POWER Magazine

The amount of electricity produced by gas-fired power generation has been increasing steadily in the U.S. for more than 25 years. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that in 1990 about 372.8The post Gas Power Generation Thrives, Turbine Manufacturers Struggle appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The European Union (EU) is unequivocally continuing down a path of global climate and energy leadership while bringing online more carbon-neutral fuel systems throughout its 28 member states, closing in on the 2020 goal of a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from 1990 levels. Indeed, the newly released European Environment 
Agency’s (EEA’s) Trends […]The post Europe’s Power Generation Industry Evolves appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Owners and contractors can run into contractual disputes during combined cycle construction projects. Often, the disagreements snowball into lawsuits, which create a lot of activity in attorney offices, but can actually stop activity at the construction site. Engineers and laborers frequently end up taking off their hard hats and setting down their welding torches to […]The post Could Dispute Resolution Boards Keep Combined Cycle Projects on Schedule? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Eight northeastern states are again suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force the agency to slash emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) blowing in from power plants and other sources in nine “upwind” Midwestern and southern states. The Ozone Transport Region, which was established by Congress under Section 184 of […]The post Eight States Sue EPA, Arguing Ozone Transport Region Decision Is “Unlawful” appeared first on POWER Magazine.

From deregulation and restructuring to new technology and globalization, the power industry has undergone dramatic changes over the past few decades. Falling barriers to entry have led to the rise of small and independent power producers, and empowered consumers with choices when it comes to where to purchase their energy. These changes have transformed a […]The post How to Leverage the Value of Outsourcing Electrical Power Maintenance appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Siemens claims to be paving the way for the next level of efficiency with the development of its HL-class gas turbine. In June 2017, the company announced it will validate the technology at Duke Energy’s Lincoln County site in North Carolina. Siemens is developing this class in an evolutionary development step derived from its proven […]The post Siemens Reaches for Higher Efficiency with Its HL-Class Gas Turbine [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Olkiluoto 3, a much delayed first-of-its-kind EPR nuclear plant project under construction in Finland, has begun hot functional tests and should begin generating electricity in May 2019, according to Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO). TVO on December 19 said hot functional tests underway at the reactor, which are part of commissioning, are expected to […]The post Plagued by Faulty Materials, Industry Upheaval, Finnish EPR Nuclear Unit Steers Toward Completion appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Thermal insulation is installed on almost every piping system and much of the plant equipment at power generation facilities. It not only saves energy, but also protects workers, reduces noise, helps protect against freezing, and more. This quiz is designed to test your knowledge of insulation fundamentals. Create your own user feedback survey If you’d […]The post Test Your Knowledge: Insulation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) announced it will permanently close two older nuclear reactors in Japan, rather than invest nearly 100 billion yen ($900 million) to bring the units up to the country’s new safety regulations. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) created new standards for the country’s nuclear plants after the meltdown at the Fukushima […]The post Two More Japan Nuclear Units Will be Decommissioned appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Moving toward sustainable manufacture of photovoltaics, Dr. Manuela Schiek’s research group in Oldenburg, Germany, has discovered how the latest technology in confocal laser scanning microscopy is enhancing both accuracy and efficiency of their research into organic semiconductors and transparent electrodes. Harvesting energy directly from the sun in order to generate electricity, solar cells appear to […]The post Alternative Materials for Alternative Energy appeared first on POWER Magazine.

We were standing in Volgodonsk, Russia, on a bridge that connected the third and fourth units of the Rostov Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The fourth unit was under construction, and the deputy chief engineer of the Rostov NPP, Alexander Belyaev, told us that we were about to witness something unique. It was December 1, 2015, […]The post Bangladesh Turns to Nuclear Power appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Stan Wise said his agency was “not going to make a decision to discontinue” construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, instead putting the decision squarely in the hands of Southern Co. and Georgia Power at the PSC’s December 21 meeting to determine the fate of the […]The post Georgia PSC Chair: We Wanted Vogtle to Go Forward appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Earlier this year, GE’s Power Services achieved a significant milestone with its 9EMax gas turbine upgrade solution. The 9EMax completed initial validation testing and was offered commercially to gas turbine customers around the globe. The first 9EMax unit was installed at a customer’s site in Asia. “First fire is a critical test where the gas […]The post GE’s 9EMax Gas Turbine Solution – Eric Gray [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

