Industry News | EnergyNorthwest.com

‘GREEN Act of 2019’ Extends Tax Credits for Renewables

November 20, 2019

The post ‘GREEN Act of 2019’ Extends Tax Credits for Renewables appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 19 released a draft tax package for clean energy projects that includes a five-year extension of the 30% solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), along with new incentives for energy storage.

The legislation also supports incentives for electric vehicles (EVs), offshore and onshore wind farms, and energy efficiency measures, among other items.

“This bill will build on existing tax incentives that promote renewable energy and increase efficiency and create new models for technology and activity to reduce our carbon footprint,” Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, said in a statement Tuesday.

Critics of the package include six groups—Americans for Tax Reform, Americans for Prosperity, the Center for a Free Economy, FreedomWorks, Heritage Action, and the National Taxpayers Union. Those groups earlier Tuesday shared a letter and asked lawmakers not to extend tax credits or give more support for renewable energy, saying phaseouts of credits adopted in 2015 should be continued.…

Plan to Build New 1-GW Plant in Rhode Island Officially Dead

November 18, 2019

| No Comments

| Industry News

The post Plan to Build New 1-GW Plant in Rhode Island Officially Dead appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A project to build a 1-GW gas-fired power plant in Rhode Island has officially ended, after developer Invenergy took no action to appeal the project’s rejection by state regulators, who earlier this year voted unanimously against the plant’s construction.

Invenergy had until Nov. 15 to challenge the formal denial of a construction license for the project by state officials. The state’s Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) issued that denial on Nov. 5, after the EFSB in June had voted against permitting the project.

The siting board in its denial detailed changes in the regional energy market that factored into its decision to reject the plant’s construction, including that wholesale energy prices in New England have fallen even as coal and nuclear generation has been retired. It cited the growth of energy efficiency programs, lessening power demand, and said solar farms and several offshore wind power projects will provide new regional power generation.…

2.2-GW Coal-Fired Behemoth Could Permanently Close This Week

November 14, 2019

| No Comments

| Industry News

The post 2.2-GW Coal-Fired Behemoth Could Permanently Close This Week appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The 2,250-MW coal-fired Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Arizona will permanently close likely this week, ending a long and bitter fight to keep the plant and its affiliated coal mine open.

The plant’s utility owners—Salt River Project (SRP), Arizona Public Service Co., Tucson Electric Power Co., and NV Energy—in February 2017 voted to shut down the plant located on tribal land near Page along the border with Utah, citing “rapidly changing economics of the energy industry,” which has seen natural gas prices sink to record lows.

SRP, the plant’s majority owner, told POWER in an email on Nov. 12 that operations at the plant are now expected to end within the next week, once fuel on site has been exhausted. “The best estimate now is for all units to be shut down permanently on Nov. 15—but that could change,” a spokesperson said.

After the project’s utility owners voted to close the plant in 2017, coal mining giant Peabody Energy, the Department of Interior (whose Bureau of Reclamation is a participant in the project), and the Navajo Nation launched concerted attempts to find an outside buyer to keep running the plant.…

ExxonMobil Extends Deal for Fuel Cell Carbon Capture Project

November 12, 2019

| No Comments

| Industry News

The post ExxonMobil Extends Deal for Fuel Cell Carbon Capture Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

ExxonMobil and FuelCell Energy announced a new joint-development agreement to enhance carbon capture fuel cell technology, as the groups work on a process to capture combustion exhaust from power plants and other industrial facilities.

The two-year deal, announced Nov. 6 and an extension of an earlier agreement, is aimed at optimizing core technology, process integration, and large-scale deployment of carbon capture. FuelCell Energy’s technology uses carbonate fuel cells to capture and concentrate carbon dioxide (CO₂), with the CO₂sent to the fuel cell. The fuel cell produces power and captures and concentrates the CO₂for storage.

“We have a great opportunity to scale and commercialize our unique carbon capture solution, one that captures about 90 percent of carbon dioxide from various exhaust streams, while generating additional power, unlike traditional carbon capture technologies which consume significant power,” FuelCell CEO Jason Few said in a statement.…

EAM Solutions Stretch Capabilities of Lean Plant Maintenance Teams

November 4, 2019

| No Comments

| Industry News

The post EAM Solutions Stretch Capabilities of Lean Plant Maintenance Teams appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Of the many challenges power and industrial plant maintenance teams face, stretching the capabilities of their ultra-lean staff is one of the most critical. Assets can range from industrial generators, to warehouse forklifts, overhead doors, corridor lighting, and on-premise security systems. Unexpected downtime can be disastrous—and costly.

To prevent operational failures or delays, technicians as part of enterprise asset management (EAM) teams must possess broad skills and be well-prepared to handle numerous types of service calls, from power outages to valve failures or pipeline cracks. With budgets stretched thin and a shortage of skilled maintenance technicians, the challenges compound. However, technology can help the maintenance team work smarter, not harder—the key to modern plant maintenance.

Defining the Problem

The power industry, like many others, is facing a severe skills gap. Experienced service technicians are difficult to recruit. Retiring baby boomers are leaving gaps that incoming millennials and Generation Z workers cannot (or will not) fill.…

Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Drone Intrusions

November 2, 2019

| No Comments

| Industry News

The post Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Drone Intrusions appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Drones represent a classic good news/bad news scenario. The good news is great. The bad news is terrifying.

On the good news front, drones can keep utility-sector workers safely on the ground, with the machines performing aerial inspections at a fraction of what it would cost to do with manned aircraft. They provide faster, easier inspection of boilers, stacks, towers, and other infrastructure.

1. Drones—unmanned aerial vehicles—are often used to conduct inspections and collect data from power generation sites, and transmission and distribution assets. But they also can pose a security risk with their ability to intrude upon areas humans are not able to access. Courtesy: S. Hermann and F. Richter / Pixabay

The bad news? Drones (Figure 1) represent an enormous threat across the energy sector—from production to distribution.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security notes: “There are 16 critical infrastructure sectors whose assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, are considered so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof.”…