In a major speech setting out the future direction of the UK’s energy policy, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd announced plans to restrict the use of the country’s coal-fired power stations by 2023 and close all of the facilities by 2025. “Frankly, it cannot be satisfactory for an advanced economy like the UK […]

Several experts, meeting in Washington on Nov. 6 for the White House Summit on Nuclear Energy, agreed that more nuclear power is needed if the world hopes to minimize the effects of climate change and limit the increase in average temperatures around the globe. The Two-Degree-C Scenario William D. Magwood IV, director-general of the Organisation […]

Coal Power   Current Issue | Find a Job | Post a Job Load Cycling and Boiler Metals: How to Save Your Power Plant As many coal-fired power plants designed for baseload service are asked to cycle, unforeseen stresses have been introduced to boiler pressure parts. Understanding the effects and implementing mitigation strategies could prevent […]

Entergy Corp. said on Nov. 2 that it would retire the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Scriba, N.Y., at the end of its current fuel cycle due to the facility’s “continued deteriorating economics.” The plant—located in Oswego County on the southeast shore of Lake Ontario—is an 838-MW boiling water reactor commissioned in July […]

Some critters may be cute, but when jellyfish gum up power plant cooling systems; birds, rats, snakes, or squirrels cause electrical shorts; or invasive mollusk species obstruct hydropower plant pipes, losses can be steep. Here’s how some power plant operators are dealing with their critter troubles. There are countless cases of wildlife entering power plant […]

There has been a major shake up in the contractors involved in both of the new AP1000 nuclear power plant projects under construction in the U.S. Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC, a group company of Toshiba Corp., announced on Oct. 27 that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire CB&I Stone & Webster Inc., the nuclear […]

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an operating license for a new nuclear power plant. The 40-year license was issued to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the long-overdue Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor on Oct. 22. The Watts Bar plant is located about 10 miles […]

Seven power producers have joined 74 other companies in signing on to the Obama administration’s American Business Act on Climate initiative, which is aimed at rallying U.S. companies behind the need for action on climate change ahead of international climate talks in Paris next month. The seven are Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE)—parent company of PacifiCorp, […]

OKG, owner and operator of the three-unit Oskarshamn nuclear power plant on Sweden’s east coast, announced on Oct. 14 that it would permanently shut down Units 1 and 2 at the facility, while continuing to operate the larger and newer Unit 3. OKG’s majority owner E.ON is driving the decision. The German-based company has been […]

Within the space of less than a week, four deals have been announced that will result in ownership changes at five power plants in the U.S. Northeast. Calpine Buys Another Gas Plant Calpine Corp. announced on Oct. 13 that it has agreed to acquire the Granite Ridge Energy Center, a 745-MW combined cycle gas-fired power […]