POWER Magazine

The post NERC: Summer 2020 Reliability Rife With Unknowns appeared first on POWER Magazine. Despite COVID-19’s impact on power demand, disrupted pre-season generation preparation, and an expected highly active hurricane and wildfire season, industry appears well-positioned to meet peak demand this summer under anticipated weather in nearly all parts of the North American bulk power system (BPS). Other than in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), anticipated reserve […]The post NERC: Summer 2020 Reliability Rife With Unknowns appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Is COVID-19 a Force Majeure Event That Excuses Performance on Renewable Construction Projects? appeared first on POWER Magazine. Like other segments of the economy, the renewable energy industry is dealing with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several states still have restricted business activities and are only now considering lifting those restrictions. Many equipment suppliers, contractors, and project owners have sent or received force majeure notices under their respective contracts and disputes may […]The post Is COVID-19 a Force Majeure Event That Excuses Performance on Renewable Construction Projects? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Tips for Check Valve Selection and Installation [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine. Check valves are installed in many piping systems. Their purpose is to allow flow in only one direction, which can be critical for plant safety and to protect equipment from damage. There are a few different check valve designs, including swing check valves and spring-loaded poppet-style check valves. Understanding which type is best for a […]The post Tips for Check Valve Selection and Installation [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Reduced Cost for Renewables Supports Sector Growth appeared first on POWER Magazine. A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows costs for renewable power are increasingly cheaper than those for generation from coal, reinforcing the trend of increased investment in solar and wind power and away from fossil fuel-powered electricity production. The IRENA report—Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019—showed that more than half of […]The post Reduced Cost for Renewables Supports Sector Growth appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The POWER Interview: Ameresco’s CEO on Efficiency, Renewables, and Resilience appeared first on POWER Magazine. The present and future of power generation is and will be driven by new technologies, those designed to increase the efficient use of electricity while limiting emissions and supporting resiliency. It’s a challenging time for those in energy. Developing solutions to solve issues in the power sector involves navigating an uncertain and ever-changing regulatory landscape, […]The post The POWER Interview: Ameresco’s CEO on Efficiency, Renewables, and Resilience appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Germany Brings Last New Coal Plant Online appeared first on POWER Magazine. What is expected to be the last new coal plant to come online in Germany entered commercial operation on May 30, more than a decade after it was first planned. The 1,100-MW Datteln 4 power plant, owned by Uniper and located in Datteln in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, opened despite the German government’s stated plan […]The post Germany Brings Last New Coal Plant Online appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The New Reality: Don’t Ignore the Black Swan Events appeared first on POWER Magazine. It is human nature to avoid spending money on preparations for an event that may never happen. However, as we all continue to adapt to a COVID-19 world, there is a new awareness of low probability, high impact events. If the consequences of a statistically unlikely event are devastating to the economy, the survival of […]The post The New Reality: Don’t Ignore the Black Swan Events appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post EPA Curbs State Review of Energy Projects appeared first on POWER Magazine. The Trump administration on June 1 moved to limit the ability of individual states to use provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA) to block energy projects, a potential win for the power generation and other energy industry sectors that have battled lengthy licensing and permitting reviews and rejections based on climate change arguments. The […]The post EPA Curbs State Review of Energy Projects appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post T-Point 2 Is a Proving Ground for Gas Turbine Advancements appeared first on POWER Magazine. It may be unusual to recognize a demonstration facility with POWER’s Plant of the Year award, but T-Point 2 is a remarkable unit that is poised to change the way power plants operate. Besides validating newThe post T-Point 2 Is a Proving Ground for Gas Turbine Advancements appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post A Multi-Layered Reinvention: AES Southland Projects appeared first on POWER Magazine. Recognizing excellence in creative problem-solving to give a project new life and a new role, POWER magazine’s 2020 