An evolving regulatory environment, expanded tax credits, and moves for more reliability and resilience in the power space are impacting the growth of solar-plus-storage installations. Several state utility commissions in recent years have reduced the export rate for net energy metering (NEM), meaning consumers utilizing solar power are seeing less value for the solar energy they would return to the power grid. These measures, such […]
Why Constellation Energy, a Nuclear-Heavy Giant, Is Primed for Power Futurity
Spun out of Exelon Corp. a year ago, Constellation Energy’s competitive generation and customer-facing energy businesses represent a new power company paradigm that conforms to decarbonization. But the company that today holds the largest nuclear fleet in the U.S. will still face a unique array of challenges. In 1882, soon after inventor and researcher Thomas Edison developed the practical lightbulb, several prominent Chicagoans banded together […]
LNG Floating Terminal Will Supply New 840-MW Gas-Fired Plant in Greece
A joint venture featuring three energy companies is developing an 840-MW natural gas-fired power plant at the Aegean port of Alexandroupolis, Greece. The plant will be linked to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating terminal at the port. It is expected to supply electricity to Greece and also to markets in southeastern Europe. Damco Energy, a subsidiary of Copelouzos Group; Public Power Corp., or PPC, […]
Power of Integration—Users Shaping Future of Distributed Control Systems
As plant owners accelerate the Industry 4.0 digital transformation, attention is increasingly being focused on the evolution of Distributed Control Systems (DCS) to enable them to become more flexible and adaptable. There are many key initiatives that are helping to set the standard for systems offering new levels of openness, security and interoperability. COMMENTARY Originally based on purpose-built Operational Technology (OT), DCS have come a […]
Is Delivering 100% Renewable Energy on an Hourly Basis at Cost-Competitive Rates Achievable?
Cynics might argue that it’s impossible to operate the power grid economically with 100% renewable energy on an hourly basis, but a model developed by Peninsula Clean Energy, a community choice aggregation agency that serves San Mateo County and the City of Los Banos, California, suggests it’s possible. To prove it, Peninsula Clean Energy intends to do it by 2025. “Our default product, which all […]
Ukrainian Workers Fight to Keep Power Available for Critical Infrastructure and War-Stricken Communities
With Russian forces having damaged many power plants and power lines in parts of Ukraine, linemen and plant workers have persevered, repairing and rebuilding equipment and systems needed to keep the lights on and critical facilities in operation. But the job is not easy, and much of the country’s power generation capacity is currently unavailable. “Today, we have 17 GW of capacity on control territory […]
EPA Moves to Deny Coal Ash Disposal at Six Massive Coal Power Plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed barring six coal-fired power plants in various states—a combined 11 GW—from disposing coal ash into unlined surface impoundments. The agency, however, also proposed to provide disposal extensions if the coal plants are needed to maintain grid reliability. The EPA’s proposed determinations, issued on Jan. 25, fall under its Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Part B final rule, which it […]