POWER Magazine

Even if the Clean Power Plan (CPP) doesn’t overcome legal challenges, it is likely that many states will implement carbon-curbing measures set down by the rule, some panelists said at the Environmental Mega Session at the ELECTRIC POWER 2016 conference in New Orleans on April 19. The Rule’s Shaky Legal Standing The rule is […]The post Environmental Experts Underscore Clean Power Plan Uncertainty appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The volume and value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the first quarter of this year have soared, according to the accounting and financial consulting firm PwC. According to PwC’s quarterly snapshot, American Power & Utilities Deals: Q1 2016, “The first quarter was the most active for power and utilities in recent history, with 22 […]The post Mergers and Acquisitions in the Power Sector Soar in 1Q 2016 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

By an 85-12 vote, the U.S. Senate passed the first comprehensive energy bill in nearly a decade, bringing a successful conclusion to months of legislative effort and overcoming a series of roadblocks in the full Senate related to the water quality crisis in Flint, Mich. The product of more than a year of bipartisan work […]The post Senate Passes Comprehensive Energy Bill, Future Uncertain appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Two senior power sector executives opened the 2016 ELECTRIC POWER Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans April 19 with a message that generators need to “think big” and embrace possibilities of disruptive technologies—or risk being run over on the road to the future. Leo Denault, chairman and CEO of Entergy Corp., delivered the opening keynote […]The post Resilience and Change in a Digital Future appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision that a program Maryland initiated in 2012 to subsidize power plant construction impermissibly invaded the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) authority over interstate power markets. The case, Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing, grew out of a decision by the Maryland Public Service […]The post Supreme Court Strikes Down Maryland Power Plant Subsidies appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Public benefits offered by the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) far outweigh the costs, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said as it released a review of the 2012-finalized rule’s cost implications. The final cost consideration—released just days before power plants that received a one-year extension must come into compliance with the rule—was prompted by […]The post [UPDATED] EPA Stands Ground on MATS with Final Cost Consideration appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Subcommittees of the U.S House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate separately advanced appropriations bills that lay out funding priorities for the Department of Energy (DOE) and other energy-related measures for 2017. The House Energy and Water Subcommittee, a panel of the Appropriations Committee, passed a $37.4 billion bill to fund the DOE as well […]The post House, Senate Subcommittees Pass Energy Appropriations Bills appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Financially bruised Peabody Energy Corp.—the world’s largest privately owned coal mining firm—is seeking bankruptcy protection. The St. Louis–headquartered company filed for voluntary Chapter 11 protection in a desperate attempt to strengthen liquidity and reduce debt amid what it says has been an “unprecedented industry downturn.” It filed petitions for most of its U.S. entities in […]The post Peabody, Optimistic About Coal’s Future Stability, Seeks Bankruptcy Protection appeared first on POWER Magazine.

S. Alam Group has suspended work at the site of a proposed 1,224-MW coal-fired power station in Chittagong, Bangladesh, due to safety concerns following a rally that ended with four protesters dead on April 4. According to multiple sources, groups opposing construction of the plant agreed on April 10 to halt their activities for 15 […]The post Work Suspended on Coal Power Plant Following Protests, Nuclear Plant Moves Forward appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In April’s editorial, “When Technology Tails Wag Power Dogs,” Editor Gail Reitenbach mused about whether the use of captured carbon dioxide (CO2) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) represents a viable way forward for carbon capture, use, and sequestration (CCUS). This is a subject both of us have covered in various ways over the past few […]The post Is EOR a Dead End for Carbon Capture and Storage? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The average capacity factor for U.S. natural gas–fired combined cycle power plants (CCPPs) exceeded that for coal-fired plants in 2015 for the first time since the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has been keeping records, the agency noted on April 4. Gas generation exceeded coal generation for most of 2015, though coal ended slightly ahead for […]The post Gas Combined Cycle Capacity Factors Beat Coal for First Time Ever appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A plan to restructure $9 billion in Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) debt—an eighth of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s staggering $72 billion in debt—surfaced at the U.S. territory’s energy regulator, the Puerto Rico Energy Commission last week on April 7.The post Puerto Rico Utility Moves to Restructure $9B in Debt appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Multiple international news organizations have reported that at least four people were killed, and as many as 100 more were injured, when police opened fire on an estimated 1,500 villagers who were protesting the construction of two coal-fired power plants in Chittagong, in southeastern Bangladesh, on April 4. Discord Over Power Plant According to reports […]The post Four Killed While Protesting Coal Power Plant Construction Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In a joint report issued April 5, a group of California agencies and utilities said that if the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility north of Los Angeles cannot be returned to service after a major leak this past winter, repeated gas curtailments could occur this summer, leading to significant loss of generating capacity in Southern […]The post Aliso Canyon Gas Leak May Imperil Summer Reliability, CAISO Says appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In what has become a regular occurrence with the Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle power plant, Mississippi Power announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 1 that costs have risen from the most recent projections and further delays in its in-service date are possible. Though the $18 million in […]The post Kemper County IGCC Costs Rise and Delays Loom—Again appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have combined two proven technologies to create a new hybrid system that could produce electricity, using coal as a fuel source, at nearly double the efficiency of conventional coal-fired power plants. The concept—proposed by MIT doctoral student Katherine Ong and Ronald C. Crane (1972) Professor Ahmed Ghoniem—combines […]The post Is a New Hybrid System the Cure for Coal Power’s Ills? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Setting the stage for a drawn-out fight with ratepayer groups and other generators, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) on March 31 approved proposals from FirstEnergy and American Electric Power (AEP) that will provide guaranteed income to FirstEnergy’s Davis-Besse nuclear plant (Figure 1) and several aging coal-fired plants belonging to it and AEP. 1. […]The post Ohio PUC Approves FirstEnergy and AEP Subsidy Plans appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The owner and management company of the Berkshire Power Plant—a 252-MW natural gas–fired combined cycle plant located in Agawam, Mass.—agreed to plead guilty on March 30 to felony charges that the companies violated and conspired to violate the federal Clean Air Act. The indictments against Berkshire Power Co. (BPC), the owner of the plant, and […]The post Air Emissions Tampering Leads to Felony Charges at Power Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

