POWER Magazine

While 2021 kicked off short on optimism given chaos from the COVID-19 pandemic, the year was characterized by an extraordinary series of critical energy crises. Power blackouts, brownouts, interconnection mismatches, severe fuel shortages, and near-misses affected nearly every region in the world. Here’s a brief look back at some of the events that characterized 2021. […]The post 2021: A Dark Year for Electricity Security, Reliability appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) first conditional loan guarantee offered to a non-nuclear project since 2016 will finance the expansion of a pioneering commercial-scale “turquoise hydrogen” and carbon black production facility in Nebraska. The agency’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) on Dec. 23 offered a commitment to guarantee a loan of up to $1.04 billion under […]The post DOE’s First $1B Loan Guarantee in Years Seeks to Bolster Turquoise Hydrogen Process appeared first on POWER Magazine.

It’s been another news-filled year in the power industry. The following stories were the top 10 traffic-getters posted in 2021 on POWER’s website. Did you see them all as they were released? 10. Mitsubishi Power Developing 100% Ammonia-Capable Gas Turbine Mitsubishi Power is developing a 40-MW class gas turbine that can directly combust 100% ammonia […]The post Top 10 Power Industry News Stories of 2021 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A Chinese power company said the first of four 1,000-MW units at a new coal-fired power plant in a northwestern region of Inner Mongolia has entered operation. The Guodian Power Shanghaimiao Corp., part of the state-owned China Energy Investment Corp., on Dec. 28 said Unit 1 of the Shanghaimiao plant is online after a 168-hour […]The post First 1-GW Unit of Major China Coal-Fired Plant Comes Online appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Solar power paired with energy storage is expected to lead capacity additions in the U.S. power generation sector over the next two years, according to the latest Electric Monthly Update from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA in its December report, which includes data through October 2021, said it projects the U.S. will […]The post Solar+Storage Will Lead New U.S. Generation Capacity appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The power and energy sector is one of the most critical areas of our country’s infrastructure, making it a prime target for cybercriminals increasingly looking for ways to infiltrate and disrupt the sector and ultimately the national grid. In fact, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report in early 2021 that found the […]The post What History Tells Us About the Future of Cyber Vulnerabilities in the Power Industry appeared first on POWER Magazine.

As required by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Dec. 21 launched a new office—the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations—to “supercharge” its work to demonstrate hydrogen, carbon capture, energy storage, and advanced nuclear technologies. The new office will leverage $21.5 billion of the combined $62 billion allocated to the DOE […]The post Infrastructure Act Power Technology Demonstrations DOE’s Newly Dedicated Office Will Manage appeared first on POWER Magazine.

About six years ago, I was excited and eager to have regular opportunities to get out from behind my computer-aided design (CAD) workstation and visit our utility’s substations, transmission line right of ways (ROWs), and telecom sites throughout our service area in Texas. Most of us engineers and technicians looked forward to these inspections as […]The post The Case for Lightweight Flame-Resistant Clothing appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Earlier this month, AES Corp. unveiled Atlas, a first-of-its-kind solar installation robot. The cutting-edge, artificial intelligence–enabled technology behind Atlas is a major advancement for the industry, making it faster, more efficient, and safer to construct new solar facilities, the company said. The innovative robot was designed by AES through a multi-year process and built in […]The post Robots and Modular Designs Lead to Faster and Safer Solar Farm Construction and Maintenance appeared first on POWER Magazine.

What is a microreactor and why would you want one? The definition could be debated, but nuclear reactors in the 1 MW to 20 MW range generally fit the bill, and there are countless possible applications for the technology. “This could be used for disaster relief. This could be used for mines, remote communities—on a […]The post How Microreactors Could Change the Nuclear Power Industry (and the World) appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Netherlands is set to install that country’s largest energy storage system in an effort to support power grid stability. Technology group Wärtsilä on Dec. 20 said it will supply a 25-MW/48-MWh storage system to GIGA Storage BV, a Netherlands-based energy storage company with multiple projects under development, including several hybrid renewable energy-plus-storage systems. The […]The post Netherlands Will Install Country’s Largest Energy Storage System appeared first on POWER Magazine.

