POWER Magazine

While GE-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) confirmed it hasn’t made a formal decision to proceed with licensing or construction of a laser enrichment facility at Paducah, Ky., the Department of Energy (DOE) announced it has agreed to sell depleted uranium to the company over a 40-year period to help produce nuclear power plant fuel. The […]The post Paducah Laser Nuclear Enrichment Facility Gets Fuel but Not Formal Construction Decision appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Vietnamese government has canceled the Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Plant project, after cost estimates for the plant nearly doubled, according to the Hanoi-based news agency dtinews. Le Hong Tinh, vice chairman of the National Assembly Committee for Science, Technology, and Environment, in an interview conducted with dtinews on November 10, said costs for the […]The post Vietnam Kills Nuclear Power Project Due to High Costs appeared first on POWER Magazine.

FirstEnergy Corp.—one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric utilities, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York—has made the strategic decision to exit the competitive power business. “We have made our decision that over the next 12 to 18 months we’re going to exit competitive generation and become a fully […]The post FirstEnergy Wants Out of Competitive Power Markets appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Donald Trump’s stunning victory in the U.S. presidential election portends enormous changes in U.S. energy and environmental policy, and a nearly complete turnover of the men and women who will administer that policy for the next four years. The post Election Roundup: What Trump’s Win Means for Energy and Environment appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The November 8 election yielded surprising results for controversial energy-related measures in three states. In Florida, voters rejected Amendment 1, a measure backed by utilities to curb the expansion of resident-owned solar rooftop installations. In Washington, the nation’s first state attempt to impose a carbon tax on fossil fuels and power generated from fossil fuels fell […]The post UPDATED: Unexpected Outcomes for Energy Measures on State Ballots appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Russia and China have agreed to expand cooperation on nuclear energy, with Russia to build another two reactors in China in addition to expanding cooperation on fast-reactor technology and floating nuclear plants, Russia’s state-owned nuclear firm Rosatom said in a November 8 statement. The two nations, which share a 4,200-kilometer-long border, have worked together on […]The post Russia and China Expand Nuclear Cooperation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Southern Co. has once again moved back the in-service date for the Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant under construction in Mississippi, this time to December 31, the company said in its quarterly report released on November 4. Though the plant has experienced ongoing construction delays for a variety of reasons, the most […]The post More Delays at Kemper as $250 Million Deadline Looms appeared first on POWER Magazine.

TransCanada—a leading North American energy company—has struck deals to sell its U.S. Northeast Power business. LS Power will acquire three principally natural gas–fired power plants and a wind farm from TransCanada, while ArcLight Capital Partners will buy 13 hydropower facilities located in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. “The sale of our merchant U.S. Northeast Power […]The post Two Deals Shake Up Northeastern Power Landscape appeared first on POWER Magazine.

GE-HItachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Southern Nuclear Energy will collaborate to study the development and licensing of GEH’s PRISM sodium-cooled fast reactor design. Southern Nuclear Development, a subsidiary of Southern Co. company Southern Nuclear Operating Co. signed a memorandum of understanding to study the high-energy neutron reactor design, as well as to work together toward […]The post GE-Hitachi and Southern Nuclear to Pair on Fast Reactor Design Advancement appeared first on POWER Magazine.

For several years, states in the northeastern U.S. have been in the midst of a major shift away from coal and nuclear power toward natural gas. As aging coal plants shut down on environmental concerns, and several of the region’s nuclear plants have been prematurely retired or faced with challenging economics, developers of natural gas–fired […]The post New England’s Drive to Boost Gas Supplies Hits Roadblock appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Although many observers consider Elon Musk—the visionary entrepreneur who leads Tesla Motors and SpaceX—to be a disruptive force threatening the conventional power industry, he believes power companies have a bright future, if his goal to expand the use of electric cars and install vast numbers of rooftop solar systems is achieved. Speaking during a presentation […]The post Elon Musk: “The Future Is Bright for Utilities” appeared first on POWER Magazine.