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Why would one want to validate a turbine design? The answer is that actual operation of new and more advanced gas turbines can reveal issues that are very difficult to predict on the drawing board. As aThe post Rigorous Turbine Validation Process Produces Sustained Reliability Exceeding 99% appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Geothermal technology, though over a century old, is constantly changing. Developments in mapping techniques have improved exploratory practices. Plant adaptations, such as hybrid technologies and theThe post New Plant Design Options Expand Geothermal Power Operations appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Shamelessly adapting the great British novelist Charles Dickens, for the global nuclear industry, it is the best of times, it is the worst of times; it is the age of wisdom, it is the age of foolishness; it isThe post The Global Nuclear Power Industry Faces Localized Outlooks appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is obligated to review many different federal environmental standards on a recurring basis and update them if the agency deems it necessary for the protection ofThe post Communication Was Essential to Alliant Energy’s Successful Handling of Emissions Monitoring appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Among the greatest revolutions of the modern world is one that most of us take for granted: electrification. When we flip on the light switch, turn on the TV, or plug in our cell phones, power is there, 99.99%The post Radical Energy Breakthroughs—Without the Risk appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Although other renewable sources of energy may be growing at a faster rate, more electricity continues to be generated in the U.S. by conventional hydropower than by wind, solar, and geothermal power combinedThe post Weighing Costs and Benefits in Hydropower Maintenance and Upgrade Decisions appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Entergy Corp., a dominant investor-owned utility in the middle south, hugging the Mississippi River drainage area from New Orleans to Memphis (including a piece of Texas), faces what may be a unique generationThe post Entergy Sheds Uneconomic Merchant Nuclear Plants to Focus on Regulated Business appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Entergy Tests Fiber Optic Cables to Slash Copper Use A unique pilot under way at a substation in New Orleans, La., uses fiber optic cables in a way that could help utilities reduce the use of copper wire. ButThe post Maximizing Coastal Power Plant Resiliency appeared first on POWER Magazine.

If you’re still thinking of drones and robots as more toy than tool, think again. The drones now working in the power sector have gone far beyond remote-control hobbies and now resemble something closer toThe post Leveraging Drones and Robots for O&M Savings appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Two renewables giants with a hefty global reach are facing debilitating financial crises. SunEdison on the Verge of Bankruptcy California-headquartered solar project developer SunEdison, a company that has 1,000 operational sites worldwide and is staffed by 3,000 employees, is facing a liquidity crisis so dire, the company’s yieldco TerraForm Global warned in a March 29 […]The post Bankruptcy Shadows Two High-Profile Solar Companies appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A handful of attorneys general want to join forces on ongoing and potential investigations into whether fossil fuel companies misled investors and the public about the impact of climate change on their businesses. New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the joint effort on March 29, during a one-day climate change conference for attorneys […]The post State AGs Join Forces to Ramp Up Investigations of Climate Change Financial Disclosures appeared first on POWER Magazine.

