POWER Magazine

The world’s first floating offshore wind farm, located roughly 25 kilometers off the coast of Peterhead, Scotland, powered up October 18, delivering electricity to the Scottish grid. Hywind Scotland was developed by Norwegian oil company Statoil based on the results of an eight-year demonstration project located off the shore of Karmøy, Norway. The new farm […]The post World’s First Floating Wind Farm Powers Up off Scottish Coast appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Florida Power & Light (FPL), which recently sustained a blow to its nuclear expansion plans, on October 19 said it’s about halfway through an ambitious plan to add eight new solar plants in the state by early 2018, as it continues to increase its photovoltaic (PV) generation capacity as part of a larger strategy to […]The post FPL Halfway Through 600-MW Solar Power Expansion appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Construction of two nuclear plants in South Korea, halted this July by President Moon Jae-in’s announced policy to phase out nuclear power, will continue after a citizens’ jury voted to resume the projects. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) was building Shin Kori 5 and 6, two AP1400 units, but the company decided to suspend […]The post Citizens’ Jury Recommends Resuming Nuclear Construction in South Korea appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Stricken by falling orders for large gas turbines, global technology conglomerate Siemens AG is reportedly moving to downsize its Power and Gas segment. The changes may include closure or sale of major sites globally and result in thousands of job cuts. The company will likely embark on a reorganization plan this November that could result […]The post Siemens Reportedly Downsizing Power and Gas Business appeared first on POWER Magazine.

More than 300 solar employees laid off this summer following a recent surge of U.S. photovoltaic (PV) panel imports may be eligible for federal entitlement, including income support and allowances, the Department of Labor (DOL) has determined. In petitions for Trade Adjustment Assistance filed with the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration by laid-off solar workers […]The post Labor Department: Solar Workers Laid Off by Import Surge Eligible for Aid appeared first on POWER Magazine.

SCANA Corp., already under federal and state scrutiny for how it handled the now-abandoned V.C. Summer nuclear expansion, has been served with a document subpoena by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SCANA said in a news release that it intends to fully cooperate with the investigation of the nuclear project. The development follows […]The post SCANA Hit with New Subpoena From SEC appeared first on POWER Magazine.

NRG Energy has stopped development of a proposed natural gas plant in Oxnard, California, after two state regulators earlier this month recommended the California Energy Commission (CEC) reject the project. NRG on October 16 asked the CEC to suspend its review of the plans for the Puente Power Project, or P3, a proposed $300 million, […]The post NRG Stops Plan for California Gas Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

[Ed. note: This post was first published on October 5, 2017, and was updated on October 17, 2017, with embedded video from the DRONEWEEK television show.] DRONEWEEK is a television program that will air on the Viceland network beginning Monday, October 9, 2017, and continuing each night throughout the week. Each episode will feature footage […]The post Droneweek [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

