http://www.powermag.com POWER Mag en-us 2012 Fri, 3 Feb 2012 21:59:11 EST A new report commissioned by the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE)—an alliance of about 70 solar companies whose rallying message declares global competition has made solar energy a reality around the world—finds that if the U.S. government imposes a 100% tariff on imported solar PV cells and modules from China, the nation could see as many as 50,000 net lost jobs over the next three years.... http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/4364.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST Citing newly finalized and proposed environmental regulations that could make costs uncertain, FirstEnergy Corp. on Thursday said it would shutter six older coal-fired power plants with capacities totaling 2,689 MW in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland by September. The same uncertainties prompted a major backer of a $2 billion coal-fired power plant planned for Washington County in Georgia to pull its funding.... http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/4365.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Tuesday urged owners of 62 nuclear power plants in the Central and Eastern U.S.—facilities housing 96 of the nation’s 104 commercial nuclear reactors—to reevaluate seismic hazards using a new seismic model and information from a recent report.... http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/4366.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST A failed electrical insulator at a switchyard at Exelon Generation Co.’s two-unit Byron nuclear plant in Lisle, Ill., has been blamed for the loss of offsite power on Monday morning that automatically shut down Unit 2 and forced Exelon to declare an “Unusual Event.”... http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/4367.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST The 15-member Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) appointed by Energy Secretary Steven Chu in January 2010 to provide comprehensive recommendations for a long-term solution to managing and disposing the nation’s spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste released its much-anticipated final report last week.... http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/4368.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST A federal district court judge on Tuesday ruled that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), must complete an environmental impact study (EIS) before any approvals or other major federal action can be taken on the $2.8 billion expansion at Sunflower Electric Power Corp.’s coal plant in Holcombe, Kansas. The ruling may delay construction of the 875-MW plant, a politically controversial project in the Kansas Legislature.... http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/4369.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST A high-voltage electricity panel arc reportedly sparked a brief fire at the 100-MW Nacogdoches Power, LLC biomass power plant under construction in Sacul, Texas, and sent two workers to hospital in critical condition on Tuesday.... http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/4370.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Monday released a white paper that seeks comment on its proposals to “provide a fair, timely and transparent process” for FERC to advise the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on requests for extension of time to comply with its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule.... http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/4371.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST A federal judge last week ruled that Entergy’s Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant—Vermont’s only reactor—can remain operating beyond a state-mandated shutdown deadline. State laws that would force the closure of the 40-year-old plant, which recently garnered a 20-year operating license extension from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), are preempted by federal law, the judge said.... http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/4351.html Wed, 25 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST In response to a recent decision by a federal court judge that reinstates rules stayed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in early 2011 and that govern hazardous air pollutant standards for industrial boilers and commercial and industrial solid waste incinerators—so-called Boiler MACT rules—EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the agency was committed not to enforce those standards until April, when a new revised suite of boiler standards will be finalized.... http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/4352.html Wed, 25 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST