POWER Magazine

Plant officials from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Watts Bar nuclear facility said during a senior management meeting presentation that Unit 2—currently under construction—is expected to reach commercial operations on Dec. 13, 2015. Assuming it does, the unit will be the first nuclear reactor added to the U.S. fleet since Watts Bar Unit 1 was [...]The post First New Nuclear Unit in U.S. in Nearly 20 Years Is on Track to Begin Operating in 2015 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Department of the Army for Civil Works announced on March 24 that the three agencies would continue to collaborate on hydropower development for at least another five years. The agreement extends a memorandum of understanding (MOU) the three agencies originally signed in [...]The post Government Agencies Continue Partnership to Advance Hydropower Technology appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Adds Moniz’s March 25 comments on the future of the nation’s nuclear waste beyond Yucca Mountain. As four bipartisan U.S. senators unveiled a bill that tasks a new independent agency with permanent disposal of the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz on Tuesday outlined steps the agency would take to [...]The post UPDATED: DOE and Senators Separately Outline Steps to Manage U.S. Nuclear Waste appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Numerous announcements of plant closures during the past week are painting a grim picture for the future of the coal industry. On March 20, several news outlets reported that American Electric Power (AEP) had sent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, notices to workers at half a dozen coal-fired plants. Employees at the [...]The post Industry in Turmoil: Coal Plants Shutting Down Around the World appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The ongoing record drought in California has caused significant changes in the state’s power mix as water available for hydroelectric generation becomes increasingly scarce, according to a recent report from Oakland-based nonprofit the Pacific Institute. The California Independent System Operator warned last year that water shortages were likely to substantially impact the state’s generation, with [...]The post Drought Continues to Challenge California Grid appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Four Japanese utilities last week announced that they would retire five older reactors rather than implement strict and expensive safety requirements mandated by new nuclear regulations. Kansai Electric Power Co. on March 17 said it will close two reactors (340 MW and 500 MW) at its Mihama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture. On the same [...]The post Japanese Utilities to Retire Five Nuclear Reactors appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Several gigawatts of solar energy faded from European grids during the two-hour solar eclipse that shadowed the continent, as well as parts of Northern Africa and Asia, on Friday morning. But according to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E)—an organization representing 41 transmission system operators (TSOs) from 34 European countries—grid operators [...]The post Total Solar Eclipse “Blacks Out” Europe appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The consortium behind the Nordlink high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) link between Germany and Norway on Mar. 19 awarded the construction contract for the project to Swiss firm ABB. The $2 billion, 525-kV transmission line will be, at 623 kilometers (km), the longest HVDC connection in Europe. It will transit the North Sea across the Skagerrak strait, [...]The post Nordlink Consortium Chooses ABB appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Cyberattacks on Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power’s (KHNP’s) computer systems last December were committed by a group of North Korean hackers, an interim South Korean investigation has concluded. The Seoul central prosecutors office said in a March 16 statement that the malicious codes used for the nuclear operator hacking were “the same in composition and [...]The post S. Korea Points to N. Korea for Nuclear Plant Hacking appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Global emissions of carbon dioxide from the energy sector were unchanged from the preceding year—marking the first time in 40 years in which there was a halt or reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases that was not associated to an economic downturn, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. The Paris-based autonomous organization said in a [...]The post IEA: For First Time in 40 Years, World Energy Sector GHG Emissions Stalled in 2014 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The reliability support service agreement (RSSA) that would rescue the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in western New York from an early retirement has come under fire from a group of about 60 large electricity customers—industrial, institutional, and commercial entities—who on Mar. 6 asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reject the proposed deal, [...]The post Ginna Reliability Deal Draws Fire appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) in Sharm El-Sheikh resulted in some big agreements for the Egyptian government including a reported $10.5 billion deal with Siemens and a $1.7 billion order with GE. The conference was held March 13–15, 2015, and was purported to be a key milestone of the government’s medium term economic development [...]The post Siemens and GE Ink Big Orders with Egypt appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Delays and other contested costs are expected to push the price for two new units being constructed at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station up by $980 million, a petition freshly filed by South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G) with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (SCPSC) shows. SCE&G made the filing to [...]The post V.C. Summer Nuclear Expansion Costs to Surge by Nearly $1B appeared first on POWER Magazine.

While developers in the U.S. celebrated financial closing for the 15-MW Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island—the would-be first offshore wind farm in the U.S.—Germany said this month that it expects to commission about 2 GW of new capacity in 2015, adding to its total of 1,048 MW at the end of 2014. Though [...]The post German Offshore Wind Capacity Surging appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released 2015 scheduled capacity additions and retirements on Mar. 10, and the news was not good for the coal industry. As has been the trend for several years, coal-fired generation accounts for the majority of expected retirements (12.9 GW of the nearly 16 GW total). However, most of the [...]The post Wind, Natural Gas, and Solar Continue to Nudge Coal to the Curb appeared first on POWER Magazine.