Reinvention Award goes to two gas-fired power plant construction projects completedThe post A Multi-Layered Reinvention: AES Southland Projects appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Rethinking Wastewater Treatment for Better FGD Economics appeared first on POWER Magazine. POWER’s 2020 Water Award goes to Saltworks Technologies for successfully piloting a novel application of a 50-year-old technology at a coal plant. The company’s solution promises to slash costs of treatingThe post Rethinking Wastewater Treatment for Better FGD Economics appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Smart Neighborhood Wins Smart Grid Award appeared first on POWER Magazine. Alabama Power’s Smart Neighborhood integrates a microgrid into a community filled with high-performance homes containing energy-efficient systems and connected appliances. The innovative initiative, whichThe post Smart Neighborhood Wins Smart Grid Award appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Company’s Mission: A Clean Energy Building, and Living Laboratory appeared first on POWER Magazine. Embracing sustainability is more than a slogan for Delta Electronics (Americas); it’s defined by the company’s headquarters building. The site incorporates Delta’s own technologies to promote energyThe post Company’s Mission: A Clean Energy Building, and Living Laboratory appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Power Project Provides Shelter from the Storm appeared first on POWER Magazine. Dozens of microgrids are deployed at schools across Puerto Rico, bringing reliable, resilient power to the island. The project, featuring solar plus storage, is an important part of the region’s recoveryThe post Power Project Provides Shelter from the Storm appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post THE BIG PICTURE: Pandemic Impact on Demand appeared first on POWER Magazine.The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a macroeconomic shock that is unprecedented in peacetime. By the end of the first quarter, its effects on global power demand were deep, the International Energy Agency (IEA) noted in a flagship report released on April 30. The international organization, which has collected daily data for more than 30 countries […]The post THE BIG PICTURE: Pandemic Impact on Demand appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Fusion Energy Is Coming, and Maybe Sooner Than You Think appeared first on POWER Magazine. The joke about fusion energy is that it’s 30 years away and always will be. But significant recent advances in fusion science and technology could potentially put the first fusion power on the grid as soonThe post Fusion Energy Is Coming, and Maybe Sooner Than You Think appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post IRS Grants Wind and Solar Sectors Critical COVID-19 Reprieves appeared first on POWER Magazine. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has granted a one-year extension of the continuity safe harbor, providing much-needed relief for many wind developers, which, crippled by pandemic-related delays, were racing to complete projects before crucial tax incentives expired at the end of this year. In its May 27–issued Notice 2020-41, the IRS essentially modified prior […]The post IRS Grants Wind and Solar Sectors Critical COVID-19 Reprieves appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post With Vogtle Completion in Sight, Southern Company Targets Net-Zero Carbon Emissions appeared first on POWER Magazine. Fresh off the announcement that the final module for Vogtle Unit 3 was placed at the nuclear expansion project in Georgia, Southern Company said on May 27 that it was setting “a long-term greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.” The announcement was made during Southern Company’s annual stockholders meeting, which […]The post With Vogtle Completion in Sight, Southern Company Targets Net-Zero Carbon Emissions appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post [VIDEO] POWER Insights: Nuclear Reactor with 3D-Printed Core Slated for Operation in 2023 appeared first on POWER Magazine. In the first installment of POWER’s brand new video interview series, POWER Insights, Kurt Terrani, technical director of the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) program, talks to POWER Senior Associate Editor Sonal Patel about the innovative microreactor program spearheaded by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and project partners, including Idaho National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and […]The post [VIDEO] POWER Insights: Nuclear Reactor with 3D-Printed Core Slated for Operation in 2023 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Data Tool Shows Pandemic’s Impact on Power Prices appeared first on POWER Magazine. A clean energy valuation and risk analytics company said that low demand for energy during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with low prices for natural gas and strong power generation from renewable energy resources, has brought unprecedented low prices for electricity in multiple U.S. markets. REsurety said its Renewable Energy Market Analytics Platform (REmap) shows that […]The post Data Tool Shows Pandemic’s Impact on Power Prices appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The POWER Interview: How Modern Control System Technology Is Changing Power Plant Operation appeared first on POWER Magazine. Distributed control systems (DCSs) and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) have been commonplace in power plants for decades, but the technology has not been stagnant. Today’s systems are beginning to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to take plant control to a whole new level. To get an insider’s perspective on how these systems […]The post The POWER Interview: How Modern Control System Technology Is Changing Power Plant Operation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Siemens Details Spinoff of Energy Business appeared first on POWER Magazine. The parent of Siemens Energy on May 26 provided details of the planned spinoff of the company’s energy business, saying 55% of Siemens Energy will be spun off to Siemens’ shareholders. The company said Siemens shareholders would automatically receive one share of Siemens Energy AG for every two shares they own of the parent, Siemens […]The post Siemens Details Spinoff of Energy Business appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Thanks to Asia, Coal Is Still King Worldwide appeared first on POWER Magazine. Despite the U.S. and Europe shuttering coal-fired power plants, coal remains a major fuel in global energy systems. In 2018, global coal demand rebounded and grew by 1.4% due to increased consumption in Asia, where coal consumption increased by 2.5%. This increased consumption was mainly from power generation, which reached an all-time high, increasing 3% […]The post Thanks to Asia, Coal Is Still King Worldwide appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Alliant Closing Coal Unit, Brings Gas Plant Online appeared first on POWER Magazine. 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 […]The post Alliant Closing Coal Unit, Brings Gas Plant Online appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post GenOn Will Close Three Coal-Fired Units appeared first on POWER Magazine. 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 […]The post GenOn Will Close Three Coal-Fired Units appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Trump Expands Regulatory Rollback, Including for Power, Amid Economic Fallout appeared first on POWER Magazine. President Trump in a new executive order (EO) has directed federal agencies to rescind, modify, waive, or provide exemptions from regulatory requirements that may inhibit economic recovery. The Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery, issued May 19, is sweeping and extends beyond the administration’s previous efforts to scale down regulatory mandates—including the […]The post Trump Expands Regulatory Rollback, Including for Power, Amid Economic Fallout appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Failed Michigan Dam Had Longstanding Spillway Deficiencies appeared first on POWER Magazine. The Edenville dam, which failed on March 19 flooding Midland, Michigan, and forcing as many as 10,000 residents to evacuate their homes, had its license revoked by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Sept. 10, 2018, due to a “longstanding failure to increase the project’s spillway capacity to safely pass flood flows,” among other […]The post Failed Michigan Dam Had Longstanding Spillway Deficiencies appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Group Says It Will Launch World’s Largest Green Hydrogen Project appeared first on POWER Magazine. Global energy company SGH2, part of Washington, D.C.-based Solena Group, said it has a deal with Lancaster, California, to build what the company calls the world’s biggest green hydrogen production plant, set to be in full operation in early 2023. The company on May 20 said the plant will feature SGH2’s technology that uses recycled […]The post Group Says It Will Launch World’s Largest Green Hydrogen Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Construction Halted on 1-GW Polish Coal Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine. 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 […]The post Construction Halted on 1-GW Polish Coal Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post IEA: Renewables Showing Resiliency Despite Serious COVID Disruptions appeared first on POWER Magazine. Renewable power sources will mark their first annual decline in new additions in 20 years, owing to delays in construction activity, supply chain disruptions, lockdown and social distancing measures, and emerging financing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the sector has showed “impressive” resilience, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a new […]The post IEA: Renewables Showing Resiliency Despite Serious COVID Disruptions appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Siemens Launches ‘Most Powerful’ HL-Class Gas Turbine appeared first on POWER Magazine. 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 […]The post Siemens Launches ‘Most Powerful’ HL-Class Gas Turbine appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post DOE Launches Program to Demonstrate Advanced Nuclear Reactors Within 5 Years appeared first on POWER Magazine. Bolstered by $230 million in Congressionally appropriated funding, the Department of Energy (DOE) has officially launched the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) to help U.S.