natural gas

  • 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 […]

  • Financing Secured for New Gas Plant with GE HA Turbines

    Financing has been secured for a new combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant in Illinois, a project expected to begin supplying electricity to the Chicago area in 2023. Competitive Power Ventures (CPV), in partnership with GE Energy Financial Services, Osaka Gas USA, Axium Infrastructure, and Harrison Street, on August 24 said it has reached financial […]

  • EIA Details Impact of Coal-to-Gas Switching

    U.S. utilities have made a significant move away from coal-fired power generation in the past decade, evidenced by a continuing stream of announced coal plant retirements. That transition has been partly driven by new generation from renewable resources, such as wind and solar power. New data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released August 5, […]

  • Why Coal Lost—and Can It Recover?

    Coal burn in the power sector has fallen off a cliff. Demand peaked at 1.045 billion tons in 2007. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates consumption in 2020 will be 377 million tons, a drop of 64% in little more than a decade. The EIA is forecasting a modest rebound in 2021 (to 462 […]

  • Gas, Solar Will Power Pittsburgh Airport Microgrid

    A microgrid project pairing natural gas with solar power is taking shape at Pittsburgh International Airport, with the installation expected to be the primary source of electricity for the property by the summer of 2021. Construction of the microgrid (Figure 1) began a few weeks ago with site preparation work, which included rerouting an electrical […]

  • Future-Proofing Gas Generation for the Coming Carbon-Free World

    Is gas generation quickly going down the same path as coal? Will gas power generation built today be abandoned in 30 years? How can you be serious about climate change and still build gas power generation? As governments, utilities, and private enterprises continue to set aggressive net-zero emissions goals, these are the hard questions being […]

  • SoCalGas Now Powering Two Los Angeles Facilities with Bloom Energy AlwaysON Microgrids

    LOS ANGELES and SAN JOSE, Calif. (July 17, 2020) – Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced it has begun powering two of its largest Los Angeles-area facilities with Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) solid oxide fuel cells.  The switch to fuel cells will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollutants and the cost of power, […]

  • How to Optimize Your Facility While Using Variable Quality Fuel Gas

    The composition and heating values of fuel gas can vary from one moment in time to another. Using a Coriolis flow meter to obtain a mass flow measurement, rather than relying on a standard volume flow

  • Pennsylvania Site Latest Gas Plant Online in Building Surge

    Gas-fired power generation in the U.S. remains the top source of electricity production, even as renewable energy continues to take market share. A POWER analysis of projects shows nearly 180 gas-fired units are either under construction or in development nationwide, with more than 2,000 gas-fired plants currently in operation. One of the most-recent plants to […]

  • Hydrogen Fueling Turbines at Japan Refinery

    A pilot hydrogen project has begun providing fuel for the gas turbines at a facility near Tokyo, Japan. Chiyoda Corp. on June 25 said the project using imported hydrogen is now powering generators at the Toa Oil Co. refinery in Kawasaki. Chiyoda, along with Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co., and Nippon Yusen, has been working […]

  • Caterpillar Supports NorthWestern Energy’s Sustainability Goals by Supplying 58 MW Power Solution for New Plant in Huron, S.D.

    DEERFIELD, IL (June 23, 2020) — Caterpillar Inc. today announced an agreement with NorthWestern Energy (NYSE: NWE) to supply an integrated power solution that includes six Cat® G20CM34 gas generator sets for a new 58 MW power plant near Huron, S.D. The Cat G20CM34 gas generator sets will replace combustion turbines currently operating at the […]

  • Colorado Utility Will Close Coal Plant 16 Years Early

    A Colorado-based electric utility owned by the four communities it serves announced it will close its remaining coal-fired plant by the end of the decade, a facility that had a planned retirement date of 2046. The Platte River Power Authority on June 16 said the 280-MW Unit 1 at its Rawhide Energy Station near Fort […]

  • Vectren Will Close Coal Units, Add Renewables

    Vectren Corp., the electric utility that serves much of southern Indiana, has announced a plan to shutter its remaining coal-fired power plants and transition to renewable energy. The utility also said it would add gas-fired generation to back up those renewable resources. Vectren’s June 15 announcement comes about two years after Northern Indiana Public Service […]

  • UK Energy Giant Will Cut 5,000 Jobs

    Centrica, the major UK utility and the biggest supplier of energy to British homes, on June 11 said it would cut 5,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting effort. CEO Chris O’Shea, who took over the company three months ago, said he also wants to simplify the utility’s business model. The company Thursday said the […]