POWER Magazine

A state court ordered Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to turn over more than 2,500 emails his office withheld from open records requests relating to communications with coal, oil, and gas corporations. The order came a day before the Senate is poised to confirm him as President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection […]The post Judge Orders Release of EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt’s Emails with Industry appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Security issues are second only to cost concerns when energy generators consider the risks related to implementing connected technology at their power plants, according to a February 15 poll of the audience at POWER’s Connected Plant Conference. However, continued improvements in available cybersecurity systems are quickly reducing those risks, Stan Schneider, CEO of Real-Time Innovations, […]The post Cybersecurity a Main Concern for Connected Plants, but Tech is Improving appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The utility owners of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Arizona have voted to shut down the 2,250-MW coal-fired power plant in December 2019. The decision to close the plant on tribal land near Page along the border with Utah was based on the “rapidly changing economics of the energy industry,” which has seen natural […]The post Utility Owners Vote to Shut Down 2.2-GW Navajo Generating Station appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A large swath of the central U.S. set a North American wind penetration record of 52.1% early in the morning on February 12, the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) reported. The regional transmission organization (RTO), whose footprint spans 550,000 square miles from the Canadian border in Montana and North Dakota to parts of New Mexico, Texas, […]The post SPP Becomes First U.S. Grid Operator to Record Greater Than 50% Wind Penetration appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A group of power companies have filed a federal lawsuit against the State of Illinois, challenging a recently enacted law that creates subsidies for Exelon’s uneconomic nuclear power plants. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed on February 14 in the Northern District of Illinois are the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), Dynegy, Eastern Generation, NRG […]The post Generators Sue to Block Illinois Nuclear Subsidies appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Remote and online monitoring of plant performance parameters is an important step toward a fully connected plant, but alone it’s not enough to exploit the real value in the Industrial Internet of Things, speakers at POWER’s inaugural Connected Plant Conference on February 15 in Dallas said. Randy Bickford, president and CTO of software firm Expert […]The post Don’t Just Connect Your Plant—You Need to Model It, Experts Say appeared first on POWER Magazine.

An explosion at EDF Energy’s Flamanville nuclear power station in France has been controlled, the utility said. The blast, which rocked Unit 1 at the nuclear plant on France’s northern coast at around 9:45 a.m. local time on February 9, stemmed from a fire originating from a fan located under the generator, EDF Energy said […]The post Explosion Rocks Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant in France appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Former President Barack Obama’s regulation-heavy Climate Action Plan was inefficient and should be replaced with a carbon tax, a group of senior Republican statesmen told White House officials during a February 8 meeting. The new pitch is laid out in a paper by the Climate Leadership Council — whose membership includes former GOP Treasury Secretaries […]The post GOP Statesmen Pitch Carbon Tax at White House appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) in North America is about to have its year, Julio Friedmann, senior adviser for energy innovation at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said during the February 8 Global CCS Institute’s annual Americas Forum. “We are just now like fully deployed and hopefully that will finally quash […]The post 2017 Will be the Year for North American CCS, Expert Says appeared first on POWER Magazine.

President Donald Trump’s drive to roll back federal regulations, especially from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will not be simple or smooth, a veteran Washington, D.C., attorney said at a utility conference on February 8. Speaking at the Energy, Utility, and Environment Conference (EUEC) in San Diego, Calif., Thomas Lorenzen, a partner with D.C.–based law […]The post Trump’s Regulatory Rollback May Hit Roadblocks appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Denmark’s DONG Energy is the latest in a string of power companies that are shunning the use of coal in future generation fleets. The company said on February 8 it will stop burning coal completely by 2023 in its power stations, replacing it with sustainable biomass. The measure is part of a company-wide transformation towards […]The post DONG Energy to Phase Out Coal Use in Power Plant Fleet appeared first on POWER Magazine.

As House Republicans issued a bill to dismantle the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week, a House committee held a hearing on how to make the agency “great again,” and former EPA employees expressed serious concerns about the looming nomination of Scott Pruitt to head the agency. The bill (H.R. 861), which seeks to […]The post Republicans Take Aim at EPA in Science Hearing, New Bill to Abolish Agency appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Pairing energy storage with rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has been widely touted as the path for greater deployment of renewable energy, but a new study from researchers at the University of Texas suggests doing so may actually increase overall energy consumption and emissions. The study, “The Impacts of Storing Solar Energy in the Home […]The post Solar-Plus-Storage Could Increase Consumption and Emissions, Study Suggests appeared first on POWER Magazine.

