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.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Monday began a special inspection of damage to the containment vessel at Unit 2 of SCANA’s Summer nuclear plant, which is under construction in South Carolina. The inadvertent damage stems from an incident during the week of Feb. 9, the NRC said. “Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I) workers [...]The post NRC to Inspect Damage to Summer Unit 2 Containment Vessel appeared first on POWER Magazine.

France will look at all options in an attempt to overhaul its state-run nuclear industry, French Energy Minister Ségolène Royal told reporters on Monday, after AREVA reported a $5.6 billion loss for 2014. The nuclear giant announced in a Feb. 23 statement that it expects a hefty €4.9 billion loss ($5.6 billion) for 2014. The [...]The post France Mulls Nuclear Overhaul as AREVA Reports $5.6B Loss appeared first on POWER Magazine.

It’s no surprise that the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station led the nation in electrical generation in 2014—it has done that for 23 consecutive years—but with a total output of 32.3 million MWh, it even bested its own previous record set in 2012. The Palo Verde plant is located about 45 miles west of Phoenix, [...]The post Palo Verde Nuclear Station Sets U.S. Production Record appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Duke Energy has been charged by federal authorities with nine misdemeanor counts of violating the Clean Water Act and other federal regulations stemming from improper disposal of coal ash at multiple sites in North Carolina. Duke said in a statement on Feb. 20 that it had entered a plea agreement with federal prosecutors to settle [...]The post Duke Fined $102.2 Million for Mishandling Coal Ash appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Speaking to a sparsely filled room as the last of four presenters during the keynote plenary session at the Energy, Utility & Environment Conference in San Diego, Calif., Feb. 16, Len Hering, executive director of the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE), made it clear that he doesn’t think natural gas is the answer to [...]The post EPA and Utilities Are “On the Wrong Track,” Say Experts appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Although there has been plenty of discussion in the U.S. power industry about the challenges posed by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP), Missouri-based Ameren Corp. is the first generating company to go public with a specific set of proposed revisions. On Feb. 11, Ameren released a white paper that proposed [...]The post Ameren Comments on Suggested Revisions to the EPA’s Clean Power Plan appeared first on POWER Magazine.

On Monday, the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) approved the siting certificate for Moundsville Power LLC to construct a 549-MW combined cycle natural gas power plant in Marshall County. It will be the first to also burn ethane. The company is also touting the project’s role in helping to offset the effect of area [...]The post West Virginia Combined Cycle Plant Will Be First to Burn Ethane and Natural Gas appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The first class of Marine trainees at Camp Pendleton graduated from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) solar job training pilot program last Friday. The program is aimed at preparing service members for careers in the solar industry such as solar photovoltaic system installers, sales representatives, and system inspectors. Camp Pendleton is one of three military [...]The post Three Military Bases Partner with DOE to Train Veterans for Solar Jobs appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In yet another black eye for the long-delayed and hugely over-budget Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle plant (IGCC), the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 12 that the Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) erred in granting plant owner Mississippi Power rate increases in 2013 and 2014, and ordered that the increases be refunded to [...]The post Mississippi Supreme Court Strikes Down Kemper County IGCC Rate Increase appeared first on POWER Magazine.

PPL Montana, a subsidiary of PPL Corp., announced on Feb. 10 that it will permanently shut down its J.E. Corette coal-fired power plant located near Billings. The 153-MW plant began operation in 1968. In 2012, the company decided to mothball the plant, retaining the option to restart it if wholesale power market conditions in the [...]The post J.E. Corette Coal-Fired Power Plant to Be Retired appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Pennsylvania seems poised to levy a severance tax on natural gas extraction after new Governor Tom Wolf proposed a change in the state’s treatment of gas production that could produce as much as $1 billion a year in revenue. The proposal would levy a 5% tax on the value of the gas at the wellhead, [...]The post Pennsylvania Moves to Tax Natural Gas Extraction appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The sixth annual ARPA-E Summit wrapped up on Wednesday, and though there were too many sessions to cover in depth, here is a mini-summary by way of selected interesting comments. Speaker photos (where available) follow the comment. “Any disruptive technology will not fit an existing market.” —Brian Janous, Director of Energy Strategy, Microsoft “[The energy [...]The post 10 Quotes Concerning Energy Transformation from the ARPA-E Summit appeared first on POWER Magazine.

