Turkey, a country that has long vied to become part of the European Union, is finally part of its grid, at least. The nation’s power system was synchronized with Continental Europe’s interconnected grid this September, marking the beginning of a year-long trial period in which security and performance will be monitored.

In August, researchers from the University of Cincinnati who are working on creating an artificial foam that could absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the flue gas at power plants and convert it into biofuel won the grand prize at the 2010 Earth Awards in London.

TVA’s 550-MW Combined-Cycle Plant Starts Operations. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on Sept. 30 officially began operating the Lagoon Creek Combined Cycle Plant, a 550-MW natural gas–fired plant, near Brownsville, Tenn. The federal utility said that the new plant, the first new power generation source built by TVA since 2002, would provide power during days […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved an updated “waste confidence” rule in mid-September that reflects the agency’s confidence that spent nuclear fuel (SNF) can be safely stored for at least 60 years beyond the closing date of any U.S. nuclear plant. Approval of this rule was required before the NRC can license any new reactors that will be required to store SNF on site indefinitely.

EPRI recently issued a handbook on nuclear spent fuel storage that examines regulatory trends affecting used fuel storage, describes available dry storage technologies, reviews planning considerations for spent fuel storage installations, and discusses technical issues affecting dry storage.

The Chemical Safety Board (CSB)—an independent federal agency charged with investigating serious chemical accidents such as equipment failure, as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems—recently released multiple reports that should be made part of every power plant’s safety training program.

Is a paradigm shift—an economic and engineering earthquake—in nuclear power plant design on the horizon? For most of the past 50 years, the mantra in planning new nuclear plants has been “bigger is better.” But a growing number of nuclear power engineers and designers are contemplating a world where small is beautiful.

Fannie Flagg’s fictional Aunt Elner Shimfissle reminds us of the power and the glory of electricity, a lesson we shall not forget.

The CSB has made urgent recommendations to the NFPA and the International Code Council to prohibit indoor purging and require companies and installers to purge flammable fuel gases to safe locations outdoors, away from workers and ignition sources.

The EUCG Nuclear Committee’s primary goal is to optimize the costs and reliability performance of participating plants by publishing for its members a comprehensive database of performance metrics and best practices derived through surveys of its membership. Earlier reports examined staffing and performance data. In this exclusive EUCG report, we examine nuclear plant capital requirements.

“Smart Power Generation at UCSD” explains how the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) is maximizing the value of combined heat and power. However, like any other grid-controlling entity large or small, the campus has to match generation and load. Its two Solar Turbines gas turbines operate in baseload mode 24/7 while the cogeneration side of the plant maximizes the value of “waste” heat and electricity that isn’t needed to serve immediate load by generating steam and chilled water for campus heating and cooling.

Regulations being proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could significantly affect the bulk power system’s reliability, a new report from the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) shows. The quasi-public agency recommends that the proposed rules provide sufficient time to procure replacement resources that would offset capacity reductions expected as a result of unit retirements and deratings from environmental control retrofits.

E.ON last week shelved plans to build its controversial Kingsnorth coal-fired plant in Kent, and it withdrew from the UK’s government competition to build the first of four planned large-scale pilot power plants to demonstrate carbon capture and storage (CCS). The company said the project could not meet “competition timescales.”

The Department of the Interior (DOI) on Monday approved the Blythe Solar Power Project—the largest solar energy project ever proposed to be built on public lands in the U.S.

Qinshan Phase II Unit 3—the first power station built during China’s 11th five-year plan period and the country’s 13th nuclear unit—started commercial operation last week. The unit is the second Chinese reactor to start up this year, following Ling Ao II, which began commercial operation this September.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Savannah River Nuclear Solution, a partnership comprising Fluor, Northrop Grumman, and Honeywell, have agreed to explore the potential of deploying a prototype of the Generation IV PRISM reactor at a proposed demonstration of small modular reactor technologies at the Energy Department’s Savannah River site.

Électricité de France (EDF) is to acquire Constellation Energy’s 50% share in the companies’ joint venture, UniStar, for $140 million under an agreement reached on Tuesday.

The Department of Energy (DOE) teamed with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), and the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Tuesday to announce eight joint research awards totaling nearly $5 million to support siting and permitting of offshore energy facilities. The awards include projects harvesting power generated from offshore wind and waves, tides, currents, and ocean thermal gradients.

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., Oct. 25, 2010 – Over the years, presidents have appointed energy secretaries with a variety of backgrounds: policy wonk, business person, political apparatchik, former elected official, military officer, even dentist. None have exactly worked out. Scratch that. None have worked out at all. The latest incarnation at the fortress-like Forrestal […]

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) on Thursday issued a recommendation to the electric power industry providing sensitive information about the so-called “AURORA vulnerability”—gaps in critical infrastructure protection concerning large motors and generators connected to the bulk power system.

The fight to keep the Yucca Mountain alive intensified last week as members of Congress demanded justification for an order by Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chair Gregory Jaczko that seeks to halt review of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) application to build the long-term nuclear waste repository in Nevada.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) on Friday said it would conduct a legal and technical audit of cases concerning Duke Energy Indiana’s $3 billion Edwardsport gasification facility in which a former administrative law judge had presided.

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday offered a $350 million conditional loan guarantee to develop the One Nevada Transmission Line (ON Line), a proposed 500-kV link that will run 235 miles and transmit 600 MW of mostly renewable energy. The project is the first transmission line to receive a federal loan guarantee.

A new $5 billion transmission project proposed by Trans-Elect and sponsored by Google, Good Energies, and Marubeni Corp. seeks to connect 6,000 MW from wind farms installed up to 20 miles off the Mid-Atlantic coast to the national grid.

Constellation Energy last week offered to sell its 50% stake in the UniStar joint venture to partner Électricité de France (EDF) for $1, plus $117 million in reimbursement costs—a price well below market value—in order to further the project and ensure future energy supplies for Maryland.

Nebraska-based Tenaska on Monday said it would sell a portion of interests in five power plants to Japanese energy firms Tyr Energy and Chubu Electric.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week proposed requiring the Four Corners Power Plant near Farmington, N.M., to install and operate selective catalytic reduction (SCR) controls on all five of the 2,040-MW coal-fired facility’s units. The measure would cut the plant’s nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter emissions by nearly 80%, the agency said.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a notice of violation to Portland Gas and Electric (PGE), alleging that the company’s coal-fired Boardman facility in Oregon violated the Clean Air Act, including New Source Performance Standards and operating permit requirements.

The Department of Energy (DOE) last week announced a conditional commitment to provide a partial guarantee for a $1.3 billion loan to the Caithness Shepherds Flat wind project, an 845-MW wind farm planned for eastern Oregon that it is calling “the world’s largest wind farm.”

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an arm of the Commerce Department designated by Congress to coordinate development of communication protocols, last week told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) it had identified five “foundational” sets of standards for smart grid interoperability and cybersecurity.