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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.…

Bechtel, GE Will Lead 3.2-GW Gas Power Project

July 14, 2021

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Vietnam’s first privately-owned power plant has moved a step closer to fruition, as Delta Offshore Energy chose Bechtel to provide front-end engineering design (FEED) services for a proposed 3,200-MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) facility.

The power station, sited in Bac Lieu province in the Mekong Delta about 155 miles south of Ho Chi Minh City, will be fueled with liquified natural gas (LNG). The plant will feature four single-shaft General Electric (GE) 9HA.02 H-class turbines. Vietnamese officials have said they expect the $ 3-billion project will further economic development in the region, which already is becoming an industrial hub. The Bac Lieu Province People’s Council approved the plant’s 70-hectare (173 acres) footprint earlier this year.

“This power plant is a game changer for the Bac Lieu province,” said Scott Osborne, Bechtel’s general manager for infrastructure, Asia Pacific, after the FEED contract was announced July 6.…

Enabling IIoT Connectivity for Virtual Power Plants

July 12, 2021

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Declarations of climate emergencies in many countries around the world have created awareness for the need to switch to clean energy sources, which in turn has prompted the power industry and governments to take action or set definite goals. Many governments around the world now provide incentives to individuals, industries, and communities who are interested in generating and using power from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy.

The power grid has seen many changes that have enabled the integration of power from distributed energy resources (DERs). In the new power economy that is emerging, virtual power plants (Figure 1, VPPs) are showing the way by making it possible to aggregate power from different DERs and providing an efficient platform for energy trading. Catalyzed by these developments, a new “prosumer” class is emerging that consists of consumers who not only consume power from the grid but also produce their own green power and might have excess power to sell.…

PSEG Power Closes Last Coal Plant, Explores Divestiture of Other Fossil Assets

June 6, 2021

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PSEG Power retired its Bridgeport Harbor Station Unit 3 (BHS 3, Figure 1) on May 31. The unit, located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was the last remaining coal-fired power plant in the company’s fleet.

1. United Illuminating Co. placed Bridgeport Harbor Station Unit 3 in service in 1968. The station changed hands in 1999 when WISVEST purchased it. WISVEST sold the station to PSEG Power in 2002. Unit 3 was officially retired on May 31, 2021. Courtesy: PSEG Power

“The retirement of Bridgeport Harbor Station Unit 3 marks the end of an era for the City of Bridgeport and the citizens who relied on its power,” Ralph Izzo, chairman, president, and CEO of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG Power’s parent company), said in a press release. “I’m grateful to the generations of employees who operated this unit safely and reliably for more than 50 years, and to the entire Bridgeport community for their support.”…