May 3, 2018 Facing a Supply Crunch, ERCOT to Revamp Reserve Margin Targets The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on April 30 updated its summer 2018 planning reserve margin to 11% based on resource updates, but it warned that the regional grid… Read More More Gas, Renewables in Dominion’s Future Dominion Energy plans to […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) over the past two weeks has made a string of funding announcements, including nearly a half-billion dollars of new investment in power-related initiatives. The funding backs advancements in cybersecurity, advanced nuclear, solar, bioenergy, fuel cells, geothermal, and energy storage. $25 Million for Cybersecurity.On April 16, the DOE’s Office of […]

  Despite the recent retirement of “blackstart” units, grid operators have sufficient resources to quickly restore systems in the event of widespread outages, suggests a new report by staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). The report—“FERC-NERC-Regional Entity Joint Review of Restoration and Recovery Plans”—released May […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an official timeline for rulemaking that would potentially revise the Obama administration’s 2015 effluent limitations guidelines and standards (ELGs) for steam electric power plants. In its May 2-released Final 2016 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan, the EPA said it will potentially revise the stringent Best Available Technology (BAT) effluent […]

A three-year-long initiative spearheaded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in collaboration with industry has yielded a blueprint that establishes best operational and safety practices and recommended technologies for flying commercial drones beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS). As part of the FAA’s 2015-chartered Pathfinder Initiative, the agency partnered with three private companies to […]

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on April 30 updated its summer 2018 planning reserve margin to 11% based on resource updates, but it warned that the regional grid serving most of Texas could still suffer rotating outages under extreme conditions. In its final Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) report for the upcoming […]

April 26, 2018 Report: Technology, Renewables Will Grow Turbine Market The growth in power generation from renewable energy sources, along with the continued shift from coal-fired generation to natural gas, is expected to drive the global market for turbines over… Read More Sponsored Content Microgrids have the Potential to Reduce Power Outages and Electric Costs […]

Despite pleas by environmental groups for more time to review recent dumps of groundwater monitoring data from power companies, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is forging ahead to finalize a proposed overhaul of the Obama administration’s 2015 final Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule. The EPA’s 45-day comment period for the agency’s March 1 proposed rule, […]

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is taking steps to more quickly enable flights of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) beyond visual line of the operator’s sight (BVLOS), though no changes are planned to a rule that governs visual line of sight in aircraft operations. The agency that is responsible for the safety of civil aviation under […]

Future regulatory actions issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will treat biomass from managed forests as carbon neutral when used for energy production at stationary sources, an agency policy statement declares. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who revealed the policy statement  on April 23 during a meeting with Georgia forestry leaders, also said the […]

April 19, 2018 Alarming Increase in Cybersecurity Threats Prompts Spate of Government Action Lawmakers, industry, and government entities, including the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), this week released a string of measures responding to mounting… Read More Sponsored Content Microgrids have the Potential to Reduce Power Outages […]

Lawmakers, industry, and government entities, including the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), this week released a string of measures responding to mounting cybersecurity attacks by state-sponsored actors. A Revised Cybersecurity Framework On April 16, the Commerce Department’s NIST, a federal standards laboratory, released an updated version of […]

Russian state-sponsored cyber actors are exploiting routers and other network infrastructure devices worldwide to conduct man-in-the-middle attacks that specifically target critical infrastructure providers and other sectors, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the FBI, and the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warned in a new joint technical alert. In the U.S. Computer Emergency […]

  Defense-in-depth is a concept that is already widely deployed by many organizations within their IT infrastructures. However, many organizations do not apply it to their industrial control system (ICS) operations, owing mostly to obscure protocols. But as IT and ICS architectures converge and high-profile cybersecurity incidents mount, a robust, holistic defense-in-depth solution may be […]

New Jersey’s Assembly and Senate in separate actions on April 12 passed bills to ensure continued operation of PSEG’s Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power plants. Lawmakers also passed bills to modify the state’s renewable portfolio standards and for support of a pilot offshore wind farm. Legislation (S-2313/A-3724) directing the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) […]

April 12, 2018 Under Competitive Pressure, Nuclear Industry Doing All It Can, NEI Head Says The nation’s paramount nuclear power trade group has launched a wide-ranging strategy to help generators stay profitable in tight markets, the head of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) told Wall… Read More Sponsored Content Are You Doing All You Can […]

