natural gas
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News
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 […]
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Nuclear
Hydrogen May Be a Lifeline for Nuclear—But It Won’t Be Easy
Four U.S. nuclear generators—Energy Harbor, Xcel Energy, Exelon, and Arizona Public Service (APS)—are making headway on projects to demonstrate hydrogen production at nuclear plants, but scaling those efforts up to net new end-users and sources of revenue is still ridden with hurdles, company officials said in a panel discussion at the American Nuclear Society’s (ANS’s) […]
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News
Alabama PSC Backs Plan for New Gas Generation
Alabama Power’s plan to add about 2 GW of natural gas-fired power generation capacity to its portfolio was approved by the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) on June 9. The PSC also supported the utility’s request to acquire 240 MW of gas-fired generation under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) that should begin this year, […]
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Press Releases
Maxim Power Corp. Commissions M2, the Largest Simple Cycle Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant in Alberta
CALGARY, Alberta (June 1, 2020) – Maxim Power Corp. (“MAXIM” or the “Corporation”) (TSX: MXG) announces it has successfully commissioned its 204 MW natural gas-fired power plant (“M2”) located near Grande Cache, Alberta. M2 began generating electricity to the Alberta power grid on May 8, 2020 during commissioning and successfully demonstrated its maximum generating capacity […]
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News
Coal to Gas—Medical Campus Gets a Generation Transformation
When a hospital’s primary mission is keeping people healthy, what happens when a power plant gets sick? That was the situation that faced the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center (MRMC) when it’s circa 1950
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Press Releases
Wärtsilä gas engine technology to secure customer’s future in Spain’s CHP market
MAY 26, 2020 — The technology group Wärtsilä’s capabilities in gas conversions for oil-fueled power plants have again been recognized with a new order. Rofeica Energia, based in Barcelona, Spain, has ordered a Wärtsilä 34SG gas-fueled engine generating set, enabling the company to secure its future in Spain’s Combined Heat and Power (CHP) market. The […]
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News
Alliant Closing Coal Unit, Brings Gas Plant Online
Wisconsin-based Alliant Energy on May 22 said it would retire the coal-fired Edgewater Generating Station in Sheboygan by year-end 2022, an announcement coming just one week after the utility said it had placed the new 730-MW West Riverside Energy Center, a natural gas-fired combined cycle plant in Beloit, into commercial operation. Alliant, which also has […]
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News
GenOn Will Close Three Coal-Fired Units
The Texas-based company that owns a coal-fired power plant in Maryland announced it will retire the facility’s three generating units, which have been in operation for about 60 years. GenOn Holdings said Units 1, 2, and 3 at its Dickerson Generating Station will be closed due to “unfavorable economic conditions and increased costs associated with […]
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News
Construction Halted on 1-GW Polish Coal Plant
Polish energy companies Enea and Energa late on May 19 announced they were ending their involvement with construction of the Ostroleka C coal-fired power plant, after new co-owner PKN Orlen said it would not be involved in the project if it utilizes coal. PKN Orlen, a Poland state-owned energy company that recently acquired Energa, said […]
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News
Siemens Launches ‘Most Powerful’ HL-Class Gas Turbine
Siemens on May 15 began moving what the company calls its “largest, most powerful, and most efficient heavy-duty gas turbine” from Germany to the UK, where the company will test the equipment for use in a combined cycle power plant. The SGT5-9000 HL turbine, built by Siemens Gas and Power in its Berlin factory, will […]
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News
U.S. Coal-Fired Generation at Lowest Level Since 1976
U.S. coal-fired power generation last year was at its lowest level since 1976, according to data released May 11 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook report said energy from renewable resources could this year for the first time surpass coal-fired generation in the U.S. The agency […]
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Gas
Natural Gas and Renewables as Natural Partners, Especially in Challenging Times
Earth Day is normally when we honor the headway made in advancing environmental and climate goals, while also reflecting on the challenges that remain before us. However, this year our society was caught up in a pandemic-induced economic downturn that has left Americans focused squarely on sensible preservation of ourselves, our families, and our way of […]
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News
The POWER Interview: Keeping the Flame for Natural Gas
The crash in global oil prices, though a challenge for cash-strapped drillers and U.S. exploration and production (E&P) companies, may provide an opportunity to move natural gas prices higher. Analysts in recent days have said higher gas prices could come as soon as next winter—some predict prices could more than double from recent lows of […]
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News
Virginia Commits to End Coal-Fired Generation
Virginia on April 12 became the latest state to commit to a phase-out of fossil fuel-powered electricity generation, as Gov. Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Economy Act into law. The legislation sets new requirements for energy efficiency among the state’s leading utility companies, and also requires most of the state’s six remaining coal-fired power plants […]
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News
Xcel Selling Gas Plant; Proceeds Will Support Pandemic Relief
Xcel Energy on April 6 announced the sale of the 760-MW Mankato Energy Center (MEC) gas-fired power plant in Minnesota, less than three months after purchasing the plant for $650 million from Southern Co. Xcel had said the MEC was an important piece of the utility’s goal to be carbon-free by 2050. Xcel reached a […]