With the ultimate goal of powering all of its corporate offices, retail stores, and data centers entirely with energy from renewable sources, Apple committed $848 million on Feb. 10 toward First Solar’s 280-MW California Flats Solar Project in Monterey County, Calif. The project will occupy 2,900 acres of land owned by Hearst Corp. in Cholame. [...]The post Apple and First Solar Strike a Deal appeared first on POWER Magazine.

“The coolest thing on Earth” is, according to its new director, a young federal agency that has a unique focus on pushing technology frontiers and an “unblinking attention” to market realities. One thing you can say for sure about the energy world, said Dr. Ellen Williams (Figure 1), incoming director of ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects [...]The post ARPA-E Summit Takes the Pulse of Energy Technology Innovation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

According to Peter S. Glaser, partner with Troutman Sanders LLP, who practices in the energy and environmental law fields, saying “no” is an option that states have in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan proposal. Speaking during a panel discussion at George Mason University’s Law and Economics Center on Feb. 4, [...]The post States Can “Just Say No” to the EPA’s Carbon Rule, Expert Says appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is considering a bill that would enact sweeping changes in the state’s energy mix, among them a tax to support construction of new natural gas pipelines. The bill is being pushed by legislators and business interests alarmed by the state’s rapid loss of coal and nuclear generation, and equally rapid [...]The post Massachusetts Looks to Boost Natural Gas Infrastructure appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Brine, the waste stream of the geothermal power production cycle, is usually considered a nuisance. High in corrosive minerals, even when reinjected, it’s challenging to manage. So when Simbol Inc. showed it had a way to turn this waste stream into a revenue stream by mining it for high-value minerals like lithium, a lot of [...]The post Mining for Lithium in Geothermal Brine: Promising but Pricey appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Washington, D.C., April 6, 2014 -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry doesn't want federal money to expand health care to poor Texans. He wants federal money to store nuclear waste to benefit rich folks, most of them not Texans.In a letter ...The post Rick Perry’s Approach to Federal Funds for Texas appeared first on POWER Magazine.

By Kennedy MaizeWashington, D.C., January 24, 2012 – President Obama yesterday said he will nominate Tony Clark, retiring chairman of the North Dakota Public Service Commission to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, replacing departed commissioner Marc Spitzer in one of the ...The post Obama Names Tony Clark to FERC appeared first on POWER Magazine.

By Kennedy MaizeWashington, D.C., May 31, 2011 -- By the time you read this, the event may have already happened. The Washington rumor mill is rumbling loudly that President Obama will name John Bryson, former California electric company executive, to ...The post Bryson to Head Commerce Department? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

By Kennedy MaizeWashington, D.C., 3 June 2012 -- An international effort is underway to give control and governance of the Internet to a United Nations agency, with implications for ways that U.S. utilities might implement smart grid technologies. Led ...The post Plans Could Turn the Internet, and Smart Grid, Over to the UN appeared first on POWER Magazine.

June 27, 2014 – Iceland, the westernmost country in Europe, is unique. Its geology is entirely volcanic, as it sits on the meeting place of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. It has a unique language, with a 32-letter alphabet, based on ...The post Iceland’s Uniqueness Extends to Electricity appeared first on POWER Magazine.

By Kennedy Maize (@kennedymaize)Washington, D.C., 31 July 2012 – What to make of the two successive, horrendous electric power failures in India? The smart money avoids conclusory leaps. When the first cascading blackout hit on Monday, there was much media chatter ...The post Too Soon to Make Sense of the India Blackouts appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Burning biomass or nonrecyclable commercial, municipal, or industrial waste along with coal represents one of the nearest-term and lowest-cost options for reducing carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions from existing utility power plants. At more than 150 plants worldwide, doing so has produced ...The post Advanced Combustion: Cofiring Coal and Biomass or Non-Recyclable Waste appeared first on POWER Magazine.

By Kennedy MaizeWashington, D.C., July 28, 2010 -- Will global warming overwhelm the U.S. with illegal Mexican immigrants? That’s the preposterous claim by three Princeton academicians in an online article for the Proceedings of the National Academy of ...The post Warming to Swamp US in Mexicans? appeared first on POWER Magazine.