State regulators in Georgia have voted not to cancel the troubled nuclear expansion project at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Georgia, and lead owner Georgia Power has agreed to a set of conditions that the utility must meet in order to continue the project. Georgia Power is one of four utilities with a […]The post State PSC Puts Vogtle Future in Georgia Power’s Hands appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A bill backed by outgoing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) to subsidize the state’s nuclear power plants unanimously passed a joint committee on December 20 and now heads to the full legislature for a vote. S.3560, introduced on December 14, directs the Board of Public Utilities to issue Nuclear Diversity Certificates (NDCs) to nuclear power […]The post New Jersey Nuclear Subsidy Bill Barrels Out of Committee, Heads for Legislature Vote appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Fires and explosions have caused a significant number of deaths and injuries to power plant staff over the years. To reduce hazards, protective measures must be considered during engineering, design, construction, and operation of power plants, particularly in electrical areas that are often a source of ignition. This quiz is designed to test your knowledge of electrical […]The post Test Your Knowledge: Electrical Area Classification appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) believes that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) needs to fast-track reform of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), NARUC President John Betkoski III said in a December 18 letter to the commission. The letter pushes for FERC’s new Chairman, Kevin McIntyre, to make […]The post NARUC Calls on FERC to Prioritize PURPA Reform appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering drafting a replacement of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. The agency on December 18 published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) soliciting comments from the public on how the replacement should look. The ANPRM is separate from the agency’s current effort to repeal the current rule. […]The post EPA Seeks Input on Potential Clean Power Plan Replacement appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A Michigan utility will build a $500 million natural gas-fired power plant on the site of an existing coal-fired plant in Lansing, and plans to retire the coal plant and another coal-fired facility in the town in the next few years. Lansing’s Board of Water & Light (BWL) announced the project December 18. The city-owned […]The post New Michigan Gas-Fired Plant Will Replace Existing Coal Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A utility group on December 18 agreed to keep a coal-fired power plant in Colorado Springs, Colorado, open for at least a few more years, and its members said they are prepared to move forward with distributed generation and could import power to make up for the eventual retirement of the Martin Drake Power Plant. […]The post Board Keeps Option to Close Colorado Coal-Fired Plant Early appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Global coal demand fell nearly 2% in 2016, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Coal 2017 Analysis and Forecasts report, released December 18. “Demand for coal has now dropped by 4.2% since 2014, almost matching the fall of 1990-1992, which was the largest two-year decline recorded since the IEA started compiling statistics more than […]The post Report: Global Coal Demand Drops Second Year in a Row appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A test plant that will be part of research into producing cleaner-burning coal for power plants is set to begin operation next year in Wyoming, with the company behind the project saying global demand for coal makes the project viable even as the U.S. reduces its reliance on coal for electricity production. Clean Coal Technologies […]The post Clean Coal Test Project Set for Wyoming appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A leading-edge operations center opens in New York The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has taken a huge step forward in increasing the efficiency of its operations with the opening of its new Integrated Smart Operations Center (iSOC), which harnesses the capabilities of state-of-the-art digitization technologies. The center, located in White Plains, N.Y., was officially […]The post Blazing a Trail Toward the Energy Grid of the Future appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Oman recently began operating a Wärtsilä-built power plant in the northern part of the country, part of more than $1 billion in power and energy projects being developed in the Arab nation. The Musandam Independent Power Project (IPP) is a 120-MW natural gas-fired plant (Figure 1) that can use light fuel oil as a secondary […]The post Oman Starts Power Plant as Part of New Energy Development appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A report released December 14 by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) says power generation from natural gas-fired units and renewable sources such as solar and wind will provide enough electricity to offset the closures of U.S. coal-fired and nuclear power plants in the next decade. The agency’s 10-year outlook, part of its 2017 […]The post NERC Report: Natural Gas, Renewable Generation Will Offset Coal, Nuclear Closures appeared first on POWER Magazine.