An analysis by the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute shows wind power generation capacity in Texas may already have surpassed coal-fired capacity in the state, and wind almost certainly will have leapfrogged coal by early next year, as wind farms continue to dot the landscape while more coal plants in the state are […]The post Wind Generation Capacity Outpacing Coal in Texas appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Fourteen power plants in New Hampshire, including nine hydroelectric facilities, will soon have new owners as Eversource Energy divests its holdings in the state to satisfy an agreement with state regulators. Eversource outlined the sale of the hydro assets, along with three fossil fuel-fired plants and two combustion peaker units, in an October 12 filing […]The post Eversource Will Sell 14 New Hampshire Power Plants, Completing Deregulation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Vistra Energy moved to halt a financial hemorrhage stemming from unprofitable conditions in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), announcing plans to shutter two more coal-fired power plants—the 1.1-GW Sandow Power Plant (which includes a 2009-built unit) and the 1.2-GW Big Brown plant—in early 2018. The company’s decision made public on October 13 comes on […]The post Vistra Closing Two More Giant Uneconomic Coal Plants in Texas appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Criticism for Secretary of Energy Rick Perry’s recent notification of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) directing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to show favor to coal and nuclear plants was in no short supply during an October 12 hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy. The hearing, which focused on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) missions and […]The post Perry Hammered on FERC Order During House Subcommittee Hearing appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Continued problems with construction of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant in Finland have pushed the facility’s expected start date into 2019, meaning operations will not begin until at least 10 years after the original proposed start of commercial service. Project owner Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) on October 9 announced further delays. TVO project director […]The post Startup of Olkiluoto 3 Nuclear Plant Delayed Again appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Two members of the California Energy Commission (CEC) on October 6 said they would recommend the full five-member group oppose construction of a new natural gas-fired power plant in Oxnard. The two commissioners said environmental impacts of the plant could not be mitigated, and the plant would not be able to conform to local ordinances […]The post California Agency Opposes New Gas-fired Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Netherlands, a country that recently commissioned three state-of-the-art coal plants and has been reluctant to close them, on October 10 moved to phase out coal power by 2030. Meanwhile, the UK and Canada this week jointly urged other nations to drop coal from their power profiles. The countries are part of a growing list […]The post The Netherlands to Quit Coal Power; UK and Canada Champion Global Transition Away from Coal appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Mexico’s energy reform began in 2013. It has opened up key parts of the country’s electricity sector to new market participants, foreign investors, and innovative technology. Prior to the reform, Mexico operated under a traditional, vertically integrated model with the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) responsible for all power supply functions from generation to distribution. […]The post How Power Sector Deregulation Is Affecting Mexico [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A week after the Department of Energy (DOE) proposed a rule to bolster uneconomic coal and nuclear generators in competitive power markets, Luminant announced that an “unprecedented low power price environment” will force it to retire a 1.9-GW coal-fired power plant operating in the Texas market. The plant’s economic woes suggest a larger swath of […]The post Monticello Goes Under, More Coal and Nuclear Imperiled in Texas (Updated) appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt on October 9 said he will sign a proposed rule Tuesday to repeal the Clean Power Plan (CPP), a signature initiative of former President Barack Obama’s administration that mandated cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants. Pruitt, speaking to a group of coal miners Monday at […]The post EPA Head Pruitt Ready to Repeal Clean Power Plan appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering its options to repeal or replace the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the signature climate regulation of former President Barack Obama. POWER magazine on October 6 obtained a 43-page draft of the EPA’s proposed action on the CPP. The formal document is expected to be released soon. The […]The post EPA Ready to Attack Clean Power Plan appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Siemens has launched a new direct-current (DC) transmission system for alternating current (AC) grids of between 30 kV and 150 kV. The medium-voltage system that can bridge distances of up to 125 miles is designed to help grid entities handle ever-growing volumes of power fed into the distribution system from distributed and renewable power. The […]The post Siemens Rolls Out MVDC Transmission System to Bolster Distributed Generation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Electricity from a 5.76-MW solar farm in Massachusetts will be stored in an adjacent energy storage system as part of a plan announced October 4 by ENGIE North America (ENGIE NA) and Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E). The project is part of Massachusetts’ Peak Demand Management Program. HG&E, which received a $475,000 grant from the […]The post ENGIE, HG&E Team on Solar Energy Storage Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Peabody Energy on October 2 said several investors are interested in taking over the Navajo Generating Station in Arizona, a coal-fired power plant on tribal land whose current owners, including Salt River Project (SRP), voted earlier this year to close the facility. Peabody’s Kayenta Mine supplies fuel for the plant. Lazard Freres & Co., a […]The post Groups Interested in Keeping Navajo Coal Plant in Operation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) set a three-week window for comment on the proposed Department of Energy (DOE) grid resiliency rule that 11 power trade groups—representing natural gas, wind, solar, public power, and power consumers—worry could have serious ramifications for competitive markets because it favors coal and nuclear. The groups filed a joint motion on […]The post Power Groups Unite to Block DOE Grid Resiliency Rule; FERC Sets Tight Window for Comment appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Less than a week after GE struck a $2.6 billion deal with ABB for GE’s electrification business, GE Power completed the $3.4 billion sale of its lucrative water and process technologies division to multinational water management firm SUEZ. The sale of GE Water & Process Technologies, a systems and services provider of water, wastewater and […]The post GE Power Sells Lucrative Water & Process Technologies Division to SUEZ in $3.4B Deal appeared first on POWER Magazine.

