POWER Magazine

Mississippi Power has revealed a new cost increase of $110 million for its Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) facility. But, the company said that it has tested one of two gasification units—reaching what it says is the project's "most significant milestone yet"—and that it does not expect any new delays. Testing the gasifiers […]The post Kemper IGCC Celebrates Key Milestone, Suffers New Cost Increases appeared first on POWER Magazine.

There has been a major shake up in the contractors involved in both of the new AP1000 nuclear power plant projects under construction in the U.S. Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC, a group company of Toshiba Corp., announced on Oct. 27 that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire CB&I Stone & Webster Inc., the nuclear […]The post CB&I Out, Fluor In at Vogtle and V.C. Summer Nuclear Power Plant Construction Projects appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. Senate has approved the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), controversial legislation intended to block the deluge of cyberattacks by opening up communication channels between the private sector and federal agencies. Senate Bill 754 introduced in March by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and co-sponsored by Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) passed the Senate by a […]The post Information-Sharing Cybersecurity Bill Clears Senate, On Track to Be Enacted appeared first on POWER Magazine.

It took only minutes for opponents to the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants to head for the courts. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plan became official, published in the Federal Register on Friday morning. The race to the courthouse was on. The first electric utility in […]The post Seminole G&T Challenges Clean Power Plan in Federal Court appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Will rooftop solar photovoltaics be the most economical way to deploy today’s hottest new generating technology, or will central utility solar PV systems be the best economic bet? Is there a third way? The answer appears to be “yes.” Solar photovoltaic (PV) power has emerged as the hottest new trend in renewable energy generation, primarily […]The post The Solar PV Economics Conundrum appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The ETH spin-off company Climeworks AG has announced plans to construct and operate an industrial scale CO2 capture plant to be operational by mid-2016. The Oct. 21 announcement said the plant in Hinwil (Canton of Zurich, Switzerland) “has the capacity to capture 900 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year.” For comparison, The Carbon […]The post Swiss Company Aims to Build Commercial Scale Direct Air Carbon Capture Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an operating license for a new nuclear power plant. The 40-year license was issued to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the long-overdue Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor on Oct. 22. The Watts Bar plant is located about 10 miles […]The post NRC Issues Watts Bar 2 Nuclear Power Plant Operating License appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In a media briefing this morning on the Clean Power Plan, Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Air and Radiation made no announcement of major changes but did note that the final rule will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, Friday, October 23. That publication starts the […]The post Clean Power Plan in Federal Register Oct. 23, Clock Starts Ticking appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) authority to issue loan guarantees officially received a $1 billion boost, which will be split between its Advanced Fossil Energy Projects solicitation and Renewable Energy and Efficient Energy Projects solicitation. The agency has finalized the additional loan guarantee authority that President Obama announced in August. It means that more loan […]The post DOE Finalizes $1B New Loan Guarantee Authority for Fossil Fuel, Renewables, and Energy Efficiency Projects appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Westinghouse Electric wants the UK to partner in the deployment of its small modular reactor (SMR) technology. The Toshiba Corp. group on Oct. 20 submitted an unsolicited proposal that outlines a ““shared design and development model” under which Westinghouse would contribute its small modular reactor conceptual design and then partner with UK government and industry [...]The post UK Could Jointly Develop SMRs with Westinghouse appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Entergy Corp.’s Palisades Power Plant returned to service on Oct. 19, following a month-long outage to implement upgrades, inspections, and safety enhancements. The Michigan plant was shut down on Sept. 16 to begin a planned refueling outage. The company spent $58 million for upgrades and plant inspections, and $63 million for new fuel. The outage [...]The post Palisades Nuclear Plant Returns to Service After Planned Refueling, Upgrades appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The second unit at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai nuclear facility in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, has restarted, and three more of the country’s 43 operable reactors may soon follow suit. Kyushu Electric restarted the 846-MW Sendai 2 nuclear facility on Oct. 15, with plans to connect to the grid on Oct. 21, and to achieve [...]The post Japan Restarts Second Nuclear Reactor appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Seven power producers have joined 74 other companies in signing on to the Obama administration’s American Business Act on Climate initiative, which is aimed at rallying U.S. companies behind the need for action on climate change ahead of international climate talks in Paris next month. The seven are Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE)—parent company of PacifiCorp, [...]The post Seven Power Companies Sign Obama’s Climate Pledge, Commitments Include Retiring Coal appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Clean Power Plan could force the retirement of up to 4 GW of coal-fired capacity in the region served by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) starting as soon as 2022, an updated analysis suggests. The independent system operator that manages about 90% of Texas’ electric load acknowledged that fewer coal units are [...]The post New Wave of Coal Retirements Coming, ERCOT Warns appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Battery storage has emerged from the fringes of the power sector to challenge both industry conventions and traditional generation. Where it goes from here, however—the future of battery storage technology—is a matter of some debate. Both storage firms and energy storage experts at the Energy Storage North America (ESNA) conference in San Diego Oct. 13-15 [...]The post Scoping Out the Future of Battery Storage appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Integrating California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO’s) and PacifiCorp’s networks—the two largest high-voltage transmission grids in the West—could yield billions of dollars in shared cost reductions within the first 20 years alone through efficiencies, a new study says. The report commissioned by PacifiCorp stems from a memorandum of understanding signed by the independent system operator (ISO) [...]The post Study: CAISO-PacifiCorp Grid Integration Could Bolster Reliability, Environmental Goals appeared first on POWER Magazine.