It’s become a cliché that government would be better if it were only run by private-sector managers using standard business practices. However, there are significant differences between the private sector and government. This quiz is designed to test your knowledge of those differences. Create your own user feedback survey To learn 18 more differences, read “25 Differences Between […]The post Test Your Knowledge: Differences Between Private Sector and Government Managers appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) cycles—which are inching closer to commercial applications for waste heat recovery, concentrating solar power, nuclear, and fossil energy—offer higher thermal efficiencies and power density than conventional steam Rankine and Air Brayton cycles in use today for power generation. But to realize these potentially game-changing cycles, common challenges associated with turbomachinery must […]The post Game-Changing Supercritical CO2 Cycles Are Closer to Commercialization appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Georgia Public Service Commission on December 11 said it will decide December 21 whether to allow construction of two new nuclear reactors at the Plant Vogtle site to move forward, or call for the project to be canceled. Commissioners voted Monday to move up the timetable for a decision on the troubled nuclear project […]The post Georgia PSC Will Decide Vogtle’s Fate on December 21 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Hearings on the future of the Vogtle nuclear expansion project are underway in Atlanta, Georgia, and events of the past few days could impact how quickly the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) and Georgia Power reach a decision on whether construction of two new nuclear reactors continues or is halted. This week’s hearings, which are […]The post Vogtle Hearings Underway; Tax Law Change Could Speed Resolution appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry has granted a 30-day extension sought by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Kevin McIntyre last week to give the regulatory agency more time before it acts on the controversial proposed Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule. In a strongly worded letter, however, he told FERC to act expeditiously to allay reliability threats to […]The post Perry Grants FERC’s Request to Delay Grid Resiliency NOPR, But Calls for Urgent Action appeared first on POWER Magazine.

GE Power said its 9HA.02 gas turbine reached a new milestone by exceeding 64% efficiency in combined cycle power plants. The company attributes at least part of the achievement to advances in additive manufacturing (3-D printing). “The HA is our most advanced gas turbine technology, and we’ve never stopped pushing the boundaries of what it […]The post Market-Challenged, GE Continues to Improve Gas Turbine Efficiency appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt told House lawmakers on December 7 that the agency will introduce a rule to replace the Obama administration’s legacy Clean Power Plan. Pruitt told Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) in a brief exchange, during a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Environment held on Thursday […]The post Pruitt: EPA Rule to Replace the Clean Power Plan Is Coming appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Kevin McIntyre, freshly sworn in as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), has asked the Department of Energy (DOE) for a 30-day extension for the commission to act on the proposed Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule. FERC is required to take final action on Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s September 28-issued notice of proposed rulemaking […]The post New FERC Chair McIntyre Seeks Delay on Grid Resiliency NOPR appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Connected Plant Conference will be held in Charlotte, N.C., February 26–28, 2018. The forum is designed for professionals in the power generation and chemical process industries who are leading digital adoption at all stages. Sessions are tailored to offer actionable information and strategies to maximize the use of data, analytics, and related technology to drive efficiency improvements, […]The post Connected Plant Expert Offers Preview of Upcoming Conference [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Kevin McIntyre was sworn in as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on December 7, just more than a month after his nomination to the post was approved by the Senate. He takes over from interim chair Neil Chatterjee, who will remain at FERC as a commissioner. The agency that regulates transmission and wholesale […]The post McIntyre Takes Reins as New Head of FERC appeared first on POWER Magazine.

