First NC solar farms announced by Duke Energy Renewables in 2016 Duke Energy Renewables now owns 27 solar facilities in North Carolina, representing 280 MW and an investment of about $725 million since 2011 Duke Energy Renewables today announced it has acquired two 5-megawatt (MW) solar projects in Eastern North Carolina from ET Capital, a […]

Coal Power   Current Issue | Find a Job | Post a Job Is a New Hybrid System the Cure for Coal Power’s Ills? Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have combined two proven technologies to create a new hybrid system that could produce electricity, using coal as a fuel source, at nearly […]

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have combined two proven technologies to create a new hybrid system that could produce electricity, using coal as a fuel source, at nearly double the efficiency of conventional coal-fired power plants. The concept—proposed by MIT doctoral student Katherine Ong and Ronald C. Crane (1972) Professor Ahmed Ghoniem—combines […]

GE supports the Ministry of Electricity’s efforts to complete the maintenance and upgrade power plants before the summer of 2016 GE completes the upgrades at the Banha power plant, increasing output up to 7% GE (NYSE: GE) today announced that it has completed the upgrade of the Banha power plant, located at the Qalyubia Governorate, […]

The owner and management company of the Berkshire Power Plant—a 252-MW natural gas–fired combined cycle plant located in Agawam, Mass.—agreed to plead guilty on March 30 to felony charges that the companies violated and conspired to violate the federal Clean Air Act. The indictments against Berkshire Power Co. (BPC), the owner of the plant, and […]

AREVA Inc. and NuScale Power announced today that the modified AREVA HTP-2 fuel design for NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) technology will be named NuFuel HTP2™. The announcement was made this week during NuScale’s tri-annual Advisory Board meeting (NuAB) in Corvallis, OR, and follows an agreement signed by the companies in December 2015 for AREVA […]

Wärtsilä will supply a 70 MW Smart Power Generation plant to Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd. (APGCL) in north-eastern India. The order includes seven Wärtsilä 34SG engines running on natural gas. The letter of award was issued in December 2015, and the power plant, delivered on a turn-key basis, is expected to be operational by […]

Steam turbine Genset will produce electricity and process steam for AKSA plant in the Turkish city of Yalova. Turkish company Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii A.Ş. (AKSA), the worlds biggest manufacturer of acrylic fibers, has placed an order with MAN Diesel & Turbo for the supply of a 99 MW steam turbine generator set. At the […]

While conducting a comprehensive inspection on more than 2,000 of the reactor’s removable insert liner bolts during a Unit 2 planned outage at the Indian Point nuclear power plant, engineers identified issues with approximately 11% of them, requiring further analysis. Some of the bolts—and the bars meant to hold them in place—were missing, while others […]

A diverse coalition of major investor-owned utilities, public power authorities, and one of the largest independent power producers, as well as a combination of cities and states, clean energy groups, and environmental groups, filed briefs with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan. The involved […]

“My sense as I speak to you here today is that nuclear energy is toast,” said New York Times Reporter Eduardo Porter, as he opened a panel discussion titled “Nuclear Energy and the Clean Energy Future” held at the New York University School of Law on March 23. “Despite the challenge from climate change that […]

South Africa’s National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) announced on March 15 that it has received two nuclear installation site license applications from Eskom Holdings, the only designated, cabinet-confirmed majority owner and operator of nuclear power plants in the country. The applications were for Thyspunt in the Eastern Cape and Duynefontein in the Western Cape. The Thyspunt […]

Duke Energy is testing a hybrid ultracapacitor-battery energy storage system (HESS) at its Rankin Substation in Gaston County, N.C., in an effort to find a more effective way to integrate renewable energy into its system. The project became operational in February, but there is still testing in progress to demonstrate the system’s multiple service applications. […]

Coal Power   Current Issue | Find a Job | Post a Job Zero-Discharge Pozzolanic Brine Solidification: Another Option for Treating FGD Wastewater In late 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published new regulations governing wastewater discharge from steam electric power plants. These new regulations, or effluent limitation guidelines&hellips; Read More   Advertisement Do […]

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected the plea of 20 states to stay the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule while the agency works to comply with a previous ruling. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette had requested the stay to pause any further action to implement the rule […]

