The first generation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies could increase wholesale power prices by 70% to 80%, but second generation technologies could halve those costs, an Energy Department official told lawmakers at a House hearing on Tuesday. “I continue to believe that coal is actually a required part of a vibrant American economy—part […]

While other companies contemplate early retirement for some nuclear plants due to economic woes, DTE Electric Co. is working to bump up the capacity of its nuclear unit. On Feb. 10, the company received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to increase the generating capacity of the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant by 19 […]

Coal Power Stay Connected Current Issue | Find a Job | Post a Job Duke’s Dan River Station Suffers Coal Ash Spill [UPDATED] 02.04.2014 | Thomas Overton [Update Feb. 10] Duke Energy workers have succeeded in permanently stopping the leak from its coal ash pond at the Dan River Steam Station, the company reported on […]

“It’s as if the government—the [Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)] and the [Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)]—is trying to regulate the nuclear energy industry out of business, just like it’s been trying to regulate fossil fuels out of business,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), during the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works’ eighth NRC oversight […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported on Feb. 4 that total releases of toxic chemicals decreased 12%, while toxic air releases were down 8% in its annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) report. The data—from 2012—was compiled from 21,024 facilities that are required to report to TRI. Of that total, only 582 of the facilities fall […]

The 35th Annual Energy Generation Conference (EGC) held in Bismarck, N.D., Jan. 28–30, highlighted the importance of North Dakota to national discussions of energy policy. The opening session focused on the oil and natural gas boom currently taking place in the state. The Bakken shale play is expected to produce over one million barrels of […]

Big Rivers Electric Corp.—a member-owned, not-for-profit, generation and transmission cooperative serving western Kentucky—plans to idle two of its coal-fired power plants following the loss of its largest industrial load. The D.B. Wilson Station, a 417-MW plant located in Centertown, Ky., will idle on Feb. 1, barring a miracle. Big Rivers simply doesn’t need the power […]

Alabama Power Co., a subsidiary of Southern Co., has applied for air permits that would authorize the company to retrofit four coal-fired electric generating units, enabling them to add the capability to burn natural gas as a primary fuel. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management gave public notice of the application on Jan. 8. The […]

Officials from Wolf Creek Generating Station, a 1,200-MW nuclear plant located northeast of Burlington, Kan., met with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Jan. 22 to review actions the company has taken in response to the NRC’s issuance of a chilling effects letter on Aug. 19, 2013. The NRC defines a “chilled work environment” as […]

A former chemistry manager at a nuclear power facility was fined $500 and sentenced to 18 months’ probation on Jan. 16 for engaging in deliberate misconduct in connection with a matter regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Daniel Wilson pleaded guilty to felony charges of fabricating chemical test results regarding diesel fuel used to […]

A new bill authored by state Sen. James Merritt, R-Indianapolis, is designed to promote nuclear power development in Indiana, which doesn’t currently have any operating nuclear power plants. Senate Bill 302 provides that projects involving the construction of nuclear energy production or generating facilities qualify for the financial incentives available for clean energy projects. Current […]

With 16 reactors providing roughly 18% of the UK’s electricity needs, nuclear power is a vital part of the country’s energy supply. The trouble is that all but one of the aging reactors is expected to be permanently shutdown within the next 12 years. Recent developments, however, indicate that there is no reason for the […]

Important process variables that affect unit efficiency were reviewed in Part 1 of this two-part report. Many of those process parameters were also identified as related to boiler air in-leakage.  These stealthy combustion losses are difficult to identify or locate yet have a significant effect on boiler combustion efficiency. Keeping your plant operating at or near […]

Coal Power Stay Connected Current Issue | Find a Job | Post a Job Five Energy-Saving Tips for Compressed Air Systems 01.15.2014 | Aaron Larson Compressed air is vitally important to all power plants. Although in some cases it is used simply for convenience, such as when operating certain pneumatic tools, in other cases, compressed […]

Brayton Point’s non-price retirement (NPR) request was rejected in a Dec. 20 letter from ISO New England Inc. (ISO-NE) to EquiPower Resources Corp., owner of the 1530-MW fossil-fueled power station located in Somerset, Mass. The NPR had been filed on Oct. 6, 2013, which triggered a regional system assessment by ISO-NE. The review found that […]