OKG, owner and operator of the three-unit Oskarshamn nuclear power plant on Sweden’s east coast, announced on Oct. 14 that it would permanently shut down Units 1 and 2 at the facility, while continuing to operate the larger and newer Unit 3. OKG’s majority owner E.ON is driving the decision. The German-based company has been [...]The post Two Units Retiring Early at Swedish Nuclear Power Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Energy storage needs better energy storage policy. Speaking at the Energy Storage North America (ESNA) conference in San Diego on Oct. 12, Garrett Fitzgerald, senior associate with the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), was frank about the challenge facing energy storage technologies: They’re starting to get well ahead of the regulatory regimes that are needed to [...]The post Making the Case for Energy Storage Policy appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Within the space of less than a week, four deals have been announced that will result in ownership changes at five power plants in the U.S. Northeast. Calpine Buys Another Gas Plant Calpine Corp. announced on Oct. 13 that it has agreed to acquire the Granite Ridge Energy Center, a 745-MW combined cycle gas-fired power [...]The post Five Power Plants to Change Hands in Four Separate Deals appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A federal court last week granted a motion barring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from enforcing the Clean Water Rule, which critics say is “exceptionally expansive.” A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Oct. 9 granted the stay sought by 31 states [...]The post Federal Court Stays WOTUS Rule appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Entergy Corp. will permanently close its 680-MW Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth, Mass., by June 2019, owing to poor market conditions, reduced revenues, and increased operational costs, the company said today. The New Orleans–based company said it has notified grid operator ISO-New England (ISO-NE) that the reactor that began operations in 1972 would not [...]The post Entergy to Permanently Close Troubled Pilgrim Nuclear Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Coal has been the dominant source of electricity in the U.S. power mix for more than a century, but that may be coming to an end sooner than expected. For only the second time ever, but also the second time this year, gas generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. According to statistics from [...]The post U.S. Power Mix: Gas Replacing Coal Faster Than Expected appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Philip Moeller, a Bush-nominated commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and outspoken critic of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan for its cost and reliability implications, will step down at the end of this month. Moeller, a Republican, joined FERC in 2006, nominated by President George W. Bush. Obama re-nominated him [...]The post Moeller To Step Down By October-End appeared first on POWER Magazine.

