POWER Magazine

The post Solar Industry Adds Record Capacity in 2020 in Spite of Pandemic appeared first on POWER Magazine. The U.S. solar industry installed a record 19.2 GWdc of photovoltaic (PV) capacity in 2020, a 43% increase from 2019, according to a report released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie. The numbers are particularly impressive considering the world was dealing with unique challenges as a result of COVID-19. “After a […]The post Solar Industry Adds Record Capacity in 2020 in Spite of Pandemic appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Japan Plant Adding New Gas-Fired Units in Massive Project appeared first on POWER Magazine. JERA, Japan’s largest power generation company, has submitted a scoping document to begin assessing the environmental impact of its plan to add two gas-fired units at the Chita Thermal Power Station, while decommissioning five existing units at the facility. The company filed the report with government officials on March 16, with a 30-day public comment […]The post Japan Plant Adding New Gas-Fired Units in Massive Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Why Pump Energy Savings Should Matter to Utilities appeared first on POWER Magazine. Utilities have a two-fold relationship with energy efficiency. On one side, public and private utilities gain from finding efficiencies in energy usage to reduce costs in their own operations—just like many other businesses. The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2002 Motor Market Assessment established that pumping systems offer the greatest optimization potential of all types of […]The post Why Pump Energy Savings Should Matter to Utilities appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post DOE Backs Projects to Produce Hydrogen from Coal, Biomass appeared first on POWER Magazine. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the agency has awarded $2 million to four research and development (R&D) projects aimed at advancing clean-hydrogen production technologies. The DOE’s awards on March 15 are part of a push by the Biden administration in its fight against climate change. Jennifer Granholm, the new Secretary of Energy and […]The post DOE Backs Projects to Produce Hydrogen from Coal, Biomass appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Texas PUC Outlines Review of Response to Power Disaster appeared first on POWER Magazine. The regulatory group that oversees Texas’ deregulated power market has identified eight areas the agency will focus on as it continues to study the state’s response to a mid-February storm that left millions of electricity customers without power for several days. Texas power customers, along with electricity generators and retail power providers, continue to grapple […]The post Texas PUC Outlines Review of Response to Power Disaster appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Are 1-in-10-Year Events Really 1-in-10-Year Events Anymore? appeared first on POWER Magazine. When evaluating resource adequacy requirements, many power companies and grid operators have used a methodology that originated more than 70 years ago. This probabilistic reliability approach has generally performed adequately through the years. It has generally evaluated loss-of-load events occurring at frequencies of one-day-in-10-years (1-in-10) to be acceptable in terms of system reliability. However, it’s […]The post Are 1-in-10-Year Events Really 1-in-10-Year Events Anymore? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post License Issued for Barakah Nuclear Unit 2 appeared first on POWER Magazine. The Arab world’s first nuclear power plant has received an operating license for its second unit, and the facility’s timeline still calls for commercial start-up of the first unit later this year. The Barakah nuclear power station, in the Al Dhafrah region of Abu Dhabi, will include four units with 5,600 MW of generating capacity […]The post License Issued for Barakah Nuclear Unit 2 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Floating Energy Storage Systems Take Shape appeared first on POWER Magazine. Floating energy storage systems are being developed for use in areas wanting to increase their use of renewable energy, but with constraints on the land available that could be used for solar and wind farms or land-based energy storage. Southeast Asia is one area ready to utilize such installations. The technology group Wärtsilä on March […]The post Floating Energy Storage Systems Take Shape appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post GE Hitachi Advances Collaboration to Bolster BWRX-300 SMR Deployment in Estonia appeared first on POWER Magazine. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Estonian firm Fermi Energia OÜ have entered into a teaming agreement to support potential deployment of a BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) in the Baltic country. The agreement between the technology company and the firm established in 2019 by nuclear industry professionals comes two years after the companies inked […]The post GE Hitachi Advances Collaboration to Bolster BWRX-300 SMR Deployment in Estonia appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Vineyard Wind Step Closer to Construction appeared first on POWER Magazine. The federal agency in charge of U.S. offshore energy management said it has completed the final environmental analysis for a proposed 800-MW offshore wind project, paving the way for the nation’s first commercial-scale development of its kind to move forward. The U.S. Dept. of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on March 8 […]The post Vineyard Wind Step Closer to Construction appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Rosatom Group Building Energy Storage Portfolio appeared first on POWER Magazine. Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom continues to diversify, as one of the group’s subsidiaries has acquired a major stake in a South Korean manufacturer of energy storage products. RENERA LLC, which is Rosatom’s integrator company for the energy storage business, and also a subsidiary of TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom, on March 5 announced […]The post Rosatom Group Building Energy Storage Portfolio appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post ERCOT Lists Generators Forced Offline During Texas Extreme Cold Event appeared first on POWER Magazine. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in freshly revealed data on March 4 reported that the Texas grid suffered 1,796 generating or energy storage outages or derates as winter storm Uri bore down on the state in mid-February. The grid operator made the list public in a letter it sent to lawmakers in the […]The post ERCOT Lists Generators Forced Offline During Texas Extreme Cold Event appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post U.S. House Bill Introduces Federal Zero-Emissions Electricity Standard appeared first on POWER Magazine. A sweeping climate proposal introduced by U.S. House Democrats on March 2 sets a stringent clean energy electricity mandate for power retailers nationwide, requiring they procure 100% of their power supplies from zero-emitting generation by 2035. Among its slew of measures aimed at achieving net-zero emissions nationwide by 2050, the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action […]The post U.S. House Bill Introduces Federal Zero-Emissions Electricity Standard appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Battery Technology Used in Outer Space Could Be a Gamechanger on Earth appeared first on POWER Magazine. Lithium-ion has become the dominant battery technology used in energy storage applications around the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only, or even the best, technology available. Many companies are working on different battery chemistries that could provide safer, longer-lasting, and ultimately more cost-effective options. One alternative that has gotten little exposure until now […]The post Battery Technology Used in Outer Space Could Be a Gamechanger on Earth appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The POWER Interview: USNC Making Headway on Advanced Nuclear Fuel appeared first on POWER Magazine. In a brief interview this February, Francesco Venneri, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. CEO, explained to POWER why the company’s development of its proprietary fully ceramic microencapsulated (FCM) fuel is significant for the future of advanced nuclear, and how the company plans to roll it out. Seattle-based Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. (USNC), developer of the 5-MWe […]The post The POWER Interview: USNC Making Headway on Advanced Nuclear Fuel appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Board Votes to Fire ERCOT CEO appeared first on POWER Magazine. Board members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the entity that operates and manages the electricity grid that covers much of Texas, voted late on March 3 to fire ERCOT CEO Bill Magness. The move comes as state and federal officials continue to investigate the actions of the grid operator that led to […]The post Board Votes to Fire ERCOT CEO appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Mitsubishi Power Developing 100% Ammonia-Capable Gas Turbine appeared first on POWER Magazine. Mitsubishi Power is developing a 40-MW class gas turbine that can directly combust 100% ammonia under an initiative that responds to heightened global decarbonization ambitions, as well as Japan’s recent roadmap for ammonia fuel. The Yokohama–headquartered power equipment firm, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), on March 1 said it is targeting commercialization of […]The post Mitsubishi Power Developing 100% Ammonia-Capable Gas Turbine appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Texas PUC Chair Resigns as Outage Probe Continues appeared first on POWER Magazine. The chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas has resigned, stepping down after the state’s lieutenant governor earlier on March 1 called for her resignation, along with that of the CEO of the state’s power grid operator. DeAnn Walker, the PUC chair, in her resignation letter Monday to Gov. Greg Abbott, defended her […]The post Texas PUC Chair Resigns as Outage Probe Continues appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Power Co-op Files Bankruptcy After $2.1 Billion ERCOT Bill appeared first on POWER Magazine. The group considered Texas’ oldest and largest electricity cooperative has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it can’t pay money wanted by the state’s grid operator in connection with power outages during a major winter storm that hit in February. Brazos Electric Power Cooperative filed its bankruptcy petition March 1 in the U.S. Bankruptcy […]The post Power Co-op Files Bankruptcy After $2.1 Billion ERCOT Bill appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post ‘Best Is Yet to Come’ for Energy Storage Technology