Entergy Corp. announced on March 4 that three of its subsidiaries had closed on a transaction to purchase the 1,980-MW Union Power Station near El Dorado, Ark. The plant includes four combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) units, each rated at 495 MW. Each unit operates two GE 7-FA combustion turbines with inlet air fogging, two […]

The Oregon Senate passed a bill on March 2 that will require electric companies in the state to eliminate coal-fired resources from their electrical supplies by January 1, 2030. The bill—which passed in the senate by a 17–12 vote—had already been passed by the Oregon House of Representatives (38–20). It now heads to Gov. Kate […]

“The one thing that is most difficult to enhance is one of the most important components of a nuclear power plant and that is the people,” said William D. Magwood IV, director-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). Magwood’s comment came during a February 29 press conference releasing the […]

New reports released this week see big growth in renewables from the recently extended federal tax credits, but big uncertainty due to the possible end of the Clean Power Plan (CPP). New York-based consulting firm Rhodium Group says investment plans in the power sector will be radically different if the Clean Power Plan doesn’t happen. […]

The District of Columbia Public Service Commission (PSC) on Friday (Feb. 26) rejected a restructured $6.8 billion merger proposal between Exelon and local electric utility Pepco, but offered a counter proposal with conditions that the two companies are likely to approve easily, according to local opponents of the merger. The commission turned down the merger […]

Dynegy Inc. and Energy Capital Partners (ECP), through a newly formed joint venture, have agreed to acquire ENGIE’s U.S. fossil-fueled power generation portfolio, consisting of 8,731 MW of capacity located in the ERCOT, PJM, and ISO–New England transmission regions. The $3.3 billion deal was announced on February 25, with an expected closing date in the […]

Shortly after 4 p.m. on February 23, part of the boiler house at the Didcot A Power Station in Oxfordshire, UK, unexpectedly collapsed, killing one person. Three others are missing and feared dead. The plant—located about 55 miles west of London—was closed in March 2013 and was in the process of being demolished by Coleman […]

According to Steve Byrne, COO of South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. (SCE&G), 85% of the major equipment necessary to build V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 is onsite, and of the remaining components, a lot of them are physically constructed waiting to be transported or are already loaded on ships headed to South Carolina. […]

It’s looking less and less likely that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will ever finish construction as it was once envisioned for its Bellefonte Nuclear Plant. POWER confirmed through a media spokesperson that the TVA has notified federal authorities that it is withdrawing its application for two combined construction permits and operating licenses for Units […]

EDF Energy announced on February 16 that it is extending the closure dates for four of its nuclear plants in the UK. Heysham 1 and Hartlepool will be extended by five years to 2024, while Heysham 2 and Torness will be extended seven years to 2030. The decision follows extensive technical and safety reviews, according […]

Coal Power   Current Issue | Find a Job | Post a Job CHP and Other Technologies Could Breathe New Life into U.S. Coal-Fired Power Plants Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its “new source performance standard” on August 3, 2015, requiring new coal power plants in the U.S. to emit no more […]

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) issued a $6.6 million fine to Duke Energy on February 8 for environmental violations related to the February 2014 coal ash spill from the Dan River power plant near Eden, N.C. Although the fine is not insignificant, it pales in comparison to the $102 million the company […]

Entergy Corp.—owner and operator of the Indian Point nuclear power plant located in Buchanan, N.Y.—announced on February 6 that it had discovered elevated levels of tritium in samples from three of its groundwater monitoring wells at the facility. The samples were taken as part of the plants ongoing comprehensive groundwater-monitoring program. Although the company said […]

Reports out of Germany suggest that the city of Aachen plans to sue the Tihange nuclear power plant over what it claims is the plant’s failure to adequately address safety issues at the facility. Aachen—a city with roughly 250,000 people—is located about 71 km (44 miles) west of Cologne on Germany’s border with Belgium and […]

Richmond, Va.–based Dominion Resources announced on February 1 that it would add to its more than 12,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering, and storage pipeline, by acquiring Salt Lake City, Utah–headquartered Questar Corp. The $4.4 billion deal would pay Questar shareholders $25 per share of common stock, a 30% premium to the company’s volume-weighted […]