China is on an epic build-out of its nuclear generating capacity, and developing indigenous expertise and technology is central to that goal. The first completed plant leveraging the nation’s CPR-1000 designThe post TOP PLANT: Ningde Nuclear Power Plant, Fujian Province, China appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Owner/operator: Exelon Generation and PSEG Nuclear/Exelon Generation When decision-makers choose to increase the maximum output of a nuclear power plant through an uprate, it sets in motion a process that can take many years and countless man-hours to complete. The success of Peach Bottom station’s extended power uprate project shows that all the long hours […]The post TOP PLANT: Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Delta, Pennsylvania appeared first on POWER Magazine.

To power generation professionals, the word “cavitation” typically has negative connotations, but a new process offers a way to control this normally destructive effect and deploy it as a cost-effective life-extension technique. As operators of commercial nuclear energy facilities consider subsequent license renewals and life extensions, finding new ways to safely maintain reactor components remains […]The post Ultra-High-Pressure Cavitation Peening Offers New Way to Maintain Components in Operational Nuclear Reactors appeared first on POWER Magazine.

China, which continues to build more new coal plants than any other nation, is also on the forefront of deploying the most advanced coal plant technologies. However, these advanced units could faceThe post Pushing the Ultra Envelope: Advanced Power Technologies Are Mainstream in China appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technology is taking a growing share of the international coal-fired power generation market, particularly in the Pacific Rim and China. Indigenous designs are also growing inThe post Advanced CFB Technology Gains Global Market Share appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The world’s first wind farms are reaching the end of their expected lifetimes. As they become outdated, or just inefficient, many developers are considering repowering. Here’s a look at where repowering activity is happening the most and why. Since the world’s first wind turbine used to convert wind energy into electricity was built by Professor […]The post Wind Turbine Repowering Is on the Horizon appeared first on POWER Magazine.

As installed capacity in the U.S. continues its breakneck growth, the solar photovoltaic sector is poised for another leap forward with a variety of new technologies—if increasingly ill-suited regulations and rate designs can be updated to keep pace. The global solar market has moved beyond its early, uncertain days. The luxury of behaving like start-ups […]The post The State of Solar: New Tech, Outdated Rate Designs appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Bark beetles have discovered the good life in California’s overgrown forests. A combination of extended drought and mild winters has led to an enormous infestation of these pests. They have killed over 66The post Meet the Beetles appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Compliance with one of the latest federal environmental regulations, the Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG), can be both costly and complicated. A newly available option offers features and capabilities that may make it a more attractive alternative than conventional approaches. In September 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a new rule affecting flue gas […]The post Next-Generation FGD Wastewater Bioreactor Technology Introduced for ELG Compliance appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a request for information to assess the future role of private consolidated interim storage facilities in the agency’s plans for an integrated nuclear waste management system. The DOE noted in an October 27 notice published in the Federal Register that since it unveiled a strategy for the […]The post DOE Seeks More Information on Private Interim Nuclear Waste Storage Facilities appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In yet another sign of China’s overcapacity problem, especially in its coal sector, the central government has reportedly ordered a halt to construction on at least 30 coal-fired plants totaling 17 GW of capacity. A continuing slowdown in China’s economy has thrown its power-sector planning into chaos, as estimates of future demand growth made in […]The post China Stops Construction on 17 GW of Coal Capacity appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Idaho Power—co-owner with NV Energy of the two-unit 522-MW North Valmy Generating Station near Battle Mountain, Nevada—filed a request with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC) last week seeking to accelerate the depreciable life of the power plant from 2031 for Unit 1 and 2035 for Unit 2 to 2025 for both units. In Idaho […]The post Idaho Power Pursues Accelerated Depreciation of North Valmy Coal Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

