POWER Magazine

Successfully designing and constructing a hydropower plant, while accounting for site space constraints and not disrupting commercial traffic on a busy waterway, presented challenges for a Midwestern utilityThe post Willow Island Hydro: A Small but Mighty Marvel on the Ohio River appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in early October announced it would rescind yet another signature Obama administration policy: the electricity regulation known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP). As withThe post Rescinding Clean Power Plan a Positive Step Toward Free Market for Electricity appeared first on POWER Magazine.

High-Pressure, Rotary Gear Pumps for Severe Applications Northern Pump manufactures high-pressure, heavy-duty, positive-displacement, rotary gear pumps for industry, designed to perform in severeThe post Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia Show Preview appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The solar industry has the opportunity to integrate intelligent technology, including some that was originally developed for conventional energy resources, into its solar systems. Most parts of a solar farmThe post Solar Power’s Golden Opportunity: Connected Tech appeared first on POWER Magazine.

When is a D+ grade acceptable? The answer should be never. But that’s the state of the U.S. power grid according to the 2017 infrastructure report card issued by the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE). And the impact of this year’s catastrophic hurricane season only reinforced its vulnerability. Given the billions of dollars of […]The post Say Hello to Hybrid Microgrids: Renewables, Storage, Diesel, and Intelligence appeared first on POWER Magazine.

When it comes to the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the tables have turned, but the arguments are largely the same. On November 28 and 29, during the Trump administration’s only public hearing on its plan to repeal the CPP, an Obama-era regulation aimed at reducing carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, old arguments for and […]The post Familiar Battle Lines Drawn at Clean Power Plan Public Hearing appeared first on POWER Magazine.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) wants to sell Santee Cooper, the state-owned utility, even as state lawmakers discuss how to deal with the group’s involvement in the abandoned V.C. Summer nuclear project. Lawmakers also disagree with who should advise the state on a possible sale. Leaders of South Carolina’s House and Senate have hired […]The post Officials Ponder Santee Cooper Sale in Wake of Failed Nuclear Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The bell has tolled for another U.S. coal-fired power plant. WEC Energy Group on November 28 said it would shutter its Pleasant Prairie facility in Wisconsin, another victim of energy market dynamics that include low natural gas prices, falling demand for electricity, and the continuing move by utilities toward renewable power generation sources such as […]The post WEC Will Close Coal-fired Plant in Wisconsin appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A decision by the Canadian province of Ontario to refurbish 10 units at the Bruce and Darlington nuclear generating stations (BNGS and DNGS) and extend the life of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station (PNGS) will likely provide a low-risk means of supplying residents low-emission, low-cost electricity, according to a November 21 report published by the […]The post Report: Ontario Nuclear Refurbishment Good Way to Supply Low- Emission Power appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysis of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2015 from U.S. coal consumption shows 43 states recorded lower emissions year-over-year, with just four states showing increased levels, while three states and the District of Columbia had little to no emissions. On the whole, the EIA report released in mid-November comparing […]The post EIA: Coal Plant Closures Lead to Large Emissions Drop appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The fate of Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E’s) Diablo Canyon Power Plant is expected to be decided by year-end, with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) set to hear final arguments about the plant’s future on November 28. The 2.2-GW nuclear plant has operated near Avila Beach, California, since 1985. A judge in early November […]The post California PUC Will Rule Soon on Diablo Canyon’s Future appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Weak earnings associated with General Electric’s (GE’s) underperforming $10.1 billion investment in Alstom have prompted the giant conglomerate to rejigger its power business and lean more heavily on other segments. GE Power, the company’s long-standing and lucrative business unit that has installed 1.6 GW of the world’s installed capacity over its 125-year history, has also […]The post GE Power Falters on Underperformance of Alstom Investment appeared first on POWER Magazine.

GE and Exelon announced a multi-year agreement to deploy GE’s portfolio of Predix software solutions across the energy company’s six electric utilities to further enhance reliability and efficient service to its more than 10 million customers. Exelon’s six utilities will use these advanced analytics to further strengthen transmission and delivery systems. POWER Executive Editor Aaron […]The post Exelon’s Digital Transformation [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