India and 73 other countries submitted their carbon emission reduction targets for 2025 and 2030—or Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)—ahead of the deadline last week, with just two months remaining until talks to confront climate change are due to begin in Paris. The United Nations (UN) has so far received 120 separate pledges covering 147 [...]The post Coal-Dependent India Announces Lofty, Costly Climate Action Goals appeared first on POWER Magazine.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and DTE Energy announced plans to explore advancing the detailed design of the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). According to GEH, the ESBWR is the world’s safest approved nuclear reactor design based on core damage frequency. The reactor has advanced passive safety systems, and is designed to cool itself [...]The post GE Hitachi’s ESBWR Nuclear Reactor Gains Some Industry Support appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Battery energy storage has exploded in deployment over the past several years, but the majority of it by capacity, especially in North America, is deployed at grid scale. That may be a problem, because a new study from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) suggests the greatest value to the system lies with behind-the-meter batteries—distributing battery [...]The post Behind-the-Meter Batteries Can Provide the Greatest Value, Study Says appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Xcel Energy said on Oct. 2 that the company would accelerate its transition from coal power to cleaner energy sources by retiring two units at its Sherburne County Generating Plant (Sherco) in Becker, Minn. The decision is part of the company’s strategy to cut carbon emissions 60% by 2030. The Sherco plant is Xcel’s largest [...]The post Xcel to Retire Two Units at Its Largest Coal-Fired Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Oct. 1 released the final version of new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone, cutting the current limit of 75 ppb to 70 ppb. The move sets the stage for a battle with Congress, the states, and a range of industries that have warned the new ozone [...]The post EPA Issues Final NAAQS Ozone Rule at 70 ppb [UPDATED] appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post THE BIG PICTURE: Clean Power Plan Targets for Better and Worse appeared first on POWER Magazine.

After years of stressing the conventional virtues of geothermal power production—reliable, baseload renewable energy from geological sources—the geothermal industry and the U.S. government are looking at ways technology can change the hot rocks game and give a boost to an often-overlooked resource. Legendary venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who made a pile of money in information [...]The post Geothermal Energy: Is New Technology Resetting the Agenda? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

By now, power industry watchers are familiar with how U.S. interests are reacting to the Environmental Protection Agency’s final release on August 3 of the Clean Power Plan. But what about the rest of the world—especially Europe, which has long been seen as taking a stronger stand on greenhouse gas emissions? Some key European officials [...]The post Europeans Praise the Clean Power Plan While Yawning in Reaction appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Utility-scale energy storage in the form of pumped water storage has a long history. One of the oldest U.S. plants found itself in need of an upgrade after 40 years of service. Having the right equipment for the job is proving to be essential. With the current power market challenges and increasing amounts of variable [...]The post Ludington Pumped Storage Plant Increases Efficiency to Provide Greater Grid Support appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Despite media headlines and coal industry hand-wringing, reports of coal’s death have been greatly exaggerated, to adapt Mark Twain’s famous (but misquoted) comment. What’s more, some of the coal sector’s current suffering is the consequence of self-inflicted wounds. Throughout the dog days of summer, the financial pages in dozens of U.S. newspapers have run headlines [...]The post The Shifting Fates of Coal Markets, Coal Mining, and Coal Power appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Hydropower is booming, but unless you live in China, Latin America, or Africa, you may have missed it. Global installed capacity of hydroelectric generation has grown by more than 25% over the past decadeThe post Hydropower Innovations Make Some Noise appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Though newer distributed generation options like microturbines, solar, and batteries have grabbed the headlines, diesel remains the go-to option because of its established technology and reliability. But growing competition and new regulations are threatening its traditional role. Here’s what diesel is doing to stay relevant. If you pay attention to nothing but the headlines in [...]The post Diesel Gensets Aim at the Future appeared first on POWER Magazine.

