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.

It’s been five years since the Great Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami prompted a crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, but the world’s nuclear power sector is still lurching from its aftershocks. The Crisis at Daiichi Endures Five years ago, nearly a day after the 3-minute, 9.0-magnitude Great Tohoku Earthquake struck northeastern Japan—and unleashed […]The post Five Years after Fukushima in Five Infographics appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Construction of a 50-MWt plant that will demonstrate a novel oxyfuel natural gas power system using Allam Cycle technology with zero atmospheric emissions has kicked off in La Porte, Texas. The demonstration plant is being built by the technology’s developer, Durham, N.C.–based NET Power, along with Exelon Generation, CB&I, and 8 Rivers Capital. NET Power’s […]The post Construction Begins on Project to Demonstrate Entirely New Natural Gas Power Cycle appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its March 8 Short-Term Energy Outlook that natural gas would supply the largest share of U.S. electricity in 2016, continuing its rise against coal. EIA data from 2015 showed that gas and coal pulled into a near-tie on the year, with coal generating 1,356 TWh, for a 33.2% […]The post Gas-Fired Generation Will Beat Coal in 2016, EIA Says appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Of nearly 18 GW of U.S. generating capacity permanently shuttered in 2015, 77% was conventional steam coal–fired. About 30% of that 13.7 GW in coal capacity was retired in April 2015, when the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule went into effect, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on March […]The post EIA: 13.7 GW of Coal Capacity Was Retired in 2015 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The 4-GW three-unit Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station has broken its own generation record, producing the highest electricity output of any nuclear plant in the world. APS, the Arizona utility that operates the plant, said Palo Verde generated 32.5 million MWh in 2015, making it still the only U.S. power plant to ever produce more […]The post Palo Verde Nuclear Plant Shatters Own Generation Record in 2015 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

China has been struggling for years with endemic air pollution in major cities like Shanghai, and the nation’s traditional heavy reliance on coal has been challenged head-on by new government policies to cut emissions and reduce the carbon intensity of the power sector. While major advanced coal plants and China’s massive build-out of its nuclear […]The post China Looks to Small CHP to Cut Air Pollution appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Distributed energy firm Vivint Solar has terminated an agreement under which it would have merged with renewables giant SunEdison in a $2.2 billion deal. The Lehi, Utah–based company told investors on March 8 that it had delivered a letter notifying SunEdison that the merger agreement had been terminated, owing to SunEdison’s “failure to meet obligations” […]The post Vivint Halts Pending Merger with SunEdison Citing “Willful Breach” of Agreement appeared first on POWER Magazine.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected the plea of 20 states to stay the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule while the agency works to comply with a previous ruling. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette had requested the stay to pause any further action to implement the rule […]The post Chief Justice Roberts Rejects Bid to Suspend MATS Rule appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Entergy Corp. announced on March 4 that three of its subsidiaries had closed on a transaction to purchase the 1,980-MW Union Power Station near El Dorado, Ark. The plant includes four combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) units, each rated at 495 MW. Each unit operates two GE 7-FA combustion turbines with inlet air fogging, two […]The post Entergy Subsidiaries Buy Four-Unit CCGT Power Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Oregon Senate passed a bill on March 2 that will require electric companies in the state to eliminate coal-fired resources from their electrical supplies by January 1, 2030. The bill—which passed in the senate by a 17–12 vote—had already been passed by the Oregon House of Representatives (38–20). It now heads to Gov. Kate […]The post Oregon Legislature Passes Bill to Eliminate Coal from State Power Supply appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) generation has exploded over the past few years. From nearly nothing in the late 2000s, the U.S. now has more than 10 GW of utility-scale solar PV in operation according to the Energy Information Administration. That figure should continue to grow strongly because of the recent extension of the investment tax […]The post Solar PV Capacity Factors a Mix of Insolation and Design appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The disposal of coal ash, a combustion byproduct from coal-fired power plants, was propelled into the national conversation on December 22, 2008, when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston power plant suffered one of the largest coal ash spills in history. Calls for regulatory action shifted pitch again after the Duke Energy Dan River spill […]The post A Brief History of U.S. Coal Ash Since the Kingston Spill appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The coal ash spill in December 2008 at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s coal-fired Kingston power plant may have triggered regulatory action, but it wasn’t the first or the most devastating disaster in the coal industry’s history. Coal Ash Spills at Power Facilities Other Notable Coal Ash Spills —Sonal Patel, associate editor (@POWERmagazine, @sonalcpatel)The post Notable Coal Ash Spills [Slideshow] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post THE BIG PICTURE: Drops in Water for Power appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Utility holding company Xcel Energy, headquartered in Minneapolis and with large electric and gas operations in eight states in the upper Midwest, the Rocky Mountain West, and Texas, has ambitions to be theThe post Xcel Energy: Committed to Renewables, but Going Its Own Way appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Germany’s Energiewende (energy transition) was adopted as policy beginning in September 2010, some six months before the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, and full legislative support wasThe post Germany’s Energiewende at a New Turning Point appeared first on POWER Magazine.

There may be multiple closed-loop cooling systems at your power plant. Chances are good that they cool or control temperature on some very critical components. The two that are most likely to exist are theThe post Monitoring and Treatment of Closed-Loop Cooling Water Systems appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Many combined cycle and cogeneration plants with heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) were originally intended as baseload power sources or steam producers. In recent years, however, some have beenThe post New Metering Solution Controls Condensate in HRSG Systems appeared first on POWER Magazine.