If you’ve paid attention to the cleantech news cycle this year, you know it’s been a roller-coaster ride. I’ve been in the cleantech/energy transition sector for 20 years and wrote the first history on the term cleantech 15 years ago. I’ve seen the many ups and downs surrounding the industry. Today’s current playing field is […]The post Was 2021 the Year of EVs, Hydrogen, or Energy Storage? And What to Expect in 2022 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a request for information (RFI) on a planned temporary federal program to ensure enough high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) will be available to jumpstart deployment of a new fleet of advanced nuclear reactors. Comments received over the next month in response to the DOE’s Dec. 14–issued RFI will inform […]The post DOE Begins Fleshing Out Availability of Advanced Nuclear Reactor Fuel appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Nuclear power remains one of the cleanest forms of energy available to us. Unfortunately, current challenges in measuring nuclear power plant waste and contamination levels make it difficult to manage. The inability to effectively measure these levels makes it difficult to validate nuclear power, and in some cases, is even causing some political tensions. Machine […]The post How Machine Learning Improves Visibility into Nuclear Power Plant Waste and Contamination Levels appeared first on POWER Magazine.

2021 was a boom year for solar as a record number of new projects were registered with ANEEL, Brazil’s electricity industry regulator. Now, new distributed generation legislation is in the offing, and, when ratified, it will introduce gradual charges for use of transmission networks through distribution system use tariffs (TUSD). The legislation proposes a 10-year […]The post Key Trends Point to Strong Growth for Brazil’s Renewable Energy Landscape in 2022 and Beyond appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In a Dec. 14 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Ameren Missouri announced its intent to retire two 600-MW units at the Rush Island Energy Center 15 years earlier than previously planned due to “changed circumstances since the Remedy Ruling.” The court’s remedy ruling, delivered on Sept. 30, 2019, […]The post Ameren to Close 1.2-GW Coal Power Plant by March 2024, 15 Years Early appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A leading company in the design of technology for a variety of industries is part of an effort to advance carbon capture from power plants, along with providing a solution to emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial facilities. Honeywell, the Charlotte, N.C.-based conglomerate known for products from residential thermostats to advanced aerospace applications, on […]The post Honeywell, UT-Austin Join on New Carbon Capture Technology appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Recent reports from groups analyzing U.S. power generation note how states near the nation’s largest shale plays are expected to bring significant new natural gas-fired generation online over the next few years, despite concerns about recent market volatility that sent gas prices to their highest levels in more than a decade. With a long-term outlook […]The post More than 32 GW of New Gas-Fired Power Plants in U.S. Pipeline appeared first on POWER Magazine.

President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Nov. 15, which allocates $550 billion in new spending over the next five years to improve U.S. infrastructure, including critical investments in the energy sector. These investments will cover power grid infrastructure, electric vehicles (EVs) and charging stations, renewable energy, nuclear power, hydropower, and […]The post The Billion-Dollar Bet on Electric Vehicles appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The events of the past year and a half have irrevocably changed the way we live, especially at home. Pandemic-related restrictions and lifestyle changes have greatly increased the amount of time Americans spend at home—at one point, more than 50% of the population spent more than 18 hours in their homes. Rising energy costs and […]The post Homeowners Learned a Lot in 2021; Here’s What They’re Looking For in 2022 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

New England faces a precarious fuel supply risk that could necessitate emergency actions if a severe prolonged cold snap hits the region this winter, ISO New England (ISO-NE) has warned. The regional grid operator expects power demand will peak at 19,710 MW during average winter weather conditions of 10F, but if temperatures plunge below 5F, […]The post ISO-NE Warns Fuel Supply Issues May Threaten Winter Power System Reliability appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Despite exacting a heavy environmental and financial toll, routine flaring remains a persistent practice in the oil and gas sector. This gas could be captured and used for productive purposes, but a lot of it simply isn’t. While flaring levels are down 5% from 2019, this is still a huge amount—142 billion m3/yr in fact. […]The post Overcoming the Top Three Hurdles to Eliminate Flaring appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Many critical infrastructure sites contain areas that are classified as hazardous due to a high risk of explosion. What makes most of these locations dangerous is the presence of flammable materials such as liquids, gases, vapors, and dust. In these areas, the use of network cameras can significantly improve the overall health and safety posture […]The post The Benefits of Explosion-Protected Cameras in High-Risk Environments appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The optimal grease to use in power plant equipment is rarely contemplated by people other than truly dedicated operations and maintenance managers, and the workers on their teams who feel the pain when a piece of equipment breaks down due to inadequate lubrication. Yet, for those individuals, the choice of which grease to use in […]The post The Benefits of Synthetic Greases: Improved Efficiency, Reduced Maintenance appeared first on POWER Magazine.

