiple changes to the energy industry that are coming fast and furious. Among these changes are diversification of fleets, new power generating profiles, and drastic

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

The grid must accommodate more inverter-based generation and adequately handle the bi-directional flow of electricity, but it must also apply alternative grid configurations and coordinate planning and operations across multiple participants and jurisdictions. That’s the vision Michael Pesin, deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Grid Research and Development division, outlined in […]

Gas turbines have grown into a hallmark of the modern power system for their high efficiency, reliability, operational flexibility, fuel flexibility, and low-emission power options. But if gas turbines are to

A web-based condition monitoring solution can help power plant operators quickly identify emissions gas analyzer problems, enabling timely corrections. The technology can also allow experts to monitor multiple

Gas power market drivers and a quest for relevance in future decarbonized systems are driving fundamental shifts in gas turbine combustion design approaches. Combustion lies at the heart of gas turbine

By Aurelien Guichard Manager, Arthur D. Little As we near the close of 2020, companies are under greater pressure to source more energy flexibility to ensure security of supply as renewables and other “green” alternatives shift the energy mix. From board rooms to investors to social media, the decisions companies are making and the approaches […]

A web-based condition monitoring solution can help power plant operators quickly identify emissions gas analyzer problems, enabling timely corrections. The technology can also allow experts to monitor multiple sites remotely, adding flexibility to operations. Electricity, water, and heat are such a part of our everyday lives that we only notice them when they’re gone. Energy […]

The U.S. power industry lacks forward-looking ways to measure grid resiliency and traditional reliability metrics could become irrelevant as more intermittent generation inundates the bulk power system. But rather than continually looking backward to learn from ever-increasing emergencies or close-shaves, power system operators must work to cultivate a balanced portfolio that considers all aspects of […]

Maintaining grid reliability and stability is increasingly challenging as renewable energy resources are added to the power mix. Combining battery storage systems with gas turbine units can improve overall

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) November 2019–released World Energy Outlook 2019 (WEO2019) is studded with interesting findings about emerging trends in the power sector. Here are 10 from the

The coal power industry acknowledges that to play a stable role in future power markets, it needs to modernize, and perhaps even overhaul its long-held status as a “conventional generator.” Could new

Innovation is ushering in a new age for nuclear power. As well as boosting plant economics, efficiency, and flexibility, advanced technologies could open up new markets to meet soaring demand for heat and

Solar photovoltaic (PV) could surge ahead of coal and gas and become the largest source of installed power capacity in the world in the next two decades if countries pursue stated policies and targets, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its newly released World Energy Outlook 2019 (WEO2019).  The agency’s annual publication, which it […]