electricity | Common News Update

Aug142022 by adminNo Comments

Climate change: Drought highlights dangers for electricity supplies

Science

Getty ImagesThe ongoing drought in the UK and Europe is putting electricity generation under pressure, say experts.Electricity from hydropower - which uses water to generate power - has dropped by 20% overall.And nuclear facilities, which are cooled using river water, have been restricted.There are fears that the shortfalls are a taste of what will happen in the coming winter.In the UK, high temperatures are hitting energy output from fossil, nuclear and solar sources.That is because the technology in power plants and solar panels work much less well in high temperatures.The prolonged dry spell is putting further pressure on energy supplies as Europe scrambles for alternative sources after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Millions hit by hosepipe bans as drought declaredUS Senate passes sw...

Mar182021 by adminNo Comments

National Grid’s ‘transformational’ pivot to electricity targets net zero ambitions

Business

National Grid is buying the UK's largest electricity distribution business for £7.8bn and plans to sell its gas transmission arm in a switch it says will enhance its role in delivering "net zero".The group has agreed to acquire Western Power Distribution (WPD) from America's PPL corporation in the latest transformation of the utility business responsible for keeping the UK's lights on. Buying WPD will give National Grid control over an electricity distribution network serving 7.9 million customers in the Midlands, the South West and Wales, with more than 6,500 staff. Image: National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew said the transactions would be transformational Meanwhile it plans to offload a majority stake in National Grid Gas (N...

Mar112021 by adminNo Comments

Mexican court blocks law favoring state electricity plants

World

A court in Mexico has blocked the implementation of a law favoring government-owned power generation over cleaner private electrical plantsBy MARK STEVENSON Associated PressMarch 11, 2021, 8:35 PM• 3 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleMEXICO CITY -- Even sooner than critics had expected, a court in Mexico issued an injunction Thursday to block a new law that favors government-owned power generation over cleaner private electrical plants.The law went into effect Tuesday, and within two days the court granted an injunction to block it. The ruling was sought by a company that operates a 160-megawatt wind farm in the southern Pacific coast state of Oaxaca.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said the law is meant protect government-owned fossil-fuel plants against ...

Feb102021 by adminNo Comments

New wearable device converts body heat into electricity

Science

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Scientists at the University of Colorado have developed a new wearable device that uses thermoelectric generators to turn the body's thermal energy into electricity. Because the device, which is flexible enough to be worn as a ring or bracelet, can turn the human body into a power source, it could eliminate the need for an external battery in a variety of wearable electronics. Advertisement Researchers described the new device in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. "In the future, we want to be able to power your wearable electronics without having to include a battery," senior study author Jianliang Xiao, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Colorado, said in a press release. The device's thermonuclear generators can produce a sin...

Aug212020 by adminNo Comments

Fire hits electricity plant in south India, at least 6 dead

World

A massive fire in a government-run underground electricity plant has killed at least six workers in southern IndiaBy OMER FAROOQ Associated PressAugust 21, 2020, 10:15 AM1 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleHYDERABAD, India -- A massive fire in a government-run underground electricity plant killed at least six workers in southern India, an official said Friday. Telangana state Power Minister Jagdish Reddy said rescuers had found six bodies and were searching for another three workers feared trapped in the plant when the fire erupted Thursday night. He said 30 workers were inside the plant in Srisailam. Fifteen exited through a tunnel and another six workers were taken out by rescue teams. The cause of the fire hasn't been established. Rescuers from the National Di...