GE Digital has announced a partnership with UK Power Networks (UKPN) for the launch of a smart substation project designed to support renewable energy power generation across the United Kingdom. The agreement announced Dec. 9 involves the installation of powerful computers in a series of substations. The project, known as Constellation, will leverage advances in […]The post GE Digital Announces UK ‘Smart Substation’ Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently said it expected coal-fired power generation in 2021 to be 22% higher than in 2020, producing the first year-over-year increase in U.S. electricity generation from coal since 2014. That higher generation, though, has reduced inventories of coal at the nation’s power plants, with EIA on Dec. 7 reporting […]The post EIA: U.S. Coal Stockpiles Lowest Since 1978 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will build a GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at its Darlington Nuclear Station in Clarington, Ontario, marking a major triumph for the nuclear vendor in a stiff competition for the much-watched utility-scale project. OPG announced the selection of the GE Hitachi BWRX-300 SMR over competitors X-energy […]The post Darlington Nuclear Plant Will Get a BWRX-300 SMR as GE Hitachi Bags Lucrative OPG Selection appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will review Kairos Power’s construction permit application (CPA) for its Hermes non-power demonstration reactor, which the firm has proposed to build at the East Tennessee Technology Park Heritage Center site, in Oak Ridge, and begin operating by 2026. The NRC formally accepted the CPA for review on Nov. 30, noting […]The post NRC Accepts Application for Kairos Pebble-Bed Reactor Construction Permit appeared first on POWER Magazine.

There is a common misperception that “green energy” appeals mostly to liberals. However, at least some of the facts don’t support that view. A case in point can be found in the rooftop solar sector. “It’s not Republican or Democratic. It’s really American. It’s free enterprise,” Jayson Waller, founder and CEO of POWERHOME SOLAR, said […]The post Rooftop Solar and Energy Storage Are Not Republican or Democrat, They’re American appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), an integrated aluminum producer that is also the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) third-largest power generator, will develop a roadmap to decarbonize its 33 GE natural gas–fired turbines via hydrogen-switching and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) solutions. EGA and GE announced they signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to pursue the […]The post UAE Industrial Giant Will Explore Conversion of 5.2-GW GE Gas Turbine Fleet to Hydrogen, CCUS appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Ukraine is set to host its first Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactor at state-owned Energoatom’s 2-GW Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant in the western part of the country. Under a contract signed on Nov. 22 by Patrick Fragman, president and CEO of Westinghouse, and Petro Kotin, Energoatom’s acting president, the two companies will begin engineering and procurement for […]The post Next AP1000 Nuclear Reactor Will Be Built in Ukraine appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The growth curve for solar power continues its upward trajectory, thanks to technologies such as perovskites, heterojunction solar cells, and energy storage systems designed to complement rooftop solar. NewThe post New Materials, Efficiency Upgrades Advancing Solar Technologies appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Thermal energy storage (TES) is gaining interest and traction as a crucial enabler of reliable, secure, and flexible energy systems. The array of in-front-of-the-meter TES technologies under developmentThe post Why Thermal Energy Storage Offers Hot Prospects for Power appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The power industry has been all abuzz lately about the potential role hydrogen could play in decarbonizing the energy sector. POWER was quick to notice the excitement surrounding hydrogen, and launchedThe post Want Long-Term Energy Storage? Look to Hydrogen appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The vision sounds far-fetched: If a kilometer-scale satellite could be outfitted with a hybrid array of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) panels and launched into orbit 22,400 miles aboveThe post Space-Based Solar Power May Be Closer Than You Think appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A power plant in Western Canada is showcasing carbon capture technology that can first be deployed at a coal-fired facility, and then adjusted to accept flue gas from a natural gas-fired system without theThe post CCS Technology Supports Coal-to-Gas Switching and Carbon-Based Products appeared first on POWER Magazine.

