Renew Now!

This week’s news from the renewable energy world Houghton secures coal-to-biomass contract. Houghton International has secured a three-year motor maintenance and repair contract at Lynemouth power station in England. The plant in Northumberland is currently being converted from coal to biomass. On completion, it is expected to generate 420 MW of renewable energy. Houghton will be responsible for […]

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Automate 2017

Robots so advanced, when they dance, they “do the human”  Who are we kidding…machines have already taken over. Any ‘human’ who attended Automate 2017 this week can vouch: the lines have never been more indistinct between virtual and actual, A.I. and H.I., intuition and cognition. The biennial conference, held this year at McCormick Place in […]

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CPP Rolled Back

Tuesday’s executive order begins long process for energy regulations The executive order signed by President Trump on Tuesday was no surprise, but it still provokes a heap of questions. An important pillar of the current president’s campaign was built on energy realignment, specifically a rollback of the Clean Power Plan and rejuvenating the coal industry. With Tuesday’s motion, the […]

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Industry News

Sometimes there’s just too much going on. If ‘Mergers & Acquisitions’ were a weekly edition, all of us would die of boredom. However, when important companies make decisions, money moves around, and new ideas come on the market, it can’t be left alone. That’s why the ‘Industry News’ block saves the day every month or […]

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Mergers & Awards

Shermco, AWEA, Allied Reliability, T.F. Hudgins… Shermco wins AWEA award. At the AWEA Operations, Maintenance and Safety Conference, held February 27 through March 2 in San Diego, Shermco Industries was among the recipients AWEA’s Gold Safety and Health Achievement Award. Included was ‘Silver Recognition’ which is based on 3 years of exemplary OSHA reported safety statistics.  Shermco’s […]

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Protect Ya Neck

Proposed EPA cuts aim for the jugular of clean and green The White House announced plans on February 28th to reduce the EPA’s budget by 25%. This alone was enough to raise nervousness among fervent supporters of the organization, which includes the entire renewable energy industry. Half a month later, the word on the street […]

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Factory Check

U.S. factory orders rise for 2nd straight month Thus far, things are looking up for U.S. factories in 2017. New orders for U.S.-made goods increased for a second straight month in January, suggesting the recovery of the manufacturing sector was gaining momentum as rising prices for commodities spur demand for machinery. Factory goods orders rose 1.2 percent, […]

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Lightbulb Moments, Awarded

Where work and fun intersect: Finalists for the 2017 Edison Awards  Edison Universe has released a list of finalists for the 2017 Edison Awards, honoring “the best in innovation and innovators,” and providing a glimpse into the future. Vibram, of Albizzate, Italy, is nominated for its advanced cold-weather gripping shoes (look for more on this […]

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Lithium-Ion Guru

Canadian battery researcher wins $1M award, Tesla backing  A leading researcher of lithium-ion batteries has won the prestigious Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering. 2017 winner Jeff Dahn is considered Canada’s leader in lithium-ion battery research and one of the world’s leading innovators in battery technology. He’s worked with things for over 40 years that […]

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Picked From the Branch

This week in Washington (relevant to our readers’ industries) Since 2017 began (and especially since Jaunary 20) there’s been enough activity in our nation’s capital each week to fill blog posts for an entire year. Without making this a regular thing, here’s some selections relevant to our readers’ industries. FERC chair resigns. Norman Bay, who served as Chair […]

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