The Don A. Campbell geothermal power plant—a 16-MW base load complex located in Mineral County, Nev.—began full capacity operation on Dec. 6, 2013. The plant, named after the geologist who discovered the resource, is supplying electricity to Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) under a Power Purchase Agreement. SCPPA, in turn, resells the power to […]

A large part of the central and eastern U.S. was hit with some of the coldest weather in decades on Jan. 6 and 7. A polar vortex—a large low-pressure area that normally spins in central parts of Canada circulating air up through the North Pole—dislodged and came down into the mid-section of the U.S. With […]

Eleven new wind turbines have been added at the La Ventosa wind power complex in Juchitán de Zaragoza, Oaxaca, Mexico, raising the total capacity to 102 MW. Iberdrola, owner of the wind farm, has utilized Gamesa technology exclusively at all of its installations in Mexico. In this instance, 2-MW G80 wind turbines, standing 78-meters (256-feet) […]

Arizona Public Service (APS) has purchased Southern California Edison’s (SCE’s) ownership share in the Four Corners Power Plant Units 4 and 5. The two units—located on Navajo land in Fruitland, N.M.—generate a combined 1,540 MW. Ownership had previously been split between six companies, with SCE owning the largest portion (48%) and APS owning 15% prior […]

The acquisition of Sherritt International’s Prairie and Mountain coal mining operations will push Westmoreland Coal Co. well into the top 10 of North American coal producers. The purchase helps Westmoreland diversify its assets. As the oldest independent coal company in the U.S., it has established mining operations in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Texas. The […]

JSC Rusatom Overseas and Fennovoima have signed a plant supply contract to construct a nuclear plant of the AES-2006 pressurized water reactor design (Figure 1) in northern Finland, the companies announced on Dec. 21. 1. The AES-2006 is the latest upgrade to the Russian VVER unit. Currently, 18 VVER units operate in European Union countries. […]

Demolition specialists imploded the H.F. Lee Steam Plant stacks on Dec. 20, changing the landscape of Wayne County, N.C., forever. The 382-MW facility began commercial operation in 1951 and was retired on Sept. 15, 2012. The plant, originally known as the Goldsboro Plant, was renamed in 1964 after Harry Fitzhugh Lee, a district manager who […]

Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc. (MISO), the regional transmission organization (RTO) for a large portion of the Midwestern U.S., completed the integration of a four-state region of the electric grid across the South into its existing footprint in the Midwest at midnight, Dec. 18. The change in control, or cutover, was two years in the making, with […]

Dominion announced that it has placed into service a group of solar generation projects in Marion County, Ind., that will generate up to 28.6 MW of electricity. The three projects, known as Indy Solar I, II, and III, were acquired in July 2013 from Sunrise Energy Ventures LLC, based in Minnetonka, Minn. All three projects […]

MidAmerican Energy Co. is already the top ranked, rate-regulated utility owner of wind generation in the U.S. and with 448 new wind turbines being added in Iowa—the largest wind expansion in the state’s history—its hold on that position will be further strengthened. In November, the company announced it had reached an agreement with Highland Wind […]

Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 2 was taken offline the morning of Dec. 9 due to a transformer fire in the site switchyard. Operators at the plant declared an “Unusual Event” at 8 a.m. CST and notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of the situation. An Unusual Event is the lowest of four nuclear emergency classifications […]

Duke Energy submitted its decommissioning plan to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) this week for the company’s retired Crystal River nuclear plant in Florida. The 860-MW plant, located about 85 miles north of Tampa, went into service on March 13, 1977. It has been shutdown since September 2009 when engineers discovered a delamination, or separation […]

With an electrical efficiency of 45.95%, the Lünen hard-coal-fired power plant, located on the Datteln-Hamm Canal in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany, is Europe’s cleanest and most efficient. The 750-MW unit is owned by Trianel Kohlkraftwerk Lünen GmbH und Co. KG and has been online in continuous operation since Dec. 1. The plant had […]

AREVA announced that on Nov. 29 the first steam production was achieved at the concentrated solar power (CSP) plant it is constructing near Dhursar in the state of Rajasthan, India. The plant is Asia’s largest CSP installation and will be operated by Reliance Power. The 100-MW plant was approved for carbon credits in July under […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has extended the expiration date of the construction permit for the unfinished Unit 2 at the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant (WBN) to Sept. 30, 2016. WBN is located about 10 miles south of Spring City, Tenn., and is owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). TVA requested the extension […]