GE Power & Water announced Mar. 5 that it had achieved 50.1% electrical efficiency with its gas-fired J920 FleXtra reciprocating engine during a test run at the Jenbacher facility in Austria. This is the first time a reciprocating engine has reached 50% efficiency. The 9.5-MW J920 FleXtra, introduced for 50-Hz applications in 2013 and 60-Hz [...]The post GE Tops 50% Engine Efficiency as Gas Engine Market Heats Up appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) may further reduce its coal-fired capacity and scrap its unfinished Bellefonte nuclear power plant, the utility’s long-awaited draft power generation strategy unveiled on March 9 shows. 
 The federally owned corporation has been developing its 2015 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), essentially a power planning roadmap to 2033, since fall 2013. The [...]The post TVA’s Draft Strategy Hints at Future Energy Efficiency Boosts, Coal Retirements appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Florida Power and Light (FPL) wants to buy a 250-MW coal-fired facility in Florida to shut it down. The Juno Beach, Fla.–based company filed a petition with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) on Friday requesting approval to acquire the Cedar Bay Generating Plant for $520.5 million. FPL has had a long-term power purchase agreement [...]The post FPL Seeks to Acquire and Phase Out Coal-Fired Power Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced on Mar. 4 that, after completing an acceptance check, it has concluded that an application to certify the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400) reactor design for use in the U.S. is complete enough to begin a full design certification review. The application—submitted collaboratively by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power [...]The post New Nuclear Reactor Plant Designs: One NRC Review Begins, One Is Suspended appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released state electric power sector CO2 emissions data on Mar. 4 exposing Texas facilities as the largest emitters of CO2 gases in the country—more than twice the total of Pennsylvania, which ranked second. The most recent data was from 2012 and showed that electric power plants in Texas released [...]The post Texas Leads the Nation in Power Sector CO2 Emissions appeared first on POWER Magazine.

French nuclear firm AREVA’s dismal financial results for 2014 are indicative of the continuing stagnation of nuclear operations, a lack of competitiveness, and the company’s difficulties in managing the risks inherent in large projects, CEO Philippe Knoche said today. The company reported a loss of €4.9 billion ($5.6 billion) for 2014 in line with a [...]The post AREVA Points to Stagnating Nuclear Operations for Dismal Financial Results appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Rooftop solar company SolarCity on Mar. 2 filed suit in federal court in Arizona seeking to overturn a new rate structure approved by the Salt River Project (SRP) that levies additional charges on customers with rooftop solar panels. On Feb. 26, the SRP board voted to approve a change in how it bills customers who [...]The post SolarCity Files Antitrust Suit Over SRP Rooftop Solar Fee appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Plans for a massive coal mine in New South Wales, Australia, which is being developed by Chinese coal mining giant Shenhua Group, were thrown into doubt as the federal environmental minister opted to delay a decision on its final approval. The Watermark mine, which could cost $1.2 billion and produce more than 250 million metric [...]The post Australia Puts Huge Chinese-Backed Coal Mine Project on Hold appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A bipartisan group of Illinois legislators have introduced bills that propose a market-based solution to curb carbon emissions and ensure continued operation of the state’s nuclear power plants. The bills SB 1585 and HB 3293 introduced in the state Senate and House would enact the Illinois Low Carbon Portfolio Standard. That measure, like a renewable [...]The post Illinois Mulls Low Carbon Portfolio Standard appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Here are selected thought-provoking (and even unexpected) comments made by presenters at the 10th annual MIT Energy Conference on Feb. 27 and 28 in Cambridge, Mass. Comments are summarized and paraphrased unless presented in quotes. For more on the event, see “Exelon: The Utility of the Future Views Change as Enabling, Not Disruptive” and the [...]The post 10 Industry Leaders Comment on the Future of Energy, Electricity, and the Grid appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Integrating more variable generation and storage, but no new nuclear units, are among the characteristics Exelon sees in the utility of the future, as outlined by Chief Strategy Officer William A. Von Hoene Jr. at the MIT Energy Conference, held Feb. 27–28. He began his Saturday address by saying that innovation is “absolutely indispensible.” Old, [...]The post Exelon: The Utility of the Future Views Change as Enabling, Not Disruptive appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Contact Energy fully commissioned New Zealand’s largest geothermal power plant last year, nudging installed geothermal capacity to a shade over 1 GW. Nearly 80% of the country’s electricity is sourced fromThe post New Zealand’s Geothermal Industry Is Poised for the Future appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Geothermal resources have important strategic value for New Zealand, as they are able to directly supply both heat and electricity (see “New Zealand Geothermal Industry Is Poised for the Future” in thisThe post New Zealand Strives to Maximize the Value of Geothermal Wastewater appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Late last year, Japanese engineers and technicians accomplished a major milestone nearly four years after the most damaging light-water reactor accident in history at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear stationThe post Nuclear Industry Pursues New Fuel Designs and Technologies appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Originally, the modern combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) unit was developed to act as a largely baseload source of generation due to its high thermal efficiency and low initial capital cost. But as marketsThe post Protecting Steam Cycle Components During Low-Load Operation of Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Lodi Energy Center (LEC) is a 296-MW 1 x 1 combined cycle plant in Lodi, Calif., just north of Stockton and east of the San Joaquin River delta (Figure 1). From the outside, there’s little to distinguishThe post Are Flexible Generation Plants Performing as Expected? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Worldwide, the U.S. is the largest producer of geothermal power; however, geothermal energy provides less than 0.5% of total generation in the U.S. Given geothermal’s small piece of the U.S. electricity pieThe post Mining for Lithium in Geothermal Brine: Promising but Pricey appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Alloys found in the condensate and feedwater systems of power plants include carbon steel for piping, pumps, and in some cases heat exchangers. Many systems still have some copper-based alloys from admiraltyThe post Feedwater Chemistry Meets Stainless Steel, Copper, and Iron appeared first on POWER Magazine.

