The average car is held together by more than 4,000 welds. To ensure these welds are solid and safe, manufacturers perform what’s known as a “pry-check,” a process that literally means tearing apart samples of welded pieces — about one per shift, on average. But this process is destructive and expensive, resulting in wasted materials… Keep reading →
On December 12, 2013, the US Department of Energy awarded $226 million to an Oregon company, NuScale, to design, develop, and prepare for licensing review its first small-scale nuclear reactor. A grant for a similar invention was made in 2012 to Babcock & Wilcox, a company with long experience building reactors for nuclear submarines. A… Keep reading →
Nuclear faces a somewhat uncertain future in the US, owing to questions about costs – especially in an era of cheap natural gas – as well as safety concerns and public acceptance issues in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. But another pressing concern for the industry is how to fill rapidly rising job vacancies… Keep reading →
The US power sector is just beginning to understand the extent of the challenge it faces in replacing a retiring workforce, and to take steps to address it. But even if utilities manage to fill vacant positions, it remains to be seen how smoothly they can integrate a new generation of workers, and how long… Keep reading →
Upstream oil and gas capital costs declined in the first nine months of this year, but this likely precedes another move upward, according to consultancy IHS. The cost of building upstream oil and gas facilities dipped slightly – by less than 1% – between the first and third quarters of 2013, representing the first decline… Keep reading →
The US power sector is staring down the barrel of a labor shortage of crisis proportions. With workers in all aspects of the industry retiring faster than new recruits are replacing them, the industry has a lot of work to do to position itself as a magnet for new talent. “There are a number of… Keep reading →
What can cost a billion dollars more each week before it even exists? At the end of September, the Louisiana governor’s office projected that a new gas to liquids project announced by Royal Dutch Shell would cost an estimated $12.5 billion. Less than a week into December, the multinational energy giant cancelled its plans amid… Keep reading →
The US power sector has plenty of lucrative job opportunities and not enough people to fill them. Access to skilled labor is of critical importance to all facets of the energy industry. And the power sector is facing two major challenges: an aging workforce and a dwindling number of students enrolling in electrical engineering programs.… Keep reading →
There is no shortage of global energy problems to solve – meeting the electricity needs of rising populations while simultaneously slowing the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, generating a skilled labor pool for a shifting energy landscape, and looming water shortages in arid regions, to name a few. And there are plenty of very smart,… Keep reading →
The solar industry has been very hot. Record amounts of new solar capacity have been installed over the past two years. The accelerating pace of adoption of solar panels for distributed generation (installed at the point of use, rather than sold into the power grid) and the downward trend of module prices have created exuberance… Keep reading →
