POWER Magazine

The post FERC GOP Majority Flexes Partisan Muscles for PURPA Reform appeared first on POWER Magazine.The newly empowered Republican majority on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) flexed its administrative muscles Sept. 19 at its regular monthly meeting, voting 2–1 to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) to reform rules pertaining to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). It was FERC’s first public meeting since July, when the […]The post FERC GOP Majority Flexes Partisan Muscles for PURPA Reform appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Duke Energy, American Electric Power Separately Seeking to Go Net-Zero Carbon by 2050 appeared first on POWER Magazine.Two formidable U.S. coal power generators this week separately revised their carbon dioxide emissions reduction targets. Duke Energy announced it would achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. American Electric Power (AEP), meanwhile, said it would extend its target from 60% to 70% from 2000 levels by 2030, and by more than 80% by 2050—but it […]The post Duke Energy, American Electric Power Separately Seeking to Go Net-Zero Carbon by 2050 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post POWER Notebook: Wind Project Will Use Oyster Creek Nuclear Site; Other Solar, Wind Farms Announced appeared first on POWER Magazine.Ocean Wind Gets NJ BPU Backing for Oyster Creek Wind Project. Ocean Wind LLC this month received support from New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to develop a wind project with both offshore and onshore components, with a connection to the grid at the site of the former Oyster Creek nuclear station. Ocean Wind, […]The post POWER Notebook: Wind Project Will Use Oyster Creek Nuclear Site; Other Solar, Wind Farms Announced appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The POWER Interview: Cryogenic Energy Storage Technology appeared first on POWER Magazine.Highview Power recently unveiled its modular, giga-scale cryogenic energy storage technology, the CRYOBattery™. The company has announced a partnership with Tenaska to help develop four giga-scale plants in the U.S., with the first expected in in Texas. The company also is working on a fifth project in the Midwest. The technology uses ambient air to […]The post The POWER Interview: Cryogenic Energy Storage Technology appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Vistra Will Close Another Illinois Coal Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.A Vistra Energy subsidiary on Sept. 16 said it will close the nearly 60-year-old E.D. Edwards coal-fired plant in Bartonville, Illinois, by year-end 2022 under a settlement between the company and environmental groups the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Respiratory Health Association. The groups made a joint announcement Monday of the […]The post Vistra Will Close Another Illinois Coal Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Nine Utility Companies Suing Trump Over Emissions Rule appeared first on POWER Magazine.A coalition of nine utility companies is suing the Trump administration over its plan to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan. New York-based Consolidated Edison said the Affordable Clean Energy, or ACE, rule undermines efforts the companies already have in place to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power generation. The companies, who call their group […]The post Nine Utility Companies Suing Trump Over Emissions Rule appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Community Solar Benefits Cooperatives and Customers appeared first on POWER Magazine.For some utilities, community solar is a way to offer consumers access to clean energy without requiring investment in rooftop solar. For others, it presents a means of strategically placing solar resources in the most beneficial locations. Meanwhile, many utilities view it as an opportunity to learn how best to integrate distributed energy resources (DERs). […]The post Community Solar Benefits Cooperatives and Customers appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post How to Avoid Common Genset Room Design Mistakes appeared first on POWER Magazine.Reliable power is essential for all facilities, but it is even more critical for places like hospitals, data centers, and military bases. Therefore, many decision-makers are purchasing power generator sets (gensets) to supply their facilities during emergencies. It is crucial to consider where the genset will be positioned and how it will be operated. If […]The post How to Avoid Common Genset Room Design Mistakes appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post IHS: Natural Gas Prices Will Fall Below $2/MMBtu in 2020 appeared first on POWER Magazine.Average natural gas prices at Henry Hub in 2020 could fall to below $2/MMBtu —a level “not seen in decades”—owing to a persistent oversupply, a new report from information and analytics firm IHS Markit suggests. Prices could fall despite strong demand for natural gas, both domestically, including for power generation, as well as for exports. […]The post IHS: Natural Gas Prices Will Fall Below $2/MMBtu in 2020 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post