U.S. utilities continue to announce closures of financially troubled and older coal-fired power plants even as government officials work on a bailout plan to keep them operating. Owners of a coal plant in Montana that has only been online since 2006 informed the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) last week of plans to shutter the […]The post More U.S. Coal Units Closing Despite Possible Market Pricing Change appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Siemens has announced it will cut 6,900 jobs, about half of them in Germany, over the next “several years” as the company consolidates its three power-related divisions. The November 16 announcement comes just days after U.S. power giant GE announced its own restructuring plan. Lisa Davis, a member of Siemens managing board, said in a […]The post Siemens Will Consolidate Power Divisions, Cut 6,900 Jobs appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Global technology and engineering giant Emerson renewed its bid for a $29 billion takeover of Rockwell Automation, the world’s largest dedicated industrial automation firm, saying it remained “convinced” a merger of the companies offered “compelling strategic, operational, and financial merit.” Emerson Chairman and CEO David Farr on November 16 sent Rockwell’s president and CEO, Blake […]The post Emerson Offers New $29B Bid to Take Over Rockwell Automation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Chairman Neil Chatterjee, who has said he is “sympathetic” to a rule that would help prop up struggling U.S. coal and nuclear power plants, apparently is ready to move forward with an interim plan to keep financially troubled plants operating while his agency continues to consider a market-changing cost […]The post FERC’s Chatterjee Has Interim Plan to Prop Up Coal, Nuclear Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Virginia regulators are ready to consider a proposal to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in the Northeast, becoming the 10th state in the nation’s largest carbon-trading market. The move comes as newly elected governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, prepares to take office in a state where the Republican-led legislature has shot down previous […]The post Virginia Moves to Join RGGI Carbon-trading Market appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Siemens in November introduced the SGT-A45 TR, a mobile 44-MW aeroderivative gas turbine designed for the world’s booming fast power market. While the product’s launch is pivotal for the giant technology conglomerate—which has suffered flagging orders for large gas turbines—Siemens’ interest in distributed generation also points to a prominent direction in which the future of […]The post Siemens Launches 44-MW Aeroderivative Gas Turbine Model for Fast Power Demand Surge appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Utilities across the country are gearing up for an attack on the power grid November 15 and 16. Thankfully, it’s only a drill. But in the event of an actual emergency, a real physical and cyberattack on the U.S. electricity infrastructure, GridEx IV—a biennial exercise conducted by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC)—will help […]The post Utilities Prepare for Simulated Attack on U.S. Power Grid appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In the next 25 years, the world will turn increasingly to renewables and natural gas to meet energy demand, turning away from coal, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2017 (WEO). As in previous years, the report makes predictions based on different scenarios. This year’s include a New Policies Scenario, which […]The post IEA Paints Picture of World Dominated by Renewables and Natural Gas appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Officials in India say the the death toll from the November 1 explosion at an NTPC thermal plant in Unchahar has risen to 43, with seven more deaths reported in the past week. Dozens of workers at the plant were injured when flue gases and steam were released from a 500-MW coal-fired unit at the […]The post Death Toll Rises to 43 in Wake of India Coal Plant Blast appeared first on POWER Magazine.

ExGen Texas Power (EGTP) Holdings LLC and ExGen Texas Power LLC, a subsidiary of Exelon Corp., on November 7 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware is aimed at reducing the company’s debt, and four of EGTP’s five natural gas-fired power plants in Texas would be owned by lenders […]The post Exelon Subsidiary Files Bankruptcy; Lenders Would Take Over Four Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

India’s Power Ministry has established a committee to investigate the November 1 explosion at NTPC’s thermal power plant in Unchahar. The death toll from the blast is at 36, and dozens more workers at the plant were injured when flue gases and steam were released from a 500-MW coal-fired unit at the plant. Several remain […]The post India Launches Probe of Power Plant Blast; Death Toll at 36 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Officials in India on November 6 said the death toll has risen to 35 after an explosion and fire November 1 at NTPC’s Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station in Uttar Pradesh state. NTPC, the nation’s largest power utility, said flue gases and steam were released in the blast, which occurred in a 500-MW coal-fired unit […]The post Death Toll at 35 in India Plant Explosion; Officials Point to High Pressure in Boiler appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. House of Representatives on November 2 proposed a tax bill that would phase out the wind energy production tax credit (PTC), extend a tax credit for the nuclear power industry, add credits for geothermal and fuel cell programs, and end a tax credit for the purchase of electric vehicles. Wind energy proponents decried […]The post House Proposed Tax Bill Ends Wind PTC, Extends Nuclear Credit appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A Missouri utility has filed an application with the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) to build a $1.5 billion wind power project and accelerate the closure of a coal-fired power plant. Empire District Electric Co. on October 31 asked the PSC to approve its plan, citing cost savings for customers of more than $300 million […]The post Missouri Utility Closing Coal Plant, Adding Wind Generation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

POWER magazine has been the voice of the industry for 135 years—and its rich archive is a rare chronicle of the uncertainties that the power sector has always faced. In September 1939, two months before this piece was published, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, prompting the UK—and within hours—Australia, India, New Zealand, and France to declare […]The post From POWER’s Archives: On the Precipice of War appeared first on POWER Magazine.

An explosion at a coal-fired power plant in India has killed as many as 29 people and injured more than 100, according to officials in Lucknow, India. The blast, which occurred November 1 at the Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station, was apparently caused when a boiler pipe burst in a 500-MW generating unit that […]The post Death Toll at 29 After Explosion at India Thermal Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A bitter dispute concerning subsidies for nuclear generation that has divided the power sector grew more intense over the past week as Connecticut, Ohio, and Pennsylvania advanced efforts to keep nuclear plants operating. At the same time, legal challenges to existing measures in Illinois and New York continued in two federal courts. In Connecticut, Gov. […]The post Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania Make Substantive Gains for State Nuclear Subsidies appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The operating expenses at major U.S. investor-owned electric utilities have shifted over the last decade or so, owing primarily to changing fuel costs.The post THE BIG PICTURE: Power Expenses (Infographic) appeared first on POWER Magazine.