What do we know as of February 1 about key Trump appointees responsible for administering White House policies affecting the power generation industry? Not much. As the Trump administration settles in, how his teams at energy and environment agencies will implement his policy agenda remains unclear, as does his agenda. At the end of January, […]The post As Trump Takes Over, Who Wields Power? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are digging their heels in, refusing to allow a vote on President Donald Trump’s nominee for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. Pruitt’s nomination was due to come to a vote February 1, but when it came time to gavel […]The post Dems Boycott Pruitt Committee Vote, Perry, Zinke Proceed to Full Senate appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In a step that it hopes will be emulated by developers of new natural gas generation facilities in the U.S., NTE Energy has voluntarily committed to drastically slash greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the proposed 550-MW Killingly Energy Center facility in Connecticut—and to shut it down by 2050 unless it operates with no net GHG […]The post Developer of 550-MW Gas Power Plant Commits to Voluntary GHG Emission Reductions appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The post THE BIG PICTURE: The Nuclear Fuel Cycle appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The United States has just joined the offshore wind community with the commissioning of the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island. As this community continues to grow, any decision of a common law court that provides guidance on the interpretation of contractual terms, or of the application of established common law to this new […]The post “Fitness for Purpose” Obligations for the Offshore Wind Sector appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A variety of approaches have been used to capture new benefits from combined heat and power (CHP) facilities. Some owners have transitioned to new fuels or added renewables to the mix, while others haveThe post CHP 2.0: New Fuels and New Business Models appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Complying with reliability standards requires considerable resource planning. The tools and suggestions provided here may help engineers conform to new generator relay loadability requirements. But complianceThe post Start Generator Relay Loadability Study Now for Timely NERC PRC-025-1 Compliance appeared first on POWER Magazine.

As concerns about grid security increase globally, it’s a good time to review the history, scope, and effect of North American electric system reliability standards. As the threat landscape changes, standards alone are not enough. Mandatory. That’s the key word in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) where grid security is concerned. Within two […]The post Where Are We After 10 Years of Bulk Electric System Reliability Standards? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Uranium oxide, the basic fuel for nuclear power plants, has recently sold at prices not seen in the past 13 years. In fact, the price is less than the cost of production in many cases. That could be a problem, because little is being done to increase the fuel supply, even though the world is […]The post Global Nuclear Fuel Update appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In recent years, coal power generators have faced increasing difficulty predicting annual fuel requirements due to more cycling and low-load operation. That presents problems for the people negotiating fuel contracts. Not all mining companies are amenable to contract changes, but some unique solutions have been developed. Remember when coal-fired power plants supplied baseload power 24/7/365 […]The post Coal Fuel Contracts: A Moving Target appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Combined heat and power (CHP) has long been a popular option for industrial self-generation, but new technologies and business partnerships are taking the sector well beyond the traditional boilers and diesel gensets. The Erving Paper Mill in the western Massachusetts town of the same name has operated for more than 100 years. Once part of […]The post New Options in Industrial CHP Boost Efficiency and Returns appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Pipes, valves, turbines, pumps, condensers, and other mechanical components in the radiologically controlled area (RCA, or hot side) of a nuclear power generation facility require routine inspection, testingThe post Proper Scaffold Access Plan Helps Reduce Radiation Exposure appeared first on POWER Magazine.

When it comes to running a power plant, it’s easy to take the little things for granted. Yet it’s the little things that often have the greatest impact on plant managers’ ability to deliver reliable service for their customers. Take power, for instance. Plant managers are focused on bringing power to their customers. But are […]The post Counterfeit Parts: Why Authenticity Is Imperative appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Solar roadways—roads that incorporate embedded photovoltaic cells—have piqued interest for several years. A few examples are finally being rolled out, though their practical applications are still beingThe post New Solar Roads Unveiled appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Bill Gates is taking on another global challenge: “Reliable, affordable energy for the world.” On December 11, the richest man in the world announced yet another commitment to effecting radical changeThe post Energy R&D Is Essential to Any Great Country appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Heads of some of the nation’s energy trade groups are looking forward to a rollback of regulations under the Trump administration, they said January 31 during a panel discussion at the United States Energy Association’s annual State of the Energy Industry Forum. President and CEO of the National Mining Association, Hal Quinn, perhaps the most […]The post Energy Industries Look Forward to Regulatory Relief under Trump appeared first on POWER Magazine.

An explosion and fire at the Delta Energy Center—an 835-MW combined cycle power plant located in Pittsburg, Calif.—forced the station offline on January 29. A spokesperson for Calpine Corp., the plant owner, told POWER that the fire was contained to the facility and that there was no danger to the neighboring community. No injuries occurred […]The post Explosion and Fire Forces Gas-Fueled Combined Cycle Power Plant Offline appeared first on POWER Magazine.