-based private developers of advanced nuclear reactors demonstrate their technology in the U.S. Much anticipated by industry, the program formally established under the Office of Nuclear Energy program on May 14 […]The post DOE Launches Program to Demonstrate Advanced Nuclear Reactors Within 5 Years appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Despite COVID-19, ERCOT Expects Record Summer Demand; Retired Coal Plant May Resume Service appeared first on POWER Magazine. Despite uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) again expects to shatter its peak demand record this summer. Factoring in changes to its generation profile, extreme weather, and low wind output, the grid operator expects energy alerts are still possible. ERCOT’s forward-looking projections for capacity, demand, and reserves are murkier, […]The post Despite COVID-19, ERCOT Expects Record Summer Demand; Retired Coal Plant May Resume Service appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Advanced Nuclear Reactor Designs to Get Digital Twins appeared first on POWER Magazine. Nine projects will get $27 million in federal funding to develop digital twin technology for promising advanced nuclear reactor designs—including Kairos, Xe-100, BWRX-300, and the SSR-W—and help achieve a ten-fold reduction in their operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. The funding announced by the Department of Energy (DOE) on May 13 will be furnished under the […]The post Advanced Nuclear Reactor Designs to Get Digital Twins appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The Green Cowboy, David Freeman Dies at 94 appeared first on POWER Magazine. Engineer, attorney, author, and former head of some of the largest public power utilities in the U.S., S. David Freeman passed away on May 12 outside of Washington, D.C., following a heart attack at the age of 94. Freeman was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and received a degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute […]The post The Green Cowboy, David Freeman Dies at 94 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Analysts Say 594,300 Jobs in Clean Energy Lost to Pandemic appeared first on POWER Magazine. Four groups analyzing data from the U.S. Dept. of Labor said more than half-a-million jobs in the clean energy sector were lost in March and April due to shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The losses, representing about 18% of the industry’s total workforce, were detailed in a report released May 13. The groups said […]The post Analysts Say 594,300 Jobs in Clean Energy Lost to Pandemic appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Nuclear Reactor with 3D-Printed Core Slated for Operation in 2023 appeared first on POWER Magazine. A first-of-its-kind nuclear reactor that will use a 3D-printed core, advanced materials, and integrated sensors and controls is on track for completion by 2023. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, work is ramping up to demonstrate the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR), an innovative micro-reactor program spearheaded by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and project partners, to include […]The post Nuclear Reactor with 3D-Printed Core Slated for Operation in 2023 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Feds Approve Largest U.S. Solar Project appeared first on POWER Magazine. A Nevada installation that would be the largest solar power project in U.S. history was approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior on May 11. The estimated $1 billion, 690-MW Gemini solar photovoltaic electric generating facility is sited on 7,000 acres about 30 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Interior Secretary David L. Bernhardt signed […]The post Feds Approve Largest U.S. Solar Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post U.S. Coal-Fired Generation at Lowest Level Since 1976 appeared first on POWER Magazine. 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 […]The post U.S. Coal-Fired Generation at Lowest Level Since 1976 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post FERC Plans Discussion of COVID-19 Impacts appeared first on POWER Magazine. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is planning a technical conference this summer that would look at long-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the energy industry. The discussion would look at how the industry should approach investments and infrastructure development should the trend of lessening demand for electricity, and oil and gas, continue. Industry […]The post FERC Plans Discussion of COVID-19 Impacts appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Nuclear Power Plants Set Performance Records in Spite of Pandemic appeared first on POWER Magazine. It’s spring outage season in the power industry. A time when plants of all types typically shut down and perform scheduled maintenance to ensure all essential equipment is as ready as possible to run reliably at full load for days on end during the peak summer season. This year, outages have been complicated by the […]The post Nuclear Power Plants Set Performance Records in Spite of Pandemic appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post North Dakota’s Largest Coal Plant Set to Close appeared first on POWER Magazine. The largest coal-fired power plant in North Dakota is scheduled to close in 2022, with the Minnesota-based wholesale electric power cooperative that operates the facility saying the lost generation will be mostly replaced by wind power. Minnesota-based Great River Energy, which supplies electricity to the suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul, along with other parts […]The post North Dakota’s Largest Coal Plant Set to Close appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post 150 Hours of Storage? Company Says That’s True to Form appeared first on POWER Magazine. The Minnesota-based power cooperative that on May 7 said it would close a large Midwest coal-fired power plant also noted it has a contract with Form Energy, a Bill Gates-backed company that offers a long-duration energy storage solution, one that the group says could provide 150 hours of continuous power. Form Energy has been a […]The post 150 Hours of Storage? Company Says That’s True to Form appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Officials Levy $1.9 Billion Penalty For PG&E appeared first on POWER Magazine. California officials on May 7 approved a $1.9-billion penalty against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) for the company’s role in a series of wildfires that left more than 100 people dead and caused billions of dollars in damage in 2017 and 2018. The damage claims led PG&E to file for bankruptcy in January 2019. PG&E, […]The post Officials Levy $1.9 Billion Penalty For PG&E appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The POWER Interview: Utilities Find Opportunities in Distributed Energy appeared first on POWER Magazine. The growth in renewable energy, along with new forms of power generation not dependent on transmission via the traditional grid, has created new business opportunities for both legacy generators and start-up power producers. BOND, a Massachusetts-based company founded in 1907, is today a fifth-generation construction management and civil and utility general contracting firm, providing services […]The post The POWER Interview: Utilities Find Opportunities in Distributed Energy appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Power Sector Council Releases COVID-19 Return-to-Work Guidance appeared first on POWER Magazine. The Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) has released guidance on what the power sector should prioritize as it prepares to shift from remote operations to having employees return to the workplace. In the seventh version of the “ESCC Resource Guide—Assessing and Mitigating the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19),” the power industry’s collaborative body identifies four strategic priorities […]The post Power Sector Council Releases COVID-19 Return-to-Work Guidance appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Understanding the Dangers of Hydrogen Sulfide Gas [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas is produced as a result of the microbial breakdown of organic materials in the absence of oxygen. It can be found in tanks, vaults, voids, and other confined spaces at industrial facilities including power plants. Besides being flammable and corrosive, H2S is also colorless and toxic, even in relatively low concentrations, […]The post Understanding the Dangers of Hydrogen Sulfide Gas [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Trump Ban on Foreign Bulk Power Equipment Triggers New Uncertainty appeared first on POWER Magazine. Declaring a national emergency over threats to the U.S. bulk power system (BPS), President Trump in an executive order (EO) on May 1 issued a sweeping ban on transactions by U.S. persons for electric equipment sourced abroad if the U.S. government determines they pose undue security risks. Because foreign adversaries are “increasingly creating and exploiting […]The post Trump Ban on Foreign Bulk Power Equipment Triggers New Uncertainty appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post COVID-19 Weighs on Siemens Gamesa Earnings appeared first on POWER Magazine. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) on May 6 said delays to its renewable energy projects, in part due to supply chain disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, will continue to negatively impact the company’s earnings this year. The company reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings on Wednesday and said the COVID-19 outbreak “had a direct negative impact […]The post COVID-19 Weighs on Siemens Gamesa Earnings appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post GE Will Cut Another 13,000 Jobs appeared first on POWER Magazine. General Electric (GE) on May 4 said it plans to cut as many as 13,000 jobs from its Aviation unit this year, or about 25% of the division’s total workforce, as the company continues to feel the impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic. The cuts include a 10% reduction to its U.S. workforce previously announced […]The post GE Will Cut Another 13,000 Jobs appeared first on POWER Magazine.