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California Will Add Gas-Fired Units to Increase Power Supply

August 22, 2021

The post California Will Add Gas-Fired Units to Increase Power Supply appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved licenses for gas-fired power units to help the state cope with continued electricity shortages. The move comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier declared a state of emergency for California’s power grid.

The state’s Dept. of Water Resources is procuring what it called five temporary gas-fueled generators, each with generation capacity of 30 MW, to install at existing power plants. The CEC on Aug. 17 approved licenses, good for up to five years, for the generators.

Newsom’s order, issued in July, is designed to free up additional energy capacity in the state. It came during a major heat wave and was partly in response to the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, which threatened the regional power transmission system and California’s power supply. The governor’s order suspends certain permitting requirements, and allows the use of backup power generation, with a goal of alleviating heat-related supply demands on the power grid.…

Gas Exploration and Production Company to Buy Gas-Fired Power Plant in Texas

August 16, 2021

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BKV Corp., a privately held natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, said it will purchase the Temple 1 power plant in Temple, Texas. The deal, valued at $ 430 million and subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

“We’re excited about this acquisition, and the strategic steps we are taking to position BKV as a leading integrated energy company with cleaner, greener energy,” Chris Kalnin, CEO of BKV, said in a statement issued to POWER. “By extending our natural gas business into a power business we are able to deliver to unprecedented grid reliability, while also creating industry leading ESG [environmental, social, and governance] standards because we can directly certify our emissions footprint at each step in the value chain, from underground molecule to burner tip.”

State-of-the-Art Facility

Temple 1 (Figure 1) is a 758-MW combined cycle facility built in 2014.…

Decarbonizing the Power Grid with Hydrogen and Advanced Technology

August 11, 2021

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Many leaders around the world are focused on decarbonizing their countries’ energy supplies. For most, that means adding renewable energy resources to their electricity mix, and developing a path aimed at retiring coal and other fossil-fueled power plants. Yet, these are not the only decarbonization options. Research and development (R&D) efforts are also ongoing to expand the use of hydrogen and energy storage, and advance new technologies, such as carbon capture and artificial intelligence, in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.

“I think there is a clear sign right now that the world has made the choice, and the choice is clearly the zero-CO₂ emission,” Karim Amin, executive vice president of Generation with Siemens Energy, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. “So, that’s a given, and we are all working towards achieving this target.”

Siemens Energy sees hydrogen as an important piece of the decarbonization puzzle.…

Group Buys Pennsylvania Coal Refuse Plants to Power Bitcoin Mining

August 3, 2021

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A digital mining company has an agreement to purchase a second power plant in Pennsylvania, as the group increases its coal refuse reclamation operations in the state to provide energy for its bitcoin mining operations.

Stronghold Digital Mining, a bitcoin (BTC) miner headquartered in Kennerdell, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 3 said its purchase of the Panther Creek Plant, located on 33 acres in Nesquehoning, in Carbon County, adds 80 MW of generation capacity to its portfolio, which also includes the 85-MW Scrubgrass plant. Scrubgrass is located on 650 acres in Scrubgrass Township, in Venango County.

Stronghold, founded earlier this year, uses the power plants to convert coal refuse into power that is used to mine bitcoin, an energy-intensive process. Coal refuse is classified by Pennsylvania as a Tier II alternative energy resource, akin to large-scale hydropower. Coal refuse over the years has been left in piles near coal operations; today, circulating fluidized bed technology allows for emissions-controlled conversion of coal refuse into energy.…

Data Breaches Cost More Than $4 Million Per Incident, Power Industry at High Risk

July 28, 2021

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IBM Security reported on July 28 that the average cost of recent data breaches was $ 4.24 million per incident, the highest cost ever recorded by the company in 17 years of tracking the metric. Notably, data breaches in the U.S. were by far the costliest, exceeding $ 9 million per incident on average.

The findings were among several insights exposed through a global study of data breaches conducted by the independent Ponemon Institute, a analysis group known for its empirical studies. Researchers reviewed data breaches experienced by 537 organizations between May 2020 and March 2021. The incidents occurred in 17 countries and across various industries.

“We see the number, in general, tick up across the years—some years a little bit higher, some years a little lower—but in general, the trend has been the numbers increase over time,” IBM Cyber Threat Intelligence Expert Charles DeBeck told POWER during an exclusive interview.…

UK’s First Gas-Fired Allam Cycle Power Plant Taking Shape

July 18, 2021

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The inventor of the Allam-Fetvedt Cycle, a novel power cycle that uses supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂), is collaborating with a subsidiary of Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries to potentially develop the UK’s first 300-MW natural gas–fired NET Power station at an existing site at Teesside, northeastern England.

Zero Degrees Whitetail Development Ltd. (ZDW), a subsidiary of North Carolina-based 8 Rivers Capital, and Sembcorp subsidiary Sembcorp Energy UK (SEUK) on July 13 said they will collaborate to set up the 300-MW Whitetail Clean Energy NET Power project at SEUK’s Wilton International site. While the companies did not provide a potential start date, 8 Rivers said the project may be the first of “multiple 300-MW facilities in the UK,” and that it could commission a NET Power station in the UK “as soon as 2025.”

The project is another notable prospect for 8 Rivers, which has been developing its potentially revolutionary power plant based on the Allam-Fetvedt Cycle (AFC) since 2012 under NET Power, a business arm it holds jointly with heavyweight industry backers Exelon, McDermott, and Occidental Low Carbon Ventures.…