American Electric Power (AEP) has sold four competitive natural gas and coal power plants‚ a total of 5.2 GW, and plans to invest the proceeds from the sale in its regulated business. AEP completed the sale of the plants to Lightstone Generation LLC, a joint venture of Blackstone and an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners […]The post AEP Sells Competitive Natural Gas, Coal Power Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The board of French utility EDF has approved a compensation package for the closure of France’s oldest nuclear reactor, the 39-year-old Fessenheim nuclear plant, but it delayed making a final decision on the closure until after the presidential election this spring. Closure of the 1,800-MW Fessenheim plant in northeastern France, near the German border, has […]The post Retirement Process for Oldest French Nuclear Reactor Stalled Until After Elections appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Though Southern California weathered last summer without major natural gas supply constraints that were feared as a result of the 2015–2016 leak from the Aliso Canyon storage field, a blast of cold weather this week has forced Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) to withdraw stored gas from the still-damaged facility to maintain reliability. The limited […]The post Southern California Braces for Possible Natural Gas Constraints appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Having been denied a request for an extended schedule, petitioners in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the merits of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for coal-fired power plants late on January 23 filed a series of briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The briefs filed […]The post Petitioners File Briefs in NSPS Case Days after Change of Administration appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A crane boom collapsed under heavy winds at the Takahama nuclear power plant in Japan, landing on the Unit 2 reactor building and fuel handling building at around 9:50 p.m. local time on January 20. Plant operator, Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO), reported that no injuries and no adverse environmental effects resulted from the accident. […]The post Crane Collapse at Nuclear Power Plant Adds to Safety Concerns appeared first on POWER Magazine.

As part of its ongoing drive to exit competitive power markets, FirstEnergy Corp. said on January 23 that it has agreed to sell four natural gas–fired power plants in Pennsylvania and its competitive share of a pumped-storage hydroelectric plant in Virginia to private equity firm LS Power Equity Partners III. FirstEnergy announced last year that […]The post FirstEnergy Unloading Five Plants in Virginia and Pennsylvania appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Trump administration will scrap executive actions to curb U.S. carbon pollution from power plants and other climate measures outlined in the Obama administration’s landmark Climate Action Plan, according to an “energy plan” published by President Donald Trump’s White House minutes after he was inaugurated January 20. Under the White House’s plan, the Trump administration […]The post Trump Moves on Plans to Scrap Climate Initiatives appeared first on POWER Magazine.

While admitting no wrongdoing or liability, Duke Energy reached an agreement with the U.S. government to resolve a lawsuit related to its acquisition of a Florida gas-fired power plant. The plant in question—Osprey Energy Center (Figure 1)—is a 537-MW two-unit combined cycle facility located in Auburndale, Fla., that Duke Energy purchased from Calpine Construction Finance […]The post Duke Energy Settles Florida Power Plant Lawsuit appeared first on POWER Magazine.

China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has ordered the cessation or postponement of 104 coal-fired power projects in 13 provinces scattered around the country. The body responsible for formulating and implementing energy development plans and industrial policies issued the order on January 16 to achieve goals to cap national installed coal capacity at 1,100 GW as […]The post China to Halt or Cancel More Than 100 Coal-Fired Projects appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Amazon’s latest wind farm in coastal North Carolina has completed construction and is weeks from beginning operations—and state legislators have just asked the incoming Trump administration to shut it down. The $400 million, 208-MW, 104-turbine project, built by Apex Renewables near Elizabeth City and backed by financing from Iberdrola Renewables, is supposed to power Amazon’s […]The post State Opposition to Wind Power Spikes as Trump Prepares to Take Office appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Homer City Generation, operator of a three-unit, 1,884-MW coal-fired generating station about 45 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Pa., has initiated a voluntary, pre-packaged Chapter 11 case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The financial restructuring process is expected to eliminate more than $600 million in existing secured debt from Homer City’s […]The post Struggling to Compete with Natural Gas, Pennsylvania Coal Plant Files for Bankruptcy appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A bill to protect U.S. power grid from cyber-attacks reintroduced by members of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee urges a “retro” approach to cybersecurity, including replacing computer-connected operating systems with analog and human-operated systems. U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Angus King (I-Maine) on January 10 renewed their support of the Securing Energy Infrastructure Act, […]The post UPDATED: Senators Renew Push for Return to Analog in Grid Cybersecurity Bill appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Although AREVA recently disclosed that 17 U.S. nuclear power plant units have installed components that were forged at the Le Creusot facility in France—a forge that has been under scrutiny due to questionable quality assurance documentation and carbon segregation irregularities in some parts manufactured at the site—the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) does not consider the […]The post 17 U.S. Nuclear Units Have Components Forged at Site Under Investigation appeared first on POWER Magazine.