appeared first on POWER Magazine. Advancements in batteries, along with an improved regulatory environment and more investment, could make this decade the Roaring ’20s for energy storage. Many areas have been considered a focus for theThe post ‘Best Is Yet to Come’ for Energy Storage Technology appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Siemens Studies Hydrogen Production, Storage at Utah Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine. Siemens Energy said it is joining with a power generation cooperative on a plan to integrate hydrogen production and storage at a Utah power plant. Siemens on March 1 said it has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to support a conceptual design study, which is set to begin […]The post Siemens Studies Hydrogen Production, Storage at Utah Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post ‘World’s Largest’ Green Hydrogen Plant on Tap appeared first on POWER Magazine. Enegix Energy has confirmed it plans to build what the company said would be the world’s largest green hydrogen plant, a facility in northeast Brazil that could produce more than 600 million kilograms, or about 1.32 billion pounds, of the fuel per year. Enegix on March 1 said the hydrogen production would come as part […]The post ‘World’s Largest’ Green Hydrogen Plant on Tap appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post 1.6-GW Coal Plant May Get New Life as Green Hydrogen Hub appeared first on POWER Magazine. Global technology heavyweights Shell and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Swedish state-owned energy firm Vattenfall, and German municipal heat generator Wärme Hamburg are teaming on a massive project to repurpose a 2015-commissioned 1.6-GW coal plant in northern Germany as a massive green hydrogen hub. The four companies in January said they signed a letter of intent to […]The post 1.6-GW Coal Plant May Get New Life as Green Hydrogen Hub appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Members Benefit from Labor Unions During Pandemic appeared first on POWER Magazine. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January that the number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions decreased to 14.3 million in 2020, down 321,000 (2.2%) from 2019. That was the bad newsThe post Members Benefit from Labor Unions During Pandemic appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Distributed Generation Part of Puerto Rico Rebuild appeared first on POWER Magazine. Upgrades to the power grid are needed worldwide, and energy companies are working on the best solutions for providing reliable and resilient power in a cost-efficient and timely fashion. Areas hit hard byThe post Distributed Generation Part of Puerto Rico Rebuild appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The Allure of TRISO Nuclear Fuel Explained appeared first on POWER Magazine. Tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel has long been used in high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors, but it is seeing a resurgence as a result of other applications. Modern TRISO fuel designs areThe post The Allure of TRISO Nuclear Fuel Explained appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The Hydropower Industry’s Sustainability Conundrum appeared first on POWER Magazine. Hydropower makes up the majority of the world’s renewable energy capacity, but it’s not necessarily an environmentally friendly form of power. However, groups are working to improve hydropower technologyThe post The Hydropower Industry’s Sustainability Conundrum appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Wärtsilä Project Moves Forward, but Challenges Remain for Renewables in Mexico appeared first on POWER Magazine. Mexico reformed its energy market in 2013, opening the country’s energy sector to private investment. It created opportunities for foreign companies to bring their expertise to Mexico, particularly in theThe post Wärtsilä Project Moves Forward, but Challenges Remain for Renewables in Mexico appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Fukushima’s Decade-Long Shadow Made Nuclear Safer appeared first on POWER Magazine. Koji Okamoto, director general of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s (JAEA’s) Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), can pinpoint the specific moment that cemented hisThe post Fukushima’s Decade-Long Shadow Made Nuclear Safer appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post SGRE Turbines Tabbed for French Offshore Wind Project appeared first on POWER Magazine. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) announced it was awarded the firm order from the EDF Renewables-Enbridge-wpd consortium for the 448-MW Courseulles-sur-Mer offshore wind power project. The installation will be located just more than 6 miles off the Bessin coast, in an area of Normandy, France. SGRE on Feb. 22 said the wind turbine nacelles and […]The post SGRE Turbines Tabbed for French Offshore Wind Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Exelon to Split Business, Spin Off Generation Segment appeared first on POWER Magazine. Responding to rapid changes in the power industry, Exelon Corp. plans to cleave its business into two publicly traded companies: one comprising its six regulated electric and gas utilities, and the other, which it plans to spin off, comprising its 31-GW competitive generation fleet and customer-facing businesses. The separation—which the company’s Board of Directors approved […]The post Exelon to Split