The nation’s paramount nuclear power trade group has launched a wide-ranging strategy to help generators stay profitable in tight markets, the head of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) told Wall Street analysts on April 12. In an address broadcast on Facebook, Maria Korsnick, NEI president and CEO, said that nuclear plants that operate in competitive […]

New Jersey’s Assembly and Senate are both poised to vote on controversial bills that seek to subsidize the state’s nuclear power plants, modify the renewables portfolio standard, and support a pilot offshore wind farm. Lawmakers on April 12 could pass the package of bills, which includes S-2313, a bill directing the Board of Public Utilities […]

A showcase of winners of POWER magazine’s highest accolade over the past decade (2017 to 2006). If you think your plant or project compares to these winners, submit a nomination form for the 2017 Plant of the Year or Top Plant awards to POWER‘s editors before the April 13 deadline. POWER magazine, which turned 135 years old this year, […]

April 5, 2018 PJM: More Than 3,600 MW Will Retire in 2018 Data from regional transmission organization (RTO) PJM Interconnection shows about 630 MW of power generation will be taken offline in the grid operator’s territory in April, with more than 3,600… Read More Offshore Wind Surge Threatens Merchant Generator Profits Two recent project announcements […]

Two recent project announcements indicate that the U.S. offshore wind sector is burgeoning, bolstered by falling prices and ramped-up political support. A credit ratings agency warns, however, that the sector’s growth could increasingly pressure profit margins of merchant generators in New England, New York, and New Jersey. On March 14, Danish offshore giant Ørsted and […]

Even in the absence of climate policy, customer adoption of electric end-use technologies over the next 30 years is expected to spur steady growth in energy consumption, a new report assessing U.S. electrification from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) suggests. The April 3–released report, “U.S. National Electrification Assessment,” is based on findings by EPRI’s […]

FirstEnergy Corp.’s competitive arm FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) and several key subsidiaries, including FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. (FENOC), on March 31 sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. FirstEnergy said the move would facilitate an “orderly financial restructuring” and accelerate its strategy to become a fully regulated utility. FES—the parent company of FE Aircraft Leasing Corp., FirstEnergy Generation, […]

The generating fleets owned by some of the largest companies in the U.S. (ranked here by capacity in 2017) have transformed over the past four years, in some cases dramatically, as total revenues fluctuated. Sources: Fidelity Investments (revenue data standardized by S&P Capital IQ); EIA-860 detailed data; SEC 10-K filings, and company websites. —Copy and artwork by Sonal Patel, a […]

March 29, 2018 FirstEnergy Entreats DOE to Help Save Nuclear Plants A day after FirstEnergy Corp.’s competitive arm notified PJM Interconnection it would close four uneconomic nuclear units—a total of 4 GW—in Ohio and Pennsylvania between 2020 and 2021, it urged… Read More Minnesota May Be Next to Support Nuclear Plants Following the lead of […]

A day after FirstEnergy Corp.’s competitive arm notified PJM Interconnection it would close four uneconomic nuclear units—a total of 4 GW—in Ohio and Pennsylvania between 2020 and 2021, it urged Energy Secretary Rick Perry to issue an emergency order directing the regional transmission organization (RTO) to secure nuclear and coal capacity for long-term reliability. FirstEnergy […]

FirstEnergy Corp. will close four uneconomic nuclear units—a total of 4 GW—in Ohio and Pennsylvania between 2020 and 2021, the company’s competitive arm notified PJM Interconnection on March 28. FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) told the regional transmission organization that it will close the 908-MW Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, by 2020; the twin-unit […]

Waste Control Specialists (WCS) and Orano USA intend to revive licensing of a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in Andrews County, Texas, where spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from reactors across the country can be stored until a permanent repository is developed. The companies said on March 13, 2018, they intend to form a joint venture […]

To remain competitive in power markets increasingly characterized by disruptions, NRG Energy plans to accelerate its transition from a pure independent power producer (IPP) model to a more simplified customer-driven integrated power model that favors its retail businesses. In a number of presentations showcased on March 27 as part of NRG’s 2018 Analyst Day, company […]

Chubu Electric’s Nishi-Nagoya power plant Block-1 in Japan, a plant powered by three GE 7HA turbines and Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions steam turbine and generator technology, is officially the world’s most efficient combined-cycle power plant, according to Guinness World Records.  The entity that collects and showcases ultimate record-breaking facts highlighted the plant’s achievement of […]