With the final Clean Power Plan rule covering existing power plants scheduled for release this summer, and the amount of flexibility that has been afforded to the states to meet emissions targets, states haveThe post Save Power with Natural Cooling for Building Ventilation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems installed in steam generators for NOx reduction are ordinarily designed for full boiler load conditions, when SCR inlet temperatures normally exceed unit-specificThe post SCR Reheat Burners Keep NOx in Spec at Low Loads appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A facility’s steam turbine ranks at, or at least near, the top of the list of vital power plant equipment. Without it, the thermal energy in pressurized steam can not be converted to rotary motion, which isThe post Advanced Bearing Technology Eliminates Subsynchronous Steam Turbine Vibrations appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Water is the lifeblood of a thermal power plant. As such, obtaining clean and pure makeup water and dealing with wastewater has been a requirement since the first steam generating unit went into operation. AsThe post Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology Update appeared first on POWER Magazine.

After decades of potential but limited deployment, fuel cells are beginning to carve out a role in grid-scale generation (see “59-MW Fuel Cell Park Opening Heralds Robust Global Technology Future” in theThe post A Handheld Fuel Cell Generator appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Utah Red Hills Renewable Energy Park, a 104-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant under development by Norwegian firm Scatec Solar at Parowan in southwest Utah, closed financing on Jan. 7 thanks to anThe post Google Backs Norwegian-Developed Solar Plant in Utah appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The South African power system is severely constrained and will remain tight until at least the end of April, according to Eskom. The company generates approximately 95% of the electricity used in South AfricaThe post Power Shortages Challenge Eskom, Force Load Shedding in South Africa appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a $2.5 million contract to Finnish environmental and industrial data firm Vaisala to coordinate a study of methods to improve wind energy forecasting in complexThe post DOE Wind Forecasting Grant Goes to Finnish Firm appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Entergy Louisiana’s two-unit, 560-MW combined cycle plant in Westwego, La., just outside New Orleans, completed construction on Dec. 26, both under budget and several months ahead of its original scheduleThe post Entergy’s Ninemile 6 Plant Completes Construction appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The 338-MW Russey Chrum Krom hydropower plant in southwestern Koh Kong province, Cambodia, was inaugurated on Jan. 12. The Chinese-built project is the largest hydropower station located in the Southeast AsianThe post Cambodia’s Largest Hydropower Plant Begins Operation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Methane emissions are garnering increasing attention because of their potential impact on the climate. Though far less methane is released to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, methane has 20 to 25 times theThe post U.S., Netherlands Harness Waste Gases for Distributed Generation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approved an electric security plan (ESP) for AEP Ohio—a unit of American Electric Power—on Feb. 25, but declined to adopt the company’s proposed power purchase agreement (PPA) as it relates to the Ohio Valley Electric Corp. (OVEC). The PPA rider was a point of contention with several groups [...]The post Ohio Regulators Deny AEP’s Coal Plant Cost Recovery Plan appeared first on POWER Magazine.