Business, Spin Off Generation Segment appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Hydrogen and the Energy Transition appeared first on POWER Magazine. Power systems around the world are changing. Renewable energy, mainly in the form of wind and solar generation, is being added everywhere, while more traditional forms of power, such as coal-fired and nuclear generation, are being retired from the grid. Meanwhile, natural gas-fired generation has taken the lead role in facilitating the transition by providing […]The post Hydrogen and the Energy Transition appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post DOE Awards $46 Million for Geothermal Projects appeared first on POWER Magazine. A federal government geothermal program based at the University of Utah has chosen 17 projects that will receive up to $46 million from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE). The DOE on Feb. 24 said its Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) Initiative will support funding for what it called “cutting-edge, domestic, and […]The post DOE Awards $46 Million for Geothermal Projects appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post GE Debuts Giant 9HA.02 Gas Turbines at 1.4-GW Plant in Malaysia appeared first on POWER Magazine. Two GE 9HA.02 gas turbines—the largest model of GE’s second-generation H-class heavy-duty gas turbine fleet and one of the largest gas turbine models on the global market—on Feb. 24 began commercial operation at Southern Power Generation’s (SPG’s) 1,440-MW Track 4A Power Plant in Pasir Gudang, Johor, Malaysia. The combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant, built […]The post GE Debuts Giant 9HA.02 Gas Turbines at 1.4-GW Plant in Malaysia appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post ERCOT Board Members Resign in Wake of Blackouts appeared first on POWER Magazine. Five board members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s power grid operator, on Feb. 23 announced they would resign their posts, just days after extreme winter weather left more than 4 million Texas electricity customers without power for several days. Sally Talberg, chairwoman of ERCOT, is among those resigning. All those […]The post ERCOT Board Members Resign in Wake of Blackouts appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post How to Optimize Online Meeting Communication and Collaboration appeared first on POWER Magazine. Are we prepared for what the future of work holds? According to a recent McKinsey report, that answer will depend on our ability to adapt to a hybrid workforce. The report, which analyzed more than 2,000 activities across 800 occupations, found that hybrid models of remote work will accelerate and continue after the COVID-19 pandemic […]The post How to Optimize Online Meeting Communication and Collaboration appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The Earth’s Energy: Switching Geothermal Power On appeared first on POWER Magazine. Although geothermal energy supplies a very small percentage of the electricity used around the world currently, geothermal advocates aren’t letting the seeming insignificance of the existing power generation capacity detract from their enthusiasm about the future. After years of relative obscurity compared to other renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, geothermal energy is […]The post The Earth’s Energy: Switching Geothermal Power On appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Modern HRSG Designs Maximize Combined Cycle Plant Efficiency appeared first on POWER Magazine. Iberdrola SA and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) recently commissioned the El Carmen combined cycle plant, located in Nuevo León, northeast Mexico. Wood supplied the two horizontal heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) for the plant. The 875-MW combined cycle plant is based on two 300-MW MHPS M501J combustion turbines and is the first plant built […]The post Modern HRSG Designs Maximize Combined Cycle Plant Efficiency appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Texas Launches Probe of Power Companies After Blackouts appeared first on POWER Magazine. The fallout from the severe weather that crippled the power grid in Texas and other states over the past week continues, as officials grapple with what went wrong and who should be held accountable for an energy emergency that left millions without electricity. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Feb. 19 said his office would […]The post Texas Launches Probe of Power Companies After Blackouts appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Great Winter Storm of 2021 Will Live in Grid History appeared first on POWER Magazine. It will be some time before we know every detail that aligned to cause the tremendous number of sustained power outages in Texas, or the spiking power prices across all markets in the central states. Some things we do know. Some natural gas supply was frozen in. Some wind turbines froze up, and ice damaged some […]The post Great Winter Storm of 2021 Will Live in Grid History appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post ERCOT Signaling Some Relief as Power Crisis Stretches Into Fourth Day appeared first on POWER Magazine. After three harrowing days during which the Texas grid veered precipitously toward system collapse, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has begun directing transmission operators to cease rotating blackouts. The grid recorded a gradual increase