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News
EIA Notes Power Demand Destruction From Coronavirus
The coronavirus pandemic is altering the power landscape, with utilities and other power generators forced to adjust for load disruptions. Power consumption is changing as commercial and industrial electricity users close their businesses, and load is shifting to the residential sector with workers now settled in home offices, and students practicing remote and distance learning. […]
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Fuel
Project to Outfit Natural Gas Power Plant with Carbon Capture Gets Investor Boost
A project to outfit an existing natural gas power plant with a “large-scale” carbon capture facility got its legs on April 2 with the finalization of key investment agreements. Private equity investment firm Starwood Energy Group Global and global investment fund OGCI Climate Investments announced Thursday they had finalized agreements to co-invest in the initial […]
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News
Natural Gas a Powerful Force, Despite Industry Headwinds
Gas prices remain low worldwide, and the challenge for producers is to find a market for their supply. Gas remains the No. 1 source of U.S. power generation, and will continue in that spot for several more
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News
Shift to Gas, Financing Issues Could Delay Polish Power Plant Project
Officials in Poland have said changing the fuel source of a planned 1-GW power plant in Ostroleka, known as Ostroleka C, from coal to natural gas could delay the project, which already faces several financial
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News
Banks Invest in Coal, Gas Projects Despite Pushback
A new report from a half-dozen environmental groups says global banks financed $2.7 trillion of fossil fuel projects from December 2015, when the Paris Agreement on climate was reached, through year-end 2019. The report said funding for such projects has increased in each of the past four years. “Banking on Climate Change 2020,” published March […]
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Markets
Gas-Heavy ISO-New England Braces for Steep Influx of Wind, Solar, Storage
While it is currently highly dependent on natural gas generation today, about 95% of ISO-New England’s (ISO-NE’s) interconnection request queue—a proposed total capacity of 20.9 GW—comprises wind, solar, and battery projects. That clearly indicates that developers in New England’s wholesale market “are looking to take advantage of state incentives, declining technology costs, and revenues from […]
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Gas
Argan, Inc.’s Wholly Owned Subsidiary Gemma Power Systems Enters into an EPC Contract for a 920 MW Power Project in West Virginia
ROCKVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Argan, Inc. (NYSE: AGX) (“Argan” or the “Company”) announced today that in late February 2020 its wholly owned subsidiary, Gemma Power Systems (”Gemma”), entered into an engineering, procurement and construction (“EPC”) services contract with ESC Brooke County Power I, LLC to construct Brooke County Power, a 920 MW natural gas-fired power plant, in […]
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News
POWER Digest [March 2020]
Siemens Buys Out Iberdrola, Readying to Spin Off Gas and Power and SGRE Businesses. Siemens AG will acquire Spanish renewables giant Iberdrola SA’s full 8.1% stake in Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE)
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Gas
How to Clean Natural Gas Piping with Gas Blows
Prior to placing newly installed natural gas piping and valves in service, systems must be properly cleaned to remove potentially damaging foreign material that is inherently left behind during construction
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News
The POWER Interview: Vicinity CEO Discusses District Energy
The rise of distributed, or decentralized, power generation has been supported by district energy, the generation from facilities and associated distribution networks supplying steam or hot water, chilled water, and electricity for heating and cooling to millions of square feet of building space across the U.S. and around the globe. District energy is among several […]
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Press Releases
California Terminates Plan for Southern California Gas-Fired Power Plant
SACRAMENTO, California (Feb. 20, 2020) — The California Energy Commission terminated the license today for the Palmdale Energy Project, a proposed fracked-gas-fired power plant in the Southern California city of Palmdale. The termination came at the request of the plant’s developer, who cited a lack of interest in new fossil fuel power generation. “It’s extremely […]
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News
TECO Announces $800-Million Investment in New Solar
Tampa Electric Co. (TECO) on Feb. 19 said it plans to invest about $800 million to add another 600 MW of solar power generation capacity by year-end 2023. TECO on Wednesday said the expansion will increase its solar portfolio to more than 1.25 GW of solar generation, or about 14% of its total generation mix. […]
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Press Releases
Wärtsilä gas power plant will facilitate growth of Bangladeshi industrial complex
Wärtsilä Corporation (February 13, 2020) — The technology group Wärtsilä has been awarded to supply a 78 MW engine power plant on a fast-track basis in order to support the growth of an industrial complex in Bangladesh. The order was placed in November by Jamuna Power, a part of the Jamuna Group, one of Bangladesh’s […]
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News
California Official: Solar’s Future Bright, but Clouds Persist
The technology behind solar power is changing rapidly. Researchers at the University of California, Davis have said so-called “anti-solar” panels could even generate power at night. But even as solar deployments grow worldwide, more innovative solar products are launched, and more governments enact clean energy mandates, political headwinds threaten to slow the progress of the […]
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News
India’s Energy Market Overhaul—Infrastructure, Renewables, and Keeping Coal in the Mix
India wants to reform its power generation sector, including upgrades to energy infrastructure, and plans to introduce new technology to make its electricity supply more reliable and resilient. It’s part of