France’s Constitutional Council, the nation’s highest constitutional authority, last week annulled a tax on carbon emissions hailed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, saying that the tax that was due to become effective Jan. 1 would have allowed for too many exemptions.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) last week put 31 renewable energy projects on a list for expedited processing so they could receive incentive funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act before its December 2010 deadline.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Monday issued a final rule to provide alternate requirements for protection against pressurized thermal shock events in nuclear power plant reactor vessels.

President Barack Obama will honor 22 mentors and 80 educators across the country for their efforts to mentor minorities studying science and engineering at a White House reception today. Ben Flores, PhD, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), will be a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (STEM).

After years of decline amid rising prices and fears of scarcity, natural gas as a power-generating fuel is on a rebound in the U.S., driven by new finds in Texas and the Mid-Atlantic states. These news stories highlight the trend.

Is management a science? An enormous intellectual construct developed over the past century—by business schools, consultancies, and major staff components of business firms and government agencies—is dedicated to that proposition.

David Letterman has entertained us with his "Late Show" Top Ten list since 1985. In keeping with this issue’s theme of forecasting the future of the power industry, I’m going to step out with my top 10 list of what to expect in the next 12 months. 10. New Nuclear Will Progress Slowly. I don’t […]

Natural gas has reemerged as the choice for new electric generation, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corp. Does this raise new reliability issues?

News this past November that Australian company Cougar Energy had begun developing a pilot project to generate power from coal still underground has reignited interest in the 100-year-old alternative energy technology. The company’s planned A$8 million program — expected to be started in the first quarter of 2010 — will be conducted 10 kilometers south of Kingaroy, in southern Queensland. If it is successful, it could lead to the establishment of a 400-MW baseload power station, Cougar Energy officials say.

An economist scratches his head in consternation as he looks at the discussion about climate change and energy conservation. Take his quiz to learn why commonly accepted assumptions make poor economic sense.

Today’s power plant owners face many challenges, including the aging and degradation of equipment. Steam turbines at times may be condemned due to operating inefficiency or rising vibration levels. In such cases the options may be few because the turbine may require a full or partial rotor section replacement. The good news is that a rotor section replacement can be performed in a relatively short time, depending upon the original rotor configuration. Here’s one example.

The U.S. isn’t producing the workforce it needs for the future of energy generation. And forget about “green jobs,” an undefined concept.

Last fall, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a rule creating a mandatory national system for reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The agency requires regulated entities to begin monitoring GHG emissions January 1, 2010, and to submit their first annual emissions reports March 31, 2011. This is a key step toward federal regulation of GHG emissions (a step that may have major implications regarding "major sources" and permitting requirements for new sources). It’s also an opportunity for power producers to implement their inventory management plans.

News items of interest to power generation professionals.

“Cloud” computing has become the latest buzz in the information technology world. What does it mean? Is it real? And how can it affect your business world?

"It’s déjà vu all over again," said Yogi Berra. The Hall of Fame catcher could easily have been predicting the coming resurgence of natural gas – fired generation. Yes, a few more coal plants will be completed this year, but don’t expect any new plant announcements. A couple of nuclear plants may actually break ground, but don’t hold your breath. Many more wind turbines will dot the landscape as renewable portfolio standards dictate resource planning, but their peak generation contribution will be small. The dash for gas in the U.S. has begun, again.

Japan began operating a nuclear power reactor using plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) as fuel for the first time last October. About 16 MOX-containing fuel assemblies were loaded during a scheduled outage to replace a portion of the 193 fuel assemblies at the No. 3 reactor at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Genkai nuclear power plant. The utility eventually plans to triple the number of fuel assemblies at the 1,180-MW reactor in Saga Prefecture to 48. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry conducted its final inspection of the reactor and issued its certification on Dec. 2.

It’s the little stuff that can lead to big stuff, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission tells FirstEnergy in relation to its Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Ohio.

There will be no shortage of important issues to keep utility executives and their staffs busy throughout 2010. Few of these will be surprises, although a number will emerge quickly and assume larger-than-life significance. The confluence of the great recession and the sturm und drang of environmental legislation will create the liveliest of the debates, but more subtle trends will drive additional stressors. The results of Black & Veatch’s 2009 fourth annual industry strategic directions survey can offer guidance as to how these issues will affect the industry in the coming year.

China’s largest solar panel maker, Suntech Power, in mid-November announced plans to open a photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Ariz., in the third quarter of 2010. Roger Efrid, Suntech’s managing director, was widely quoted as saying that the company — which holds 12% of U.S. market share and is looking to reach 20% by 2010 — chose to establish a plant nearer to customers. This was smart business, even though panels would be made from solar cells imported from China, because solar panels are heavy, he told The New York Times: "As the price of solar panels has reduced dramatically in the last 12 months, the shipping costs have become a larger and larger portion of the overall cost of getting these projects to market."

Power traders need to get faster, more accurate information on how markets are working and how they are swinging. They should look to telecommunications and manufacturing markets for solutions.

A number of factors are coalescing to create the most hospitable climate for smart grid development activities that has yet been seen in the U.S. Here’s a look at those elements and at the different models and motivations for smart grid project development across the country.

The European carbon trading system experience suggests that North American generators should expect severely altered coal-fired power plant operating profiles if cap-and-trade legislation becomes law. In a groundbreaking study, Solomon Associates predicts the reduction in mean run time that North American generators should expect. The trends outlined in this study provide an overview of some of the broad challenges facing generators in moving to a carbon-constrained market environment.

Successful testing of a new refractory lining material developed by the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) could lead to higher reliability and improved economics of gasification technology.

What’s the real “tragedy of the commons?” It is legal, regulatory, cultural, or political? And is there is way out?

Xcel Energy’s SmartGridCity enterprise in Boulder, Colo., is one of the most talked-about smart grid projects. Here’s what some Boulder utility customers are saying about it.

As the economy begins to grow again, the banking industry continues to stabilize, and lawmakers work on finalizing climate change legislation, the decisions made in 2010 will lay the foundation for the power industry for decades to come.

Researchers from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) say they have developed a new type of nuclear fuel for use in next-generation high-temperature gas reactors that produces less waste — a major step forward for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP).

Financial derivatives make sense for the electricity business, providing protection against price swings, and don’t require additional regulation.

The U.S. isn’t the only country evaluating and implementing elements of smart grid technology. In fact, it could be argued that other nations are much farther along the path to a comprehensive, technically advanced system for integrating renewables, managing load, and creating a more flexible power grid.