of restored generation capacity through Feb. 17 and overnight on Feb. 18. Early on Thursday, a little more than […]The post ERCOT Signaling Some Relief as Power Crisis Stretches Into Fourth Day appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Dirty Electricity, but Not the Kind You Think appeared first on POWER Magazine. When most people hear the term “dirty electricity,” they probably think of power generated from sources considered more-polluting, such as coal, natural gas, or other fossil fuels. However, Satic Inc., an electronics manufacturer and professional engineering firm based in Missoula, Montana, says electricity in homes and businesses is filled with “electrical pollution” that is not […]The post Dirty Electricity, but Not the Kind You Think appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The Nuclear Battery Aboard Perseverance, the Next-Gen Mars Rover appeared first on POWER Magazine. NASA’s next-generation Mars rover Perseverance, which successfully launched on July 30 atop an Atlas 5 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, will depend on a “nuclear battery” for electrical power when it completes its seven-month journey to the Red Planet. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) celebrated the launch of the rover, […]The post The Nuclear Battery Aboard Perseverance, the Next-Gen Mars Rover appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Safety and Digitalization Big Parts of Sustainability appeared first on POWER Magazine. Company leaders around the globe are more focused than ever on sustainability. The trend has been driven not only by an innate human desire to “do the right thing,” but also because investors and environmentally conscious consumers are demanding that companies evaluate how their operations are affecting the world and make positive changes to reduce […]The post Safety and Digitalization Big Parts of Sustainability appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Texas Gov. Declares ERCOT Reform ‘Emergency’; Millions Still Without Power appeared first on POWER Magazine. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said reforming the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is an emergency item for state legislators in the current session, as power outages continue across the state for another day due to record cold temperatures as part of a massive winter storm. The governor on Feb. 16 said he wants […]The post Texas Gov. Declares ERCOT Reform ‘Emergency’; Millions Still Without Power appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post ERCOT Sheds Load as Extreme Cold Forces Generators Offline; MISO, SPP Brace for Worsening System Conditions appeared first on POWER Magazine. Historically frigid temperatures across Texas forced 34 GW of generation—across all fuel types—off the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) system, prompting the grid operator to initiate rotating outages starting at 1:25 a.m. CST on Feb. 15. ERCOT said it expects outages will likely last at least through Feb. 16. This article has been updated […]The post ERCOT Sheds Load as Extreme Cold Forces Generators Offline; MISO, SPP Brace for Worsening System Conditions appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post GE Turbines Will Supply Europe’s Largest Onshore Wind Farm appeared first on POWER Magazine. GE Renewable Energy and independent asset manager Luxcara announced an agreement to develop Europe’s largest onshore wind farm, an installation that includes a 25-year full-turbine service and maintenance contract. Luxcara has begun infrastructure work on the project in Sweden. GE Renewable Energy on Feb. 15 said it expects to begin installing the first of 137 […]The post GE Turbines Will Supply Europe’s Largest Onshore Wind Farm appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post The POWER Interview: Attracting the New Utility Workforce appeared first on POWER Magazine. The global energy sector, including utilities, is looking at a talent drain. As older workers retire, the competition to recruit younger workers to replace them has heated up. The power generation industry today is more digitized, reliant on expertise in analyzing data and developing software. That means many workers who could move into positions at […]The post The POWER Interview: Attracting the New Utility Workforce appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Hitachi ABB Power Grids Reshapes COVID-Challenged Customer Engagement appeared first on POWER Magazine. In a pioneering effort to overcome pandemic challenges that have hampered its interaction with customers, partners, and other stakeholders, Hitachi ABB Power Grids on Feb. 9 inaugurated a “customer experience” center at the company’s North American headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. The North America Customer Experience Center, which is located in a state-of-the-art facility on […]The post Hitachi ABB Power Grids Reshapes COVID-Challenged Customer Engagement appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post Is Nuclear Power Poised for a Resurgence? appeared first on POWER Magazine. Since 1990, nuclear power has consistently supplied about 19% to 20% of the electricity used in the U.S. However, very few nuclear plants have been added to the U.S. fleet over that time. Currently, the only new nuclear project in the U.S. is Southern Company’s Plant Vogtle expansion, which is expected to add two new […]The post Is Nuclear Power Poised for a Resurgence? appeared first on POWER Magazine.