If you’re looking to generate distributed power with gas, your options are broader than ever, with a range of efficient, clean-burning technologies to chose from. Knowing which option is the right one depends on a balance of site constraints, fuel supplies, and environmental oversight. When California State University San Marcos (CSUSM), a 14,000-student university north [...]The post Gas-Fired DG Showdown: Microturbines, Fuel Cells, or Reciprocating Engines? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Rooftops with arrays of tiny wind-powered microturbines and hydro microturbines generating power as water flows through municipal drinking water systems or the outflow of municipal sewage treatment systems? They’re real. For many in the electric power business, the term “microturbine” conjures up images of small, gas-fired machines, a fad a decade ago that never caught [...]The post Outside-the-Box Renewable Energy Microturbines appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Alliant Energy and its co-owners are investing $900 million to modernize the Columbia Energy Center with a new suite of air quality control equipment and plant improvements that will increase its output and efficiency while reducing emissions. The plant makeover ensures its continued operation for decades to come. In 2009, Wisconsin Power and Light Co., [...]The post TOP PLANT: Columbia Energy Center, Portage, Wisconsin appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized revisions to technology-based effluent limitations guidelines and standards, setting the first federal limits on the levels of toxic metals in wastewater discharges from steam electric power plants. The new rule sets stringent new requirements for the discharge of arsenic, mercury, selenium, and nitrogen in wastewater streams from flue [...]The post EPA Finalizes Steam Electric Power Plant Effluent Guidelines appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Georgia Power plans to close all 29 of its coal ash ponds to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) December 2014–finalized rule and forthcoming guidelines governing effluent limitations. The Southern Co. subsidiary will consult with state regulators, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the Georgia Public Service Commission, to develop and finalize the plan within [...]The post Georgia Power to Close All Coal Ash Ponds in Response to EPA CCR Rule appeared first on POWER Magazine.

An old saying often attributed to Mark Twain is, “Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.” Listening to the conflicting information presented by a variety of senators during a hearing on Capitol Hill Sept. 29, one has to wonder if Twain was covering a Senate hearing when he penned the phrase. The only witness at the [...]The post Senators Cite Conflicting Polls and Studies During Environmental Hearing appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Before the official start of its Minds + Machines event in San Francisco this week, GE announced the launch of its “Digital Power Plant” during a briefing for the trade press. A formal announcement was to follow in the afternoon. Dick Ayres, general manager of software solutions, explained that the company’s Predix platform launches today [...]The post GE Announces Digital Power Plant as Component of the Industrial Internet appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Duke Energy announced on Sept. 29 that it had agreed to pay a $7 million fine to resolve all groundwater issues with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) relating to its 14 facilities in the state. The settlement comes after Duke appealed a proposed $25.1 million fine the NCDEQ levied in March. The [...]The post Duke Reaches Final Settlement with North Carolina on Coal Ash appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The nation’s nuclear fleet has performed impressively through the first eight months of 2015. Plant outages averaged less than 3% of total U.S. nuclear capacity during the all-important peak summer season this year—from June through August. The result is far better than even the lowest range of data from any of the past five years. [...]The post U.S. Nuclear Plants Are Operating Better than Ever appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In its latest effort to ram down carbon emissions and address air pollution, China will strictly limit public financing to coal and other high-carbon projects and begin a national program in 2017 to cap and trade greenhouse gas emissions. The country’s emission trading system will cover power generation, steel, cement, and other key sectors. China [...]The post China to Limit Support for High-Carbon Projects, Begin Nationwide Carbon Cap-and-Trade by 2017 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In presentations to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the nation’s regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) on Sept. 17 outlined measures they are taking to prevent issues if faced with extreme weather this winter. The measures are to prevent widespread generation outages as occurred during the Jan. 6–7, 2014, polar vortex. [...]The post ISOs, RTOs Outline Winterization Efforts appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced on Sept. 21 that it has begun a special inspection at the Callaway nuclear plant in Fulton, Mo., to investigate the failure of three of four control valves that regulate water flow to the plant’s steam generators. The review follows a reactor trip that occurred on August 11. According [...]The post NRC Investigates Control Valve Failures at Callaway Nuclear Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Another coal plant in the heart of coal country is shutting down after Owensboro Municipal Utilities, Kentucky’s largest municipal electric retailer, said it would retire Unit 1 of the Elmer Smith Power Plant in Owensboro some time between 2019 and 2020. The 163-MW Unit 1 opened in 1964. The larger 282-MW Unit 2, which came [...]The post Another Kentucky Coal Plant Shutting Down appeared first on POWER Magazine.