What Can You Do with a Superconductor? A Lot! [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.What is a superconductor? One definition says, “a material that can conduct electricity or transport electrons from one atom to another with no resistance.” “At the base physics level, what a superconductor does is it moves a lot more power per unit volume or per unit weight, so you have a very high energy-dense material […]The post What Can You Do with a Superconductor? A Lot! [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Exelon’s Byron 2 Completes First Insertion of Westinghouse Accident-Tolerant Fuel appeared first on POWER Magazine.Exelon’s Byron Unit 2 nuclear power plant has completed installation of EnCore Fuel, Westinghouse Electric Co.’s accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) solution, marking the start of the first test of uranium silicide fuel pellets in a commercial nuclear reactor. The installation, completed during the plant’s scheduled 18-day spring refueling outage this April, but publicly announced on Sept. […]The post Exelon’s Byron 2 Completes First Insertion of Westinghouse Accident-Tolerant Fuel appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Three More Nuclear Plant Owners Will Demonstrate Hydrogen Production appeared first on POWER Magazine.FirstEnergy Solutions (FES), Xcel Energy, and Arizona Public Service (APS) will demonstrate hydrogen production at three nuclear plants they own starting in 2020 and 2021. The projects, selected as part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Reactor Development Project funding pathway, aim to improve long-term competitiveness of the nuclear sector […]The post Three More Nuclear Plant Owners Will Demonstrate Hydrogen Production appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post California’s Largest Battery Storage Installation to Be Installed in Mojave Desert appeared first on POWER Magazine.The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Glendale Water and Power, through the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), on May 16, 2019, received SCPPA’s approval on agreements with 8minute Solar Energy (8mSE) for the installation of a 300-MW/1,200-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) located at 8mSE’s Eland Solar and Storage Center. […]The post California’s Largest Battery Storage Installation to Be Installed in Mojave Desert appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Power Companies Advance Voluntary Avian Protection Without Threat of Liability for Incidental Take appeared first on POWER Magazine.With shifts in political winds come shifts in agency legal interpretations. In January 2017, the solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a formal legal opinion interpreting the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to prohibit the incidental take (accidental injury or death) of migratory birds. This “midnight” legal opinion was widely viewed […]The post Power Companies Advance Voluntary Avian Protection Without Threat of Liability for Incidental Take appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post PG&E’s Reorganization Plan—Cap Wildfire Liabilities at $18 Billion appeared first on POWER Magazine.Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) wants to cap its liabilities from damages caused by California wildfires at about $18 billion, according to the reorganization plan filed by the bankrupt utility September 9 in federal court in San Francisco. The amount is less than half what creditors, including insurance companies and wildfire victims, say they are […]The post PG&E’s Reorganization Plan—Cap Wildfire Liabilities at $18 Billion appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post New York City to Get Eight Floating Aeroderivative Gas Turbines appeared first on POWER Magazine.New York City may soon be powered with two new power barges outfitted with eight Siemens 76-MW aeroderivative gas turbines. Under a Sept. 5-announced contract signed by Astoria Generating Co. (AGC) and Siemens, the power barges—a relatively new Siemens offering based on a concept it calls “SeaFloat”—will replace two of four existing power barges at […]The post New York City to Get Eight Floating Aeroderivative Gas Turbines appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post PG&E Seeking $14 Billion in Restructuring Plan appeared first on POWER Magazine.Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) reportedly will soon file a restructuring plan that includes more than $14 billion in equity commitments, as the utility looks to recover from billions of dollars in liabilities tied to its role in California wildfires that caused the company to file the largest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history. Bloomberg on […]The post PG&E Seeking $14 Billion in Restructuring Plan appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post 2018 Exceptional Year for Nuclear Power Firsts appeared first on POWER Magazine.Last year, five of the world’s 449 operable nuclear reactors reached 50 years of operation for the first time, four first-of-their kind reactor designs were brought online, and while the industry showed capacity factor impacts from load-following, the global nuclear fleet performed