The spectrum of geothermal technologies is quickly evolving. This supplement to POWER’s April 2023 feature, “Startups Are Shaking Up Geothermal Power’s Potential,” briefly explains the differences between some engineered geothermal systems. Conventional geothermal energy is largely produced by hydrothermal systems, which consist of hot water circulated in deep-seated permeable rocks. Resource temperature ranges from high (greater than 150C), medium (90–150C), and low (less than 90C). Geothermal […]
Vogtle Unit 3 Generates Electricity, Connects to Power Grid
Georgia Power has announced another milestone for the two-unit reactor expansion at the Plant Vogtle nuclear power site, as Unit 3 on April 1 successfully generated electricity for the first time. The utility said the unit has been synchronized and connected to the power grid. The announcement comes after Georgia Power two weeks ago said hot functional testing of the Unit 4 reactor had begun. […]
India Eyes Major Expansion of Nuclear Power
India’s government is pushing for construction of more nuclear power plants as the country looks to increase its supply of cleaner energy. Officials have made some ambitious pronouncements, calling for as many as 20 new nuclear power facilities to be brought online over the next decade, more than doubling the number of operating nuclear power plants in the country. Officials in February announced that Haryana […]
Hitachi Energy Part of $14 Billion European Infrastructure Deal
Hitachi Energy has been chosen by TenneT, a transmission system provider for Germany and the Netherlands, to supply several onshore and offshore high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter stations and associated infrastructure for European power grids. Hitachi officials on March 30 said the agreement, which includes Petrofac—an international service provider to the energy industry—is worth about 13 billion euros ($14.2 billion). Hitachi said it is the […]
Entergy, RWE Partner to Assess Offshore Wind Prospects in Gulf of Mexico
U.S. utility Entergy and global power giant RWE are partnering to jointly assess the best means to develop an offshore wind market in the Gulf of Mexico. The two companies on March 30 unveiled a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which they will analyze the Gulf of Mexico offshore wind market and define an optimal route-to-market. RWE and Entergy said the analyses will include “resource […]
PG&E Investing $18 Billion Toward Wildfire Mitigation
California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) said it plans to invest $18 billion toward its wildfire prevention program through 2025 after sustaining major financial losses from fire-related claims over the past few years. PG&E filed for bankruptcy in 2019, and has paid billions of dollars in settlement awards tied to criminal and civil liabilities from wildfires linked to the utility’s electricity transmission infrastructure and […]
The POWER Interview: FREYR Leads Wave of New Battery Manufacturing
Growth in the energy storage market, including the transportation sector, has spurred a ramp-up in global battery manufacturing and investment in new technologies. Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the U.S. has brought a flurry of announcements from foreign companies eager to build manufacturing plants in America. FREYR, a Norway-based company, late last year announced it had purchased a site in Coweta County, […]
The Tremendous Potential—and Challenge—of Offshore Wind Energy
Wind turbines must move farther offshore to gain greater efficiency. But the challenges associated with doing so are significant. At the Dutch village of Den Oever, just north of Amsterdam, the A7 motorway extends onto the Afsluitdijk, a 32-kilometer dike that separates IJsselmeer Lake and the North Sea. Near the midway point, approaching the village of Breezanddijk, a veritable forest of near-shore wind turbines emerges […]
TVA, OPG, Synthos Team to Shape Standard Design for BWRX-300 Nuclear Reactors
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Ontario Power Generation (OPG), and Synthos Green Energy (SGE) will collaborate to shape a standard design for GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) to speed up the technology’s regulatory acceptance and spur future deployments. The three companies, which have separately begun a regulatory process for potential BWRX-300 project deployments in Canada, Poland, and the U.S., on March […]
Last Energy Secures PPAs for 34 SMR Nuclear Power Plants in Poland and the UK
Last Energy, a U.S.-based micro modular nuclear technology firm and project developer, has secured power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 34 PWR-20 small modular reactor (SMR) units with four industrial partners in the UK and Poland. The deals, which represent a combined $18.9 in power sales, mark “the largest pipeline of new nuclear power plants under development in the world,” Last Energy said. The Washington D.C.-based […]