POWER hosted Experience POWER, the Distributed Energy Conference, and HydrogeNext at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas, October 18–21, 2021. The events were well-received byThe post Power Event Attendees Welcome the In-Person Experience appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Puerto Rico continues to struggle with its power supply, with the island’s aging electricity infrastructure contributing to continued blackouts and reliability issues more than four years after hurricanesThe post Businesses Using Microgrids to Ensure Power in Puerto Rico appeared first on POWER Magazine.

“Energy transition,” “energy evolution,” “energy reimagined,” and a host of similar terms have dominated the energy market headlines this year. While these terms can have varied meanings, theyThe post Energy Transition—Opportunities for Power and Utility Companies appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Potentially jumpstarting long-paralyzed efforts to address the federal management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Nov. 30 issued a request for information (RFI) that could determine where the agency will temporarily consolidate and store spent fuel from nuclear reactors across the nation. Under the RFI, the DOE is seeking […]The post DOE Revives Consent-Based Siting Process for Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Energy major BP plans to build a large-scale green hydrogen production plant in northeast England, a facility that would use renewable energy resources to produce as much as 60 MWe of fuel by 2025. The group’s Nov. 29 announcement of its HyGreen Teesside project comes eight months after BP said it would build Britain’s largest […]The post BP Plans Another Major Hydrogen Production Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Hydrostor, developer of a 400-MW, 8-hour long-duration advanced compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) facility, has filed an application for certification (AFC) with the California Energy Commission (CEC) for its first project in the state, envisioning its commercial operation as early as 2026. If the 3,200-MWh Pecho Energy Storage Center is built as planned in San […]The post California 3,200-MWh CAES Project Proposed for Grid Stability After Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Retires appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Fusion occurs when two atoms slam together to form a heavier atom, such as when two hydrogen atoms fuse to form one helium atom. A tremendous amount of energy is released in the process. This is the same process that powers the sun. In the sun’s core, where temperatures reach 15,000,000C, hydrogen atoms are in […]The post Could Fusion Energy Transform the Power Industry By 2035? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A new wastewater rule authorized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this year is leading several coal-fired plants to announce closure plans, according to an analysis of state regulatory filings by the Sierra Club. The group said at least 26 plants in 14 states have said they will stop burning coal, with 21 […]The post More Than 20 Coal-Fired Plants Will Close in Wake of Wastewater Rule appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The 628-MW Pego power station was shut down on Nov. 20, 10 days ahead of schedule, marking the end of coal-fired power generation in Portugal. The country joins Belgium, Austria, and Sweden, as the fourth European nation to discontinue the use of coal. “Portugal is the perfect example of how once a country commits to […]The post Portugal’s Last Coal Power Plant Shuts Down, Fourth Country in Europe to Stop Burning Coal appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Demand for electricity from the residential sector rose during the first several months of the global coronavirus pandemic, as workers stayed home and students studied remotely. Researchers, using data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), said the second quarter of 2020 saw a 10% rise in residential electricity usage compared to the same months […]The post EY Research Highlights New Opportunities for Utilities appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Major U.S. utility Southern Co. said it has agreed to design and build an advanced demonstration nuclear reactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) using technology developed by TerraPower, the Bill Gates-backed company that earlier this week announced it would site a new Natrium nuclear reactor demonstration project in Wyoming. Southern in a Nov. 18 news […]The post Southern Joining Bill Gates-Backed Group on New Reactor Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) is warning that much of the central U.S.—a region that stretches from the Great Lakes into southern Texas—may face critical power deficiencies during extreme winter weather conditions over the next three months. Natural gas supply disruptions and low hydropower conditions could also imperil power reliability in New England […]The post NERC Issues Grim Outlook for Bulk Power System Winter Reliability appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A company that invests in clean energy projects to serve customers interested in low-carbon sources of electricity announced it has closed eight separate deals, representing a total of $2.6 billion in financing commitments for construction and operation of six late-stage solar energy projects with 2.2 GW of generation capacity in California and Texas. Intersect Power […]The post $2.6 Billion Committed to New Solar Projects in Texas, California appeared first on POWER Magazine.

NET Power, developer of the novel Allam-Fetvedt supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycle, says its 50-MWth test facility in La Porte, Texas, delivered power to the grid overnight on Nov. 16. The achievement marks a major milestone for the potentially revolutionary technology for which several commercial power plants are already under development. NET Power, a business venture […]The post Breakthrough: NET Power’s Allam Cycle Test Facility Delivers First Power to ERCOT Grid appeared first on POWER Magazine.