at an average capacity factor of about 80%, says a new report from […]The post 2018 Exceptional Year for Nuclear Power Firsts appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Engineering a World-Class Gas Turbine [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.GE introduced the F-class gas turbine to the power industry nearly 30 years ago. Since that time, more than 1,500 F-class machines have operated for more than 54 million hours. With available outputs ranging from 51 MW for a GE 6F.01 simple cycle unit to more than 1,000 MW for a 3×1 7F.05-based combined cycle […]The post Engineering a World-Class Gas Turbine [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Report: Gas-Fired Generation Will Rise in Pennsylvania as Coal, Nuclear Decline appeared first on POWER Magazine.Power generation from natural gas is expected to rise in Pennsylvania over the next few years, according to the state Public Utility Commission’s (PUC’s) annual report on generation and transmission and distribution capacity released in late August. The PUC’s “Electric Power Outlook for Pennsylvania 2018-2023” report made public last week projects gas-fired power generation will […]The post Report: Gas-Fired Generation Will Rise in Pennsylvania as Coal, Nuclear Decline appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post How Net Generation Has Changed in States with Renewable Portfolio Standards appeared first on POWER Magazine.As of August 2019, 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), and eight others had non-binding renewable portfolio goals. Three states also had clean energy standards, which set targets for low-carbon non-renewables, like nuclear, and two had clean energy goals. Our monthly infographic in September 2019 shows how shares for each […]The post How Net Generation Has Changed in States with Renewable Portfolio Standards appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The X Factor in the Power Market’s New Math appeared first on POWER Magazine.How power companies are using experience management, or XM, to reshape customer relationships and reveal new revenue opportunities Here was a company with one of the largest investor-owned electric systems in the U.S.—the owner of close to a dozen electricity distribution entities—and a strong desire to pursue new opportunities outside its traditional regulated business. Those […]The post The X Factor in the Power Market’s New Math appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post THE BIG PICTURE: Renewable Portfolio Standards appeared first on POWER Magazine.As of August 2019, 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), and eight others had non-binding renewable portfolio goals. Three states also had clean energy standards, which set targets for low-carbon non-renewables, like nuclear, and two had clean energy goals. Shown in the bars below are the shares of generation by source […]The post THE BIG PICTURE: Renewable Portfolio Standards appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post How to Ensure Plant Reliability and Regulatory Compliance appeared first on POWER Magazine.Lock in safe, reliable operations by opening the door to third-party expertise There’s still a big takeaway from a 2008 Florida blackout, and it’s not the size of the fine that followed. Although it was the largest penalty levied under the new reliability standards at that time, here’s the bigger elephant in the room: Florida […]The post How to Ensure Plant Reliability and Regulatory Compliance appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Public vs. Private: What’s Best for Power Customers? appeared first on POWER Magazine.There are generally three types of electric power utility ownership structures: public power utilities, rural electric cooperatives, and investor-owned utilities (IOUs). The American Public Power AssociationThe post Public vs. Private: What’s Best for Power Customers? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Turkey Banking on Geothermal Projects to Boost Domestic Generation appeared first on POWER Magazine.Geothermal power generation continues to increase in Turkey, as the country works toward a goal of at least 2 GW of installed capacity by the end of 2019, a rise of almost 50% since the end of 2018. GeothermalThe post Turkey Banking on Geothermal Projects to Boost Domestic Generation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post POWER Digest—September 2019 appeared first on POWER Magazine.Kenya Launches Africa’s Largest Wind Farm. Kenya in July began operating the 310-MW Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) facility, which the government said is Africa’s largest wind power farm. The LTWP projectThe post POWER Digest—September 2019 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Heavy Hauling: Moving 300-Ton Gas Engines from Europe to Michigan appeared first on POWER Magazine.Two new power plants in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.) came online earlier this year, supplying power for customers of Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corp. (UMERC), a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group. WECThe post Heavy Hauling: Moving 300-Ton Gas Engines from Europe to Michigan appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Nigeria Enlists Siemens to Help Shore Up Power Grid appeared first on POWER Magazine.Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has an ambitious plan to rebuild the country’s power grid, as his government tries to jump-start the slow pace of growth in Africa’s largest economy. Buhari and SiemensThe post Nigeria Enlists Siemens to Help Shore Up Power Grid appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Aug. 28 announced its Sierra Front Field Office in the Carson City District in Nevada approved the use of BLM land that will serve the proposed Dodge Flat Solar Energy Center (DFSEC), a 200-MW alternating current photovoltaic (PV) solar energy project near Wadsworth, Nevada, in Washoe County, […]The post BLM Backs 200-MW Solar Project in Northern Nevada appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A first-of-its-kind project spearheaded by Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear power generator, and Norwegian firm Nel Hydrogen could demonstrate an integrated hydrogen production, storage, and utilization facility at an existing nuclear plant site. If the project comes to fruition, it could shed light on a new and potentially lucrative revenue stream for existing nuclear power […]The post Exelon Is Exploring Nuclear Power Plant Hydrogen Production appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The power grid is changing across the U.S. More distributed energy resources are being added every day. That brings challenges for power utilities, but also opportunities. John Di Stasio, president of the Large Public Power Council (LPPC), which represents 27 of the largest locally governed and operated not-for-profit electric systems in the U.S., was a […]The post Large Public Power Systems Are Evolving [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Mexico is preparing to import more U.S. natural gas to supply the country’s gas-fired power plants and industrial facilities after the Mexican government reached a deal that will allow several stalled pipeline projects to be completed. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador on Aug. 27 said his administration’s deal with Canadian pipeline operator TC Energy; IEnova, […]The post Pipeline Deal Means More U.S. Natural Gas for Mexico Power Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

German officials on Aug. 28 approved a plan to spend as much as €40 billion ($44.4 billion) over the next 20 years on projects designed to lessen the impact of the country’s complete move away from coal-fired power generation. Peter Altmaier, the country’s economy minister, said the money will become available after lawmakers pass legislation […]The post Germany Announces $44.4 Billion Plan to Lessen Impact of Coal Plant Closures appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The names of bulk power system entities that violate federal critical infrastructure cybersecurity reliability standards—along with identification of standards violated and penalties assessed—may soon be routinely disclosed under changes proposed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Reliability Corp. (NERC). The proposed changes, which FERC and NERC outlined in an Aug. […]The post FERC, NERC Want to Disclose Names, Penalties for Cybersecurity Reliability Violations appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Organizations operating within a mission-critical environment must adopt appropriate technology to mitigate potentially life-threatening problems. As we acknowledge National Preparedness Month this September, we need to remember what is important to electric power customers. They expect to be kept safe, to be heard, and to receive realistic estimated restoration times—especially when a power line is […]The post Hope for the Blue Sky, Plan for the Storm appeared first on POWER Magazine.

“I hate to see things going out along party lines,” Cheryl LaFleur, outgoing commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), told POWER during an exclusive interview. “During my 35 years of watching FERC, that has not been the pattern.” During the early years of the Obama administration, “we didn’t think of ourselves as [partisan],” […]The post FERC’s LaFleur Decries Partisanship and Politicization appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Vistra Energy will shutter four coal-fired power plants—a total 2 GW—as required by Illinois’ recently revised Multi-Pollutant Standard (MPS) rule, but CEO Curtis Morgan noted the move was “inevitable” due to the changing regulatory environment and unfavorable economic conditions in the MISO market. The company on Aug. 21 said it will close the 54-year-old 915-MW […]The post Vistra May Close 2 GW of Illinois Coal Power By Year’s End appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The list of 181 CEOs who earlier this week moved to publicly degrade shareholder value in a bid to redefine the “purpose of a corporation” includes several chief executives from power companies. The Aug. 19 statement issued by the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs “to promote a thriving U.S. economy and expanded opportunity for […]The post Power Sector CEOs Join Top Execs in Redefining Corporate Purpose appeared first on POWER Magazine.

New guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Aug. 20 to help states prepare for the second implementation period of the federal regional haze program puts emphasis on “discretion and flexibilities” they can use to comply with long-standing mandates to protect visibility in federal areas. While it is not binding, the EPA’s […]The post EPA’s Final Regional Haze Guidance Highlights State Discretion, Flexibility appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The president of a company developing two new natural gas-fired power plants in Ohio said he is ending a project for a third plant there after lawmakers passed legislation to help two struggling nuclear generation facilities in the state. Bill Siderewicz, who leads Massachusetts-based Clean Energy Future LLC, on August 20 in a statement said […]The post Developer Blasts Ohio Nuclear Deal, Pulls Plug on Gas Plant Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Farmington, New Mexico, city council on Aug. 15 unanimously approved a deal to transfer 95% of the ownership interest of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station (SJGS) to Enchant Energy, a company run by executives of a New York-based hedge fund that wants to utilize what it calls “state-of-the-art environmental technology” to capture carbon […]The post City Backs Deal for CCS Technology to Save New Mexico Coal Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded a Dh1.437 billion ($391 million) construction contract for a 250-MW hydropower project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a project considered a first of its kind for the Gulf region. The Hatta hydroelectric power plant will use water stored in an upper reservoir at the Hatta […]The post Group Will Build ‘First of its Kind’ Pumped-Storage Project in Dubai appeared first on POWER Magazine.

San Antonio-based Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) said on Aug. 12 it will get $3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and another $760,658 from an assortment of industry giants to design a large-scale flameless pressurized oxy-fuel combustion pilot plant. The announcement is a major boost for the promising, but yet unproven technology, that […]The post SwRI to Design Flameless, Low-Emission Coal Combustion Pilot appeared first on POWER Magazine.

GSE Systems said it has delivered and commissioned three additional full-scope simulators for Southern Nuclear’s new Operations Training Centers. The simulators are for the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, and the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant. Simulators provide efficient hands-on learning for power plant operators. While power plants of […]The post Southern Nuclear Adds New Power Plant Simulators appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Xcel Energy’s effort to purchase a 760-MW natural gas combined cycle facility in Mankato, Minnesota, from Southern Power, a wholesale energy provider and subsidiary of Southern Company, is meeting resistance from two state agencies. The Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Minnesota Office of the Attorney General (OAG) recommended the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission […]The post State Agencies Object to Xcel Energy, Southern Power Deal appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A coalition of 22 states and seven local governments on Aug. 13 filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which the Trump administration finalized in June to replace the Obama administration’s legacy Clean Power Plan (CPP). Separately, 10 public interest groups filed a petition on Aug. […]The post 22 States, Environmental Groups Mount Legal Challenges to EPA ACE Rule appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The developers of a multibillion-dollar wind farm off the Massachusetts coast said August 12 they would continue with the project, despite the federal government delaying an environmental impact statement needed for the offshore facility. Vineyard Wind, a joint venture of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners of Denmark and Oregon’s Avangrid Renewables, on Monday in a statement said […]The post Feds Delay Environmental Permit for Vineyard Wind Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) said it will close the Bruce Mansfield power plant in Pennsylvania in November, two years ahead of the previously scheduled closure for the facility’s remaining coal-fired unit. FES in a statement August 9 cited a “lack of economic viability in current market conditions” for the decision to shutter the 830-MW Unit 3, […]The post FES Will Close Mansfield Coal Plant Early appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Department of Energy (DOE) officially launched development of its Versatile Test Reactor (VTR), a fast reactor that will foster experiments with much higher neutron energy and flux compared to the nation’s existing 35 research reactors to develop advanced nuclear fuel for future nuclear power plants in the U.S. The facility, it says, is necessary […]The post DOE Speeds Up Development of Experimental Fast Reactor, Sustain Flagging U.S. Nuclear Sector appeared first on POWER Magazine.