FuelCell Energy and ExxonMobil will test a novel fuel cell carbon capture technology at a Southern Co. 2.7-GW coal- and gas-fired power plant in Alabama, the companies said on October 27. The technology under development by the companies uses carbonate fuel cells to concentrate and capture carbon dioxide streams from power plants. A pilot plant […]The post Plant Barry to Pilot Fuel Cell Carbon Capture from Coal and Gas Generation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will provide $3.6 billion in loans to fund 82 projects in 31 states to finance new transmission and distribution lines, smart grid technologies, renewable projects, environmental improvements, and energy efficiency. The agency said on October 26 that the loans will be provided through the Electric Program of […]The post USDA to Provide $3.6B in Loans for Rural Electric Projects appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Nuclear power’s future—and its much-needed contribution to U.S. decarbonization efforts—may be hampered if eight pressing issues aren’t addressed within the next five years, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said at a recent event held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The issues Moniz outlined in his keynote speech at a six-hour event titled […]The post Moniz: Eight Critical U.S. Nuclear Power Issues That Should Be Addressed Now appeared first on POWER Magazine.

After more than 43 years of service, the Fort Calhoun Station—a single-unit 478-MW nuclear power plant, which was the smallest operating reactor in the U.S. fleet—came offline for the final time at 12:55 p.m. CDT on October 24, 2016. Some said the mood at the plant was subdued, but professional. Many workers and other plant […]The post Sweet Dreams Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) Tanner’s Creek Plant in Lawrenceburg, Ind., concluded six decades of operation last May as the company moved to retire a group of its oldest plants. Closure of the four-unit, 995-MW coal-fired facility (Figure), once the most efficient steam plant in the world, was a blow to the southwestern Indiana communities around […]The post Second Life for an Indiana Coal Plant—as an Inland Port appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A group of generators including Dynegy and NRG Energy filed suit in federal court on October 19 seeking to block an incentive program that would help three New York nuclear power plants remain economic over the next decade. An August decision by the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) approving New York’s Clean Energy Standard included a provision requiring […]The post Generators Sue to Block Lifeline for New York Nuclear Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

German utility RWE warned energy markets this week that low water levels on the Rhine River may affect the delivery of hard coal to some of its plants.The post Low River Water Could Cause Problems for German Coal Power Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Although Duke Energy maintains that “only very minor erosion of material” migrated from an inactive coal ash basin on the H.F. Lee Power Plant site, several environmental advocacy groups are concerned that the spill has dirtied North Carolina’s Neuse River. “This spill is easily visible to anyone in a boat. The area looks like a […]The post H.F. Lee Coal Ash Spill Puts Duke Energy Under the Spotlight Again appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Watts Bar Unit 2 began commercial operation on October 19.The post It’s Official: Watts Bar Unit 2 Begins Commercial Operation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In a major development for a novel carbon capture technology, developers are preparing to commission a 1-MWt oxy-fired pressurized fluidized bed combustion (oxy-PFBC) pilot test facility in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its Canadian counterpart, Natural Resources Canada, commemorated the facility’s construction and commissioning in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 18 […]The post Pilot Test of Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion Carbon Capture Technology Kicks Off in Canada appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A federal court has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to file a plan and schedule to evaluate the consequences of its air pollution rules on jobs, finding for a giant coal company that is suing the agency for an alleged “war on coal” waged over the past five years. In an October 17 summary […]The post Court Orders EPA to Evaluate Coal Industry Job Losses Related to Air Pollution Rules appeared first on POWER Magazine.

