natural gas

  • The Biden Administration Can Help Set American Energy on a Winning Course

    The 46th president of the United States has officially been sworn in. During his inauguration address President Joe Biden spoke of unity, empathy, and the challenges Americans must face together. Challenges indeed abound for Biden’s incoming environmental and energy team, including New Mexico congresswoman Deb Haaland as Interior Secretary, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as […]

  • Biden’s Orders Focus on Climate, Emissions

    President Biden has signed executive orders designed to move the U.S. to carbon neutrality by midcentury, part of a $2 trillion plan that would overhaul the nation’s electricity and transportation sectors. The president’s plan, outlined Jan. 27, focuses on climate change and includes a White House task force that would direct policies on greenhouse gas […]

  • Competitive Power Ventures Announces Closure of Acquisition by OPC Energy

    Silver Spring, MD (Jan. 25, 2021) – Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) today announced that its acquisition by OPC Energy (OPC) received regulatory approval and has closed. The Israeli company, partnered with three Israeli institutional investors, agreed in October to acquire 100 percent of  CPV from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and now fully owns CPV’s operating […]

  • Ethane-Fueled Plant Planned for North Dakota

    A natural gas exploration company working in the Bakken Shale has announced plans to build a $400 million power plant in North Dakota that would run on ethane. Bakken Midstream Natural Gas (BMNG) on Jan. 12 said it hopes to begin construction of the Williston Basin Energy Center in 2022. The company in a news […]

  • Big New Gas-Fired Plant Enters Commercial Operation in Texas

    The Montgomery County Power Station, a two-unit 993-MW natural gas-fired combined cycle plant, achieved commercial operation on Jan. 1, Entergy Texas Inc. and McDermott International Ltd. reported on Jan. 13. The plant—located at Entergy’s existing Lewis Creek site near Willis, Texas, about 50 miles north of Houston—was reportedly brought online “well ahead of schedule,” according […]

  • Montgomery County Gas-Fired Power Station Begins Commercial Operation

    HOUSTON, Jan. 13, 2021 — McDermott International, Ltd today announced the beginning of commercial operation of the Montgomery County Power Station, a combined-cycle gas power station in Willis, Texas, owned by Entergy Texas, Inc. “Congratulations to Project Director Drew German and the entire team on the Montgomery County Power Station project for bringing it in […]

  • The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Renewable Energy Growth Continues

    Wind and solar power capacity and generation have been growing steadily for years, as efforts to halt climate change and a desire for clean energy have gained public support around the world. As renewable

  • Environmental Legislation and Stationary Gas Engines

    As countries around the world set more stringent emissions standards, stationary gas engine operators are often required to incorporate new technology into their equipment. The changes can affect lubricants

  • Iran, Siemens Bring First of Several New Gas-Fired Plants Online

    An official with Iran’s Thermal Power Plants Holding Co. (TPPH) said the country’s first government-owned F-class power plant has entered operation, part of Iran’s continuing plan to add more natural gas-fired power generation. The plant is located in Iran’s southern Hormozgan Province, which is across the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman from Oman and […]

  • 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 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 […]

  • SaskPower Names Burns & McDonnell as EPC Contractor for Great Plains Power Station

    Construction Expected to Begin in 2021 for New 350-MW Combined-Cycle Facility KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Nov. 24, 2020) – SaskPower has selected Burns & McDonnell as the engineer-procure-construct (EPC) contractor for the new Great Plains Power Station. The new power facility will utilize highly efficient combined-cycle technology and clean-burning natural gas to provide up to 350 […]

  • Siemens, Toshiba Pulling Out of Coal-Fired Generation

    Toshiba Corp. and Siemens Energy are the latest major power industry companies to move away from coal. Toshiba on Nov. 11 announced it will stop taking new construction orders for coal-fired power plants, and Siemens on Nov. 10 said it will stop selling turbines for new coal-fired facilities. The two energy giants join General Electric […]

  • IEA: Renewables Will Lead Global Generation in 2025

    The world’s power generation is about to become even more green, according to a new publication from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The group on Nov. 10 published its “Renewables 2020″ report, and highlighted how generation capacity from both wind and solar will double across the next five years and surpass global generation from both […]

  • Guangdong Energy Group Awards Contract to GE and Harbin Electric Corporation for HA Technology to Boost China’s Greater Bay Area’s Transition from Coal to-Gas Power

    China, Dongguan, Guangdong province (November 9, 2020) — GE  today announced that Chinese state-owned power utility Guangdong Energy Group Co., Ltd ordered three 9HA.02 gas turbines for Dongguan Ningzhou combined cycle power plant in Guangdong province, in the Greater Bay Area.  Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is an agglomeration of cities put forward by […]

  • AEP Will Shutter Nearly Half its Giant Coal Power Fleet—5.6 GW—by 2030

    American Electric Power (AEP) will shut down or refuel 5.6 GW of its 2020 coal-fired power fleet by 2030 to comply with environmental rules—including recent revisions governing federal coal ash and effluent limitations—and rebalance its portfolio in a bid to meet ambitious climate goals.  The move is bold for the Columbus, Ohio-based generating giant, which […]