J-seals are an integral part of efficient steam turbine operation. The failure of a J-seal can cause significant damage to the turbine rotor as material migrates downstream. For that reason, plant staff shouldThe post Mitigating and Managing J-Seal Failure Risks in Turbine Steam Path Systems appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The PJM Interconnection, the largest regional transmission operator in the U.S., faces many problems: adapting to state policies designed to skew power markets in the face of natural gas and renewableThe post PJM: Can the Big Dog Deal with State Interference? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

If funds were unlimited, digital technology could be utilized in countless ways to improve plant performance and reduce downtime. But costs do matter, so taking a graded approach to managing risks and costsThe post Asset Performance Management: Strategies to Mitigate Risk appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Power plants are designed to operate at their highest efficiency. Once a plant goes into operation, however, real life takes over and sometimes design outcomes are not regularly realized. Improving plantThe post Improve Power Plant Efficiency Using Design Documents and Five Basic Parameters appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Predictive analytics software offers many benefits when appropriately selected. However, finding the best solution for a given situation can be tricky. The tips provided here could help power companies avoidThe post Best Practices for Choosing a Predictive Maintenance Partner appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Challenges abound for nuclear power plants in today’s world, with increased competition from other fuels, stricter safety regulations, divided public opinion, and low electricity prices providing anThe post Ringhals Delivers Record Output Despite Tough Economics appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Organizations across every industry today face a wide range of cyber threats and serious security challenges from various vectors. A top concern among these is the persistence cybersecurity experts are seeingThe post Why CrashOverride Is a Red Flag for U.S. Power Companies appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The once seemingly insurmountable technical challenges of dismantling a commercial nuclear plant have been largely eliminated through experience. Decommissioning processes have been standardized and optimizedThe post No Longer an Afterthought, Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Industry Matures appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Dynegy Inc.’s pending merger with Vistra Energy will create a company of a significant diversification and scale designed to weather volatile markets. Over the past year, at least eight other major power companies have embarked on various strategies to guard against distress in unregulated markets. Duke Energy. Three years ago, Duke Energy announced it would move away from organized […]The post How Eight Major Power Companies Are Dealing with Market Turmoil appeared first on POWER Magazine.

To strengthen balance sheets and thwart market woes afflicting generators in competitive markets, Dynegy Inc. and Vistra Energy will merge, creating a company that is projected to have a value greater than $20 billion. Dynegy, which operates a power plant fleet of 27 GW, will merge into Vistra Energy, the parent company of TXU Energy […]The post Dynegy Will Merge with Vistra Energy to Beat Market Volatility appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. wind industry reported 29,634 MW of generation capacity was under construction or in advanced development at the end of the third quarter of 2017, according to the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) U.S. Wind Industry Third Quarter (Q3) 2017 Market Report released October 26. The 29,634 MW is spread across 149 projects in […]The post Wind Industry Shows Significant Growth, AWEA Market Report Says appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the need for cheap electricity in Southeast Asia will drive global demand for coal for power generation through 2040, even as many countries continue to retire coal-fired plants and cancel projects for new coal facilities. IEA, which is set to release its World Energy Outlook 2017 on November 14, […]The post IEA Says Southeast Asia Will Keep Coal Demand High appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Michigan regulators on October 25 gave their support to Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corp.’s (UMERC) plan for two new natural gas-fired plants in the state’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.). The plants approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) would be built in Baraga and Negaunee townships. The plants are designed to produce a combined 183 […]The post Michigan Backs Gas Plants for Upper Peninsula appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Comments on the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) proposed grid resiliency rule from an assortment of state agencies, trade groups, environmental organizations, and organized market entities flooded the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) docket before the tight three-week timeframe expired Oct. 23. The DOE’s “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule” proposed on Sept. 29 directs FERC—an independent regulatory […]The post What States Told FERC About the DOE’s Grid Resiliency Rule [INFOGRAPHIC] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A report released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) outlines a number of solutions and general best practices to thwart infiltration by the ongoing Dragonfly cyberattack campaign, which it says is targeting operational technology personnel. (For an in-depth story on that report, see: “DHS, FBI Identify Tactics in Cyberattack […]The post General Best Cybersecurity Practices to Thwart a Dragonfly Attack appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned in an e-mail on October 20 that an ongoing cyberattack campaign is targeting the nuclear, energy, and other critical infrastructure sectors since at least May 2017—with results ranging from cyber espionage to the ability to disrupt energy systems in the event of […]The post DHS, FBI Identify Tactics in Cyberattack Campaign Targeting Industrial Control Systems appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Western Power Summit provides a three-day opportunity for leaders across the energy sector to discuss, debate, and gain new perspectives on the pressing issues facing the West’s electric power sector. Experience insightful panel discussions and expert presentations on topics including energy efficiency, energy storage, renewable energy grid integration, water/energy challenges, reliability, emerging technology and much more.The post Western Power Summit – 4th Annual appeared first on POWER Magazine.