A U.S. District judge on Tuesday allowed a lawsuit filed by environmental groups that challenges a permit for Southwestern Electric Power Co.’s (SWEPCO’s) John W. Turk plant to stand.

The FIFA World Cup 2010—a month-long soccer tournament that is arguably the biggest sports event on the planet—officially kicked off on Friday in South Africa. As grid operators and utilities all over the globe braced for power consumption surges, some governments went to lengths to enable fans to enjoy uninterrupted coverage of the matches.

Burning forest trees for power can result in an initial “carbon debt” because it releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per unit of energy than oil, coal, or natural gas, before it reduces carbon dioxide, sometimes over decades, according to a six-month-long study commissioned by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER).

Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on Tuesday released the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) economic analysis of their American Power Act (APA), a bill that would establish a multi-sector cap-and-trade program. The analysis finds that the bill would keep allowance prices low while keeping household costs to a minimum.

Last week the U.S. Senate defeated by a 47–53 vote a resolution submitted by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that disapproved of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) finding that greenhouse gas emissions threaten public health and welfare.

[Editor’s note: This commentary first appeared in The Energy Daily, our sister publication on June 14. Llewellyn King was the founder and, for many years, publisher, of The Energy Daily and I worked for him for a decade as a reporter. We often disagreed on policy and politics, but I completely agree with this take […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., June 11. 2010 — Their lips say “yes”, but their eyes say “no”. That’s my take on the offer of “practical” energy legislation this week by Senate Republicans. Yes, I’m cynical about the strategy and tactics of the GOP embodied in this legislative proposal (as far as I know, it […]

A new rule for sulfur dioxide (SO₂) set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday sets a new one-hour health standard, changes monitoring requirements, and modifies the Air Quality Index. Full implementation of revised primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for SO₂ by 2020 could cost the electric power industry nearly $700 million a year, the agency said.

A report released last week by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identifies cyber attacks, pandemics, and electromagnetic disturbances as “high-impact, low-frequency” (HILF) risks that could significantly affect the reliability of the North American bulk power system.

The ability to detect and track the movement of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in underground geologic storage reservoirs—an important component of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology—has been successfully demonstrated at a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) New Mexico test site.

Geothermal developer AltaRock Energy and Davenport Newberry, a company specializing in the development and management of geothermal opportunities, announced plans this week to conduct a demonstration of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) technology at a site located near Bend, Ore.

The U.S. market for small wind turbines expanded by 15% in 2009 and accounted for about half of the units sold globally, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

PPL Corp.’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Luzerne County, Pa., is the nation’s largest boiling water reactor (BWR) in terms of thermal power and generating capacity, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The plant’s Unit 1, which recently completed equipment and system upgrades during a recent scheduled refueling and maintenance outage, boasts 3,952 MWth and 1,300 MWe when operating at full capacity.

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., 6 June 2010 — I’m offering a challenge and opportunity to those of you who believe that the science of global warming is settled: take a look at an informed contrary view. Last month, I wrote in this blog about noted physicist Will Happer, and his proposal to create a […]

Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) and the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) on Tuesday asked the Arkansas Supreme Court for a rehearing, after the high court last month overturned a 2007 permit awarded by the PSC to the utility’s 600-MW John W. Turk, Jr. power plant. SWEPCO said that it plans to continue construction of the $1.7 billion project—the nation’s first ultrasupercritical coal plant—to meet its commitments to serve the company’s customers in three states.

CMS Energy subsidiary Consumers Energy last week announced that it is deferring the development of an 830-MW coal-fired power plant planned for Hampton Township. State regulators had last year approved an air permit for the $2 billion-plus project on the condition that it use stringent emission controls and that it was ready for carbon capture and sequestration when the technology was feasible.

Mississippi Power Co. on Thursday said it would proceed with plans to build a 582-MW integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant as proposed in Kemper County after the Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) relaxed restrictions it had placed on the project.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday dismissed without rehearing, on procedural grounds, a controversial climate change “public nuisance” case in which 14 individuals had filed a class-action lawsuit against insurance, coal, and chemical companies, seeking relief for property damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina.

Depressed power demand due to a slow economic recovery will continue to be a major driver affecting bulk power system reliability during the summer months, the North American Reliability Corp. (NERC) said last week in its annual summer reliability assessment report.

Every power engineer must have a firm grasp of the rudiments of how fuel is processed to produce electricity in a power generation facility. With this article, we continue our three-part series on the essentials of recovering heat from flue gas to dry and process coal, with the goal of improving overall plant operating efficiency.

Soldiers could one day carry 600-W power plants on their backs, or set up arrays of up to 20 kW in streams deeper than 4 feet, if a prototype being developed by California-based Bourne Energy comes to fruition.

Rental Solutions & Services (RSS), a global provider of rental power and cooling, recently launched its latest product offering, temporary desalination, or mobile water. The company, which recently opened a new office in Cyprus to serve the Mediterranean market, says its rental desalination, or mobile water technology has various applications, especially where freshwater is scarce […]

I recently had the privilege of moderating the Power Industry Executive Roundtable, part of the annual ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition opening ceremonies. Usually, the power industry executives have predictable views of important issues, but not this year.

AES Secures PPA with Electricity Vietnam for 1,200-MW Coal Plant. AES Corp. subsidiary AES VCM Mong Duong Power Co. Ltd. in April signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with state power company Electricity Vietnam (EVN) for Mong Duong II, a proposed 1,200-MW coal-fired power plant. In support of this agreement, AES VCM has also entered […]

Caterpillar introduced the G3512E, an advanced natural gas–fueled generator set that was designed for maximum efficiency in extended-duty distributed generation and combined heat and power (CHP) applications. Driven by a Caterpillar electronically controlled, lean-burn gaseous-fueled reciprocating engine, the G3512E generator set offers high power density and fuel efficiency while maintaining tight NOx control. It provides […]

A recent trend in nuclear power plant upgrades has been the replacement of the motor-generator (MG) sets that drive the reactor circulating pumps with variable-frequency drives (VFD). Siemens’ first application of VFDs in this industry began in 2000 with an installation of six VFDs at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant. The use of the VFD continues to expand, and upgrades were recently completed at several U.S. plants, including the Hatch Nuclear Plant in Georgia.

ESAB Cutting Systems launched the Falcon FXA, a small gantry-cutting machine that is designed for improved cutting performance. The machine features heavy-duty gantry, rack-and-pinion drives, digital AC drive amplifiers, and AC brushless motors. It comes with three tools—two oxy-fuel torches and one plasma—and covers a 6-inch by 12-inch working area. These process tools allow the […]

Since the collapse of Enron and the wholesale power markets, the vitality of competition in retail markets for electricity has waned in most regions of the U.S., with the exception of Texas. At KEMA’s 21st annual Executive Forum in late March, 300 attendees converged on Dallas to discuss and debate the dynamics and changes now facing residential and commercial customers in most regions of the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 1927, KEMA is a global provider of business and technical consulting, operational support, measurement and inspection, and testing and certification for the energy and utility industry. A summary of the many presentations follows.

Dresser Waukesha is a familiar name associated with large, gas-fueled stationary engines for power generation and gas compression applications around the world. Each new project location presents a unique set of site variables that must be taken into consideration—such as fuel quality, air/fuel ratio, temperature, humidity, altitude, load, and exhaust after-treatment—when providing the customer a meaningful performance guarantee. To fully characterize every engine option with such a wide range of fuel types and quality and in widely varying environmental conditions across the global is an impossible chore.

An oil skimmer could simplify your plant water maintenance activiites.