  • NETL: Meeting the Needs of the Nation’s Fossil Power Plant Fleet

    Through programs such as Transformative Power Generation, High-Performance Materials, and Advanced Coal Processing, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is conducting research and development

  • ABB introduces first comprehensive gas leak detection solution for utilities to help safeguard city populations

    QUEBEC, CANADA, OCTOBER 29, 2020 — Leaking natural gas pipelines in urban environments can result in explosions and fires.  The new ABB MicroGuard™ solution will work alongside ABB’s MobileGuard™ to pinpoint dangerous gas leaks. Faster and easier detection with this patented laser-based technology will help reduce fatalities, environmental damage and material loss. Governments around the world are seeking to […]

  • Sun shines bright in Alliant Energy’s Iowa Clean Energy Blueprint

    CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (October 29, 2020) – Today, Alliant Energy (NASDAQ: LNT) introduces the Clean Energy Blueprint for Iowa, a path for accelerating their transition to cleaner energy for customers. The Blueprint outlines the company’s plans to increase the use of renewable resources, including solar power, add more battery storage and build out the connected […]

  • GE Helps Maxim Power Corp Safely Switch from Coal-to-Gas Power to Support Canada’s Coal Phase-Out Plan

    Maxim Power’s (“Maxim”) Milner Power II power plant is currently the largest simple cycle natural gas-fired unit in Alberta. Maxim’s transition to natural gas marks a significant milestone in Alberta and Canada’s efforts towards decarbonization through coal-to-gas transition. GE worked closely with Maxim Power to upgrade and support the installation of a GE 7F.05 gas […]

  • Coal-Fired Power in 2021: A Recovery or a Reckoning?

    This has been the year from hell for coal-fired power and the coal industry. If current projections hold, coal generation in 2020 will be 21% lower than last year and 62% lower than the 2007 peak. The coal share of the generating mix, which for decades hovered around 50%, will finish the year at 20%, […]

  • Orlando Utility Pulling Plug on Coal-Fired Generation

    The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) said it plans to eliminate the group’s use of coal for power generation no later than 2027, including converting two coal-fired units at its Stanton Energy Center to run on natural gas. The Florida utility’s management on Oct. 14 made the recommendation as part of its Electric Integrated Resource Plan […]

  • Utilities Challenged by Shortfall From Unpaid Bills

    As many as 179 million Americans are at risk of losing utility services as the country heads toward winter, and electric and gas utility companies are looking at $24.3 billion in unpaid bills, according to an analysis released Oct. 1 by the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA). Many utilities at the start of the […]

  • It’s Fair to Say – New Plant Brings Benefits to Pennsylvania

    Competitive Power Ventures is known for building efficient and technologically advanced gas-fired facilities. The company’s Fairview Energy Center is its latest achievement, transforming a brownfield site

  • Swedish Companies Jointly Explore Hydrogen-Based Production of Steel

    Swedish energy company Vattenfall, mining company LKAB, and steel manufacturer SSAB in September started the world’s first pilot plant to produce “fossil-free” steel in Lulea, Sweden (Figure 3). As part

  • Decarbonization, Decentralization Driving Power Industry

    Technological innovation has forever been part of the power generation sector, as electricity producers strive for more efficient and more economic ways to deliver power. The POWER magazine editorial staff, in a “State of the Industry” presentation on Sept. 28 to open the virtual 2020 Experience POWER conference, identified four trends in power generation that […]

  • Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ Report Highlights Greening of the Grid

    The use of coal for North American power generation will continue to decline, natural gas will continue as the leading source of power, and the use of renewable resources to provide electricity will continue to grow, according to a report from Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The outlook, titled “North America Power Reference Case: Spring 2020” […]

  • California’s Cautionary Tale Against the Green New Deal

    California needs more reliable electricity. The ongoing rolling blackouts in the Golden State will likely become more frequent unless its elected leaders change their foolish energy policies. More importantly, California’s energy posture reveals some harsh lessons for the rest of America, as it provides a glimpse into the future of power generation should the Democrats […]

  • World’s Largest—For Now—Battery Storage Project Online in California

    A battery energy storage project in California is set to be the world’s largest in terms of generation capacity when the facility is fully energized later in September. McCarthy Building Companies’ Renewable Energy & Storage group, based in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sept. 1 said the company had recently completed construction of LS Power’s 250-MW Gateway […]

  • Vietnam Wants More Generation Capacity, Less Reliance on Coal

    Vietnamese officials earlier this year said they want the country to more than double its power generation capacity by 2030, to as much as 130 GW from the current capacity of about 55 GW. The Communist Party

  • Construction Begins on New Gas Plant in Alberta

    Macquarie Capital and a handful of other development sponsors announced they have successfully closed financing for the C$1.5 billion ($1.2 billion U.S.) Cascade Power Project, a 900-MW combined cycle natural gas-fired generating plant near Edson, Alberta. The new facility (Figure 1), expected to meet more than 8% of the province’s average demand for power, will […]