While conducting a comprehensive inspection on more than 2,000 of the reactor’s removable insert liner bolts during a Unit 2 planned outage at the Indian Point nuclear power plant, engineers identified issues with approximately 11% of them, requiring further analysis. Some of the bolts—and the bars meant to hold them in place—were missing, while others […]The post Inspections at Indian Point Nuclear Plant Identify Missing Bolts in Reactor appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Edison International, parent company of Southern California Edison (SCE), announced on March 29 that it’s launching a new business unit called Edison Energy that will provide energy consulting services to large energy consumers across the country to help them in identifying and exploiting opportunities to lower energy costs, reduce complexity of energy management, and meet […]The post Edison Moves Toward Energy as a Service appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A diverse coalition of major investor-owned utilities, public power authorities, and one of the largest independent power producers, as well as a combination of cities and states, clean energy groups, and environmental groups, filed briefs with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan. The involved […]The post Clean Power Plan Backers Petition Court in Support of EPA appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Edison Electric Institute has come under fire for a new communications plan that was intended to depict utilities as more community-minded.The post EEI Gets Pushback on Proposed Rebranding of Utility Solar appeared first on POWER Magazine.

“My sense as I speak to you here today is that nuclear energy is toast,” said New York Times Reporter Eduardo Porter, as he opened a panel discussion titled “Nuclear Energy and the Clean Energy Future” held at the New York University School of Law on March 23. “Despite the challenge from climate change that […]The post Is Nuclear Energy “Toast”? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Over the past week, several states took action on the Clean Power Plan as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged governors to “wait and see” on the carbon rule, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) chief defended the rule. McConnell Urges Governors to Halt Compliance Work. In a March 21 letter to the National […]The post Briefs: States Act on EPA Clean Power Plan Measures Despite Uncertainty appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Two environmental groups on March 22 filed a notice of intent to sue Florida Power & Light (FPL) in federal court over leaks from the utility’s Turkey Point Nuclear Plant south of Miami that have raised concerns about contamination of area drinking water. The problems began several years ago, after FPL completed an uprate at Turkey […]The post Turkey Point Faces Lawsuit Over Cooling Canal Leaks appeared first on POWER Magazine.

As it promised last May, Michigan-based Consumers Energy is shuttering seven of its oldest coal-fired plants, which make up more than two-thirds of its coal fleet. Consumers Energy made the decision last year in response to changing environmental regulations and market conditions that made it uneconomic to continue operating the plants. The seven units, all […]The post Consumers Energy Shuts Down Seven Coal Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Whether utilities, technology providers, or independent third-party upstarts are best suited to create a reliable recipe for microgrid development remains an open question.The post Emerging Microgrid Business Models appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Although new microgrid configurations, technologies, and business models are still evolving in the U.S., some lessons have been learned in the past few years. Aside from the fact that financing nontraditional/non-campus microgrids is hard, if there’s one overarching lesson, it’s that a microgrid designed to provide only one benefit or rely on only one generation source is unlikely to succeed.The post Microgrid Development Lessons Learned appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, is President Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s a roundup of Garland’s more recent power sector rulings. July 2015: On Backup Generators Chief Judge Garland and senior circuit Judges Williams and Randolph repealed part of the Environmental Protection […]The post A Review of Supreme Court Nominee Merrick Garland’s Power-Related Cases at the D.C. Circuit appeared first on POWER Magazine.

South Africa’s National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) announced on March 15 that it has received two nuclear installation site license applications from Eskom Holdings, the only designated, cabinet-confirmed majority owner and operator of nuclear power plants in the country. The applications were for Thyspunt in the Eastern Cape and Duynefontein in the Western Cape. The Thyspunt […]The post South Africa’s Eskom Applies for Nuclear Site Licenses in Eastern and Western Capes appeared first on POWER Magazine.

On March 13, three of Germany’s 16 states held regional elections that were largely seen as a referendum on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s increasingly controversial refugee policies as well as the waning importance of energy and climate policies. Perhaps the biggest challenger and winner in this election was the far right, those against both the Energiewende […]The post Rise of Populist New Right Party AfD May Trump Germany’s Energiewende appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed, with bipartisan support, a bill that slackens emissions limits for power plants that burn coal refuse. The Satisfying Energy Needs and Saving the Environment (SENSE) Act passed the House with a 231–183 vote on March 15. However, the White House has said it strongly opposes the bill (H.R. […]The post Coal Refuse Emissions Bill Passes House, Garners Veto Threat appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Duke Energy is testing a hybrid ultracapacitor-battery energy storage system (HESS) at its Rankin Substation in Gaston County, N.C., in an effort to find a more effective way to integrate renewable energy into its system. The project became operational in February, but there is still testing in progress to demonstrate the system’s multiple service applications. […]The post Duke Energy Tries First-of-Its-Kind Hybrid Energy Storage System appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The proposed expansion of the Hinkley Point nuclear plant in the U.K., a joint project between French-based EDF and Chinese firm CGN, was thrown into fresh doubts this month as EDF’s CEO said the project cannot proceed without additional financial support from the French government. The hugely expensive project—at £18 billion ($25.5 billion) it would […]The post Hinkley Point on the Brink as EDF Seeks French Support appeared first on POWER Magazine.