At the ballyhooed Paris climate conference last December, a little-noticed event occurred that could lead to important developments for electric generators. At the Paris meeting, some 80The post Desalination Expands, but Energy Challenges Remain appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In late 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published new regulations governing wastewater discharge from steam electric power plants. These new regulations, or effluent limitation guidelinesThe post Zero-Discharge Pozzolanic Brine Solidification: Another Option for Treating FGD Wastewater appeared first on POWER Magazine.

John J. Novak The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan is arguably the most ambitious and far-reaching regulation in the agency’s history. America’s electric cooperativesThe post Why the Clean Power Plan Needs a Dynamic Reliability Safety Valve appeared first on POWER Magazine.

“The one thing that is most difficult to enhance is one of the most important components of a nuclear power plant and that is the people,” said William D. Magwood IV, director-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). Magwood’s comment came during a February 29 press conference releasing the […]The post Lessons Learned from Fukushima Nuclear Accident: Human Aspects Still Need Work appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Battered by stubbornly low natural gas prices and regulatory headwinds, coal-fired generation fell into a near-tie with natural gas in 2015, according to data released on Feb. 26 by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). For all of 2015, coal generated 1,356 TWh, while gas-fired generation produced 1,335 TWh, giving coal a slight 33.2% to 32.7% […]The post Gas-Fired Generation Pulled Nearly Even with Coal in 2015, EIA Says appeared first on POWER Magazine.

External malicious actors deployed a “synchronized and coordinated” cyberattack to prompt the large-scale blackout in Ukraine last December, a U.S. interagency team has confirmed. The event on December 23, 2015— the world’s first power blackout prompted by a cyberattack—saw a swathe of unscheduled power outages afflict three regional power distribution companies (called the “Oblenergos”) and cut […]The post U.S. Cybersecurity Super Team Reveals How Attackers Prompted Ukraine Blackouts appeared first on POWER Magazine.

New reports released this week see big growth in renewables from the recently extended federal tax credits, but big uncertainty due to the possible end of the Clean Power Plan (CPP). New York-based consulting firm Rhodium Group says investment plans in the power sector will be radically different if the Clean Power Plan doesn’t happen. […]The post New Reports Say CPP and Renewable Tax Credits Have Big Implications for the Power Sector appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The District of Columbia Public Service Commission (PSC) on Friday (Feb. 26) rejected a restructured $6.8 billion merger proposal between Exelon and local electric utility Pepco, but offered a counter proposal with conditions that the two companies are likely to approve easily, according to local opponents of the merger. The commission turned down the merger […]The post Did the D.C. Commission Issue a Stealth Exelon-Pepco Merger Approval? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A proposal put forth by China—and one that it says has received “positive responses” and substantial backing from international groups, including the United Nations—foresees a global smart ultra-high-voltage (UHV) grid that transmits only “clean energy.” The Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) outlined by State Grid Corp. Chairman Zhenya Liu on February 25 at the IHS CERAWeek […]The post China Rolls Out Proposal for Worldwide Grid appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Dynegy Inc. and Energy Capital Partners (ECP), through a newly formed joint venture, have agreed to acquire ENGIE’s U.S. fossil-fueled power generation portfolio, consisting of 8,731 MW of capacity located in the ERCOT, PJM, and ISO–New England transmission regions. The $3.3 billion deal was announced on February 25, with an expected closing date in the […]The post Dynegy and Energy Capital Partners Agree to Acquire ENGIE’s 8.7-GW U.S. Fossil Portfolio appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Rallied by the Supreme Court’s unprecedented stay of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan, a coalition of 20 states has asked the high court to stay another disputed agency rule: the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). The states are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North […]The post Twenty States Call on Supreme Court to Stay EPA Mercury Rule appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Power generators consumed 34% of total U.S. energy uses from fossil fuels and accounted for 39% of the nation’s carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion in 2014—a fraction of a percent more than in 2013—the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in its newly released Greenhouse Gas Inventory report. In 2014, 2,054.8 million metric tons […]The post U.S. Power Sector Carbon Emissions See Fractional Increase appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Despite the unprecedented stay by the Supreme Court, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan will withstand legal challenges “based on its merits,” predicted the agency’s head, Gina McCarthy, at the IHS CERAWeek conference in Houston. McCarthy discussed the plan and other recent initiatives to stem greenhouse gas emissions—including recently announced rules to curb […]The post EPA Chief: Clean Power Plan to Win on Merits appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz reaffirmed that the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, N.M., is on track for reopening later this year, but he did not offer any encouragement to those in the southwest corner of the state who support using the site for permanent disposal of the country’s spent nuclear fuel.The post DOE Secretary Moniz on WIPP and Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Shortly after 4 p.m. on February 23, part of the boiler house at the Didcot A Power Station in Oxfordshire, UK, unexpectedly collapsed, killing one person. Three others are missing and feared dead. The plant—located about 55 miles west of London—was closed in March 2013 and was in the process of being demolished by Coleman […]The post One Dead, Three Missing After Power Plant Collapse appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The OPEC secretary general and Saudi Arabia's minister of petroleum shared their views on low oil prices, shale, and climate change at IHS CERAWeek.The post What Unites OPEC, U.S. Shale, and Power Generation appeared first on POWER Magazine.