An explosion reported on October 13 at Luminant’s coal-fired Oak Grove Power Plant located near Franklin, Texas, was from a blown transformer, the company said. Robertson County dispatchers received a call from the power plant at 6:08 p.m., reporting that there had been an explosion at the plant “as a result of an electrical issue.” […]The post Explosion Reported at Oak Grove Power Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will award up to $80 million to a 10-MWe pilot project that seeks to advance the development and commercialization of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) Brayton power cycles. The plant will be managed by three research entities: the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), and […]The post Supercritical CO2 Brayton Power Cycle Pilot Plant Bolstered with $80M in Federal Funding appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A surprising win in a Japanese prefectural gubernatorial race by the anti-nuclear, Communist Party–backed candidate Ryuichi Yoneyama—a 49-year-old doctor who has never held public office—makes the restart of the 8-GW Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant a much taller task for owner Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO). The election of Yoneyama (Figure 1) is also a setback for […]The post Election Result Throws Restart of World’s Largest Nuclear Plant into Question appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) voted unanimously to support Xcel Energy’s latest long-range plan, which will transform the company’s energy fleet. Xcel expects to more than double its renewable energy portfolio as a result, delivering greater than 60% carbon-free energy to its Upper Midwest (Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) customers by […]The post MPUC Decision Spells End for Two Coal Units at Xcel’s Largest Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Six northeastern states are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force it to act on controlling air pollution blowing in from coal-fired power plants located in nine Midwestern and southern states. New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont on October 7 filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the […]The post Northeastern States File Suit to Force EPA Action on Ozone Transport Region Expansion appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Mississippi Power’s integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant in Kemper County, Miss., on October 12 has begun generating its first power using a combination of syngas (produced from locally mined lignite) and natural gas. The milestone is a major one, said Thomas Fanning, CEO of Mississippi Power’s parent company Southern Co. “After decades of research […]The post Kemper County IGCC Plant Generates First Syngas-Fueled Power appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Academics at the University of Sheffield—a public research university in the UK—have begun two new carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, searching for cheaper methods of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil-fueled power plants. The work is being funded by the European Commission’s (EC’s) Horizon 2020 Low Carbon Energy program. Solvents Could Be Game-Changing The […]The post New Technology Offers Hope for Cost-Effective Carbon Capture and Storage Systems appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Dreams of a future of round-the-clock dispatchable solar energy may have become reality at the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada.The post Crescent Dunes: 24 Hours on the Sun appeared first on POWER Magazine.

GE announced on October 11 that it would purchase Denmark-based LM Wind Power—the world’s largest designer and independent supplier of wind turbine rotor blades. GE will acquire the company from Doughty Hanson (a London-based private equity firm that has owned LM Wind Power since 2001) for $1.65 billion. The deal is seen as a way […]The post GE Is Acquiring World’s Largest Wind Turbine Blade Manufacturer appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In a push to focus on regulated markets in the U.S., Duke Energy has completed its exit of international business in deals valued at $2.4 billion. The company announced on October 10 that it reached an agreement to sell all businesses in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Argentina to investment firm I Squared […]The post Duke Exits Latin American Power Sector to Focus on U.S. Regulated Business appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Mississippi Power’s integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant under construction in Kemper County, Miss., will likely be placed in service by November 30, a month later than anticipated. The delay will be costly. Mississippi Power reached a new milestone on September 16, announcing that it had started producing syngas using the second gasifier—gasifier “A”—at […]The post Delayed Again, Kemper County IGCC Plant to Start Operations in a Month appeared first on POWER Magazine.

As of October 5, the Paris Agreement—the first global agreement on efforts to limit and mitigate the effects of climate change—had been ratified by a sufficient number of countries, representing at least 55% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to bring the agreement into force.The post Paris Agreement Meets Final Requirement to Enter into Force appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) will close the 620-MW Hudson Generation Station in Jersey City, N.J., and the 632-MW Mercer Generation Station in Hamilton Township, N.J., on June 1, 2017. “The sustained low prices of natural gas have put economic pressure on these plants for some time. In that context, we could not justify the […]The post PSEG Will Retire Two New Jersey Coal Power Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Big or small? Centralized or distributed? The answer, at least for energy storage, may be both, but what that future may be is unclear, if early discussions at the Energy Storage North America (ESNA) conference in San Diego October 4–6 are anything to go by. Speaking on the first night’s opening keynote panel, Colin Cushnie, […]The post Differing Visions for Energy Storage appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has reached another milestone in its effort to bring Watts Bar Unit 2 into commercial operation: The unit completed its final power ascension test—a 50% load rejection from full power—and safely returned to full power on September 30. The testing had been halted on August 30 due to a switchyard […]The post Watts Bar Unit 2 Nuclear Plant Completes Power Ascension Testing appeared first on POWER Magazine.