General Electric (GE) said December 7 it will cut 12,000 jobs in its power unit as the company continues to struggle with changes in the global power market. The company in a statement said the staff reductions will save $1 billion in 2018. “Traditional power markets including gas and coal have softened,” the company said, […]The post GE Cutting 12,000 Jobs in Power Division appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In December 2016, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) announced the introduction of its JAC gas turbine—a new air-cooled J-series model. The JAC has flexible ramping capabilities, an impressive 64% efficiency, 99.5% reliability, and a combined cycle output of 575 MW. Furthermore, the design has been thoroughly tested, with more than 14,000 operating hours at T-Point, MHPS’s validation facility. The […]The post MHPSA CEO Optimistic About the Future [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

New Jersey lawmakers are exploring whether to legislatively prop up future operation of two nuclear power plants in the state, holding a hearing on December 4 in which key stakeholders sounded off on how nuclear subsidies could affect the environment, the economy, and the power market. The hearing, jointly held by the state Senate Environment […]The post New Jersey Considers Nuclear Subsidies for PSEG Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week reportedly closed an investigation concerning costs and delays at Mississippi Power’s now-abandoned Kemper integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project without recommending an enforcement action. Mississippi Power on December 1 also reached an amended settlement agreement with key stakeholders on the remaining costs associated with the $7.5 billion […]The post Southern Co. Tackles Two Hurdles to Move Past Scrapped Kemper IGCC Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Toshiba Corp. has agreed to accelerate its payments to Georgia Power to help the utility finance completion of the troubled Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion. The deal announced December 5 comes four days after a recommendation from state regulators that the project be abandoned if Georgia Power cannot make it financially viable, and also to lessen […]The post Toshiba Will Make Remaining Vogtle Payments by mid-December appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Solar Energy Industries Associations (SEIA) on December 5 released an anti-tariff plea specially tailored to President Donald Trump. The “America First Plan for Solar Energy” urges the president to reject tariffs proposed for imported crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) solar panels. SEIA’s plea comes as the president mulls over the whether or not to impose […]The post SEIA Makes Anti-Tariff Pitch Tailored to Trump appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Fuel, operations, and plant design all affect the overall efficiency of a plant. This quiz is designed to test your knowledge of heat rate and efficiency fundamentals. Create your own user feedback survey To learn more about coal plant efficiency, frequent problems that reduce efficiency, and some solutions for improving operation and reducing generation costs, read “Understanding Coal […]The post Test Your Knowledge: Heat Rate and Efficiency appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A new analysis by staff at Georgia’s Public Service Commission (PSC) says continuing construction of two AP1000 reactors at the Plant Vogtle nuclear facility near Waynesboro, Georgia, is not economic, and the group says that unless Georgia Power agrees to modify its conditions for completing the project to ensure it will be financially viable, the […]The post Georgia Regulators: Change Vogtle Economics or Cancel Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

WEC Energy Group continues to move away from coal-fired power in its portfolio. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based utility in November gave WEC investors more details about the plan for Wisconsin Public Service (WPS), a WEC subsidiary, to close the Pulliam Power Plant in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as early as next fall. WEC subsidiary We Energies last […]The post Another Coal-fired Plant Will Close in Wisconsin appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In a November report, The Global CCS Institute said carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the only technology able to decarbonize the industrial sector. To reach the Paris Agreement’s target to keep global atmospheric temperature increases to below 2 degrees Celsius, 2,500 CCS facilities will need to be operational by 2040, with 14% of cumulative […]The post THE BIG PICTURE: Global CCS appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Associated Electric Cooperative has spent a decade building a pulverizer performance program for its Thomas Hill Energy Center. The effort, combined with a sharp focus on maintaining proper air/fuel ratiosThe post Improve Power Plant Heat Rate with a Pulverizer Performance Program appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Electric Power Research Institute’s full spectrum of online monitoring-related research offers nuclear power plant operators guidance for monitoring program implementation. The research results are usedThe post Reducing Nuclear Plant Operations and Maintenance Costs Through Online Monitoring appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Cross-border trade in energy—electricity, natural gas, and oil—has been an unanticipated boon to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, exceeding $140 billion in 2015. The Trump administration’s antipathy towardThe post Will North American Energy Trade Wax or Wane Under Trump? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Power plants have been blowing soot using essentially the same method for decades. However, technological advances now offer boiler operators a much-improved technique. Rather than running sootblowing systemsThe post Increase the IQ of Your Intelligent Sootblowing appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Originally embedded in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code , today the Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants standard for inservice testing of pumpsThe post ASME Operation and Maintenance lnservice Testing Program Ensures Nuclear Component Operational Readiness appeared first on POWER Magazine.