During its 135-year history, POWER magazine’s pages have reflected the fast-changing evolution of the technologies and markets that characterize the world’s power sector today. —Copy and artwork by Sonal Patel, a POWER associate editorThe post THE BIG PICTURE: The History of Power appeared first on POWER Magazine.

POWER magazine was launched in 1882, just as the world was beginning to grasp the implications of a new, versatile form of energy: electricity. During its 135-year history, the magazine’s pages have reflected the fast-changing evolution of the technologies and markets that characterize the world’s power sector today. The History of POWER is the History […]The post 135th Anniversary—The History of POWER magazine appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Trump administration unabashedly supports coal, and regulations designed to phase out its use in U.S. power production are being reviewed. But while other nations continue to rely on coal for much of their power, they also are increasing their use of natural gas and renewables, including heavyweight coal users such as China and India. […]The post The U.S.’s War on Coal Is Purported to Be Over—What About the Rest of the World? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

POWER magazine—the oldest-running trade publication for power generators in the world—has since its establishment in 1882 been a valuable resource for business and technology developments. Here are compelling excerpts from the magazine’s voluminous pages over the 14 decades it has been published. Source: POWER magazine archives. All rights reserved. —Sonal Patel, a POWER associate editor […]The post 135th Anniversary—Excerpts from the pages of POWER (SLIDESHOW) appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Deployment of microturbine energy technology has been slow to develop, but analysts predict growth on the horizon as more businesses use the small units to power their facilities and reduce their carbonThe post Microturbine Market Ready to Expand appeared first on POWER Magazine.

POWER magazine was launched in 1882, just as the world was beginning to grasp the implications of a new, versatile form of energy: electricity. During its 135-year history, the magazine’s pages haveThe post History of Power: The Evolution of the Electric Generation Industry appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Recently, many articles in a variety of publications speculated on how the August 21, 2017, solar eclipse would impact the electric grid. Most utility people expected no serious outages or disruptions, andThe post Natural Gas Infrastructure Is Much More Concerning Than a Solar Eclipse appeared first on POWER Magazine.

If recurrent problems are occurring at your plant, it could be an organizational issue rather than an equipment design deficiency. There are a number of reasons that root causes are overlooked. UnderstandingThe post Why Recurrent Problems Persist: Getting to the Root Cause appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Electric generation and natural gas, both important to each other, have differing cultures, vocabularies, and histories, so making them work together has been a challenge. Glut. That word describes the stateThe post Gas and Electric: How Disparate Industries Are Working Together appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Given the opportunity to help India’s bread basket alleviate a chronic power shortage, a major engineering, construction, and manufacturing firm built its first 1,400-MW coal-fired power plant in just 54The post Major Engineering and Equipment Company Builds-to-Own Its First Coal Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement that the “future of nuclear energy in the United States is bright” as his agency on September 29 announced another $3.7 billion in loan guarantees for continued construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia. The Department of Energy (DOE) has guaranteed another $1.67 […]The post DOE Offers Another $3.7 Billion in Loan Guarantees for Vogtle Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on September 29 directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to mandate that competitive power markets develop and implement market rules to “accurately price” what it calls “fuel-secure” generation. The DOE’s “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule” directs FERC—an independent regulatory government agency that is officially organized as […]The post DOE to FERC: Force Competitive Markets to Value Coal and Nuclear Resiliency, Reliability Attributes appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Most large power plants have continuous vibration monitoring systems installed on turbine generators and other critical equipment. The systems have evolved greatly since the 1970s. In this episode of The POWER Podcast, Steve Sabin, SETPOINT product manager for Brüel & Kjær Vibro, offers some tips to get the most out of these systems. He talks […]The post Vibration Monitoring Best Practices [PODCAST] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Entergy Corp. will keep the Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Michigan, open until the spring of 2022, owing to a shortfall in recovery granted to Consumers Energy by state regulators. In a bid to actively exit the merchant nuclear power business, investor-owned Entergy had decided to shutter the 798-MW plant by October 1, 2018. […]The post Entergy Gives Palisades Nuclear Plant Five More Years to Run appeared first on POWER Magazine.

SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper moved to cash in a $2.2 billion settlement with Toshiba—even though it will cost them $171 million—rather than risk collecting guaranty payments from the Japanese conglomerate over the next five years for the unfinished V.C. Summer nuclear expansion. Just days before the utilities decided to abandon the project, Toshiba on […]The post SCANA, Santee Cooper Monetize Settlement Payments from Toshiba to Minimize Risk appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Westinghouse Electric has asked a New York bankruptcy court to stop Georgia Power from terminating Westinghouse’s contract to continue construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Georgia. Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, in large part due to massive cost overruns from the Vogtle project and the V.C. Summer nuclear […]The post Westinghouse Asks Court to Stop Cancellation of Vogtle Contract appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Chinese coal-fired electricity generation is expected to flatten through 2040 as renewables fill the gap caused by increased energy demand, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) International Energy Outlook 2017. According to the study, coal accounted for more than 72% of China’s energy generation in 2015. By 2040, however, coal’s share of generation […]The post EIA: Chinese Coal Use Will Plateau as Renewables Gain appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The St. Johns River Power Park in Jacksonville, Florida, will close by early next year after the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) on September 25 approved a plan by the facility’s joint owners to shutter the plant. Florida Power & Light (FPL) spokeswoman Sarah Gatewood in a statement said “This has been a great plant […]The post FPL Will Close its Last Coal-fired Plant in Florida appeared first on POWER Magazine.

SCANA Corp.’s troubles concerning its decision to abandon the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion intensified again this week after South Carolina’s attorney general’s office and state lawmakers urged state law enforcement to conduct a criminal investigation on how it handled the project. The company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on […]The post S.C. AG, State Lawmakers Press for Criminal Investigation of SCANA’s Role in V.C. Summer Nuclear Expansion Collapse appeared first on POWER Magazine.

On Sunday, September 24, Germany finalized voting in its 2017 federal elections. Citizens were able to vote by mail ahead of Sunday’s election or they could chose to efficiently breeze through a voting center, make a physical “X” next to, first, the local direct candidate of their choice. And then make a second mark next […]The post Can Angela Merkel, the So-Called “Climate Chancellor,” Hold Germany to Its Greenhouse Targets? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on September 22 found that photovoltaic (PV) solar cells being imported into the U.S. are causing “serious injury, or threat of serious injury, to the domestic industry.” The decision comes in a highly contested case filed by bankrupt solar panel manufacturer, Suniva, and SolarWorld. The […]The post ITC: Imported PV Cells Hurting U.S. Solar Industry appeared first on POWER Magazine.

New report highlights criticality of utilities. As more and more industries increasingly rely on information technology (IT), the ability to ensure IT systems stay up and running is more critical than ever. But which industries absolutely, positively must stay up and running? Which industries are most critical? That’s the question answered by a team of […]The post Four Tips for Protecting Power within One of the World’s Most Critical Industries appeared first on POWER Magazine.

SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper—utility partners that recently abandoned a two-unit expansion at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant—have received federal subpoenas for documents associated with a much-guarded February 2016 assessment report conducted by Bechtel, documentation of meetings with the firm, and documentation of site walk-downs and real-time observations at the half-built project. A copy of […]The post Feds Subpoena Documents Related to 2016 Bechtel Audit of V.C. Summer Nuclear Expansion appeared first on POWER Magazine.

California’s legislature last week wrapped up its 2017 session without authorizing the broad expansion of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) into other Western states or passing a zero-carbon bill, which would have put the state on a path to 100% clean energy by 2045. It did, however, succeed in passing bills to encourage development […]The post CAISO Expansion, 100% Zero-Carbon Bids Flatline, But Bills for Energy Storage, DERs Thrive appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Three 55-MW oil-fired units at Dynegy’s Oakland plant in renewables-heavy California will be needed through 2018 to ensure reliability in a region served by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the grid entity has deemed. CAISO’s board of governors on September 19 extended a “reliability must-run” (RMR) contract for the three Oakland units. An RMR […]The post CAISO to Extend Contract for Oil-fired Units in Bid to Ensure Reliability appeared first on POWER Magazine.