The future of advanced reactors in the U.S. will remain murky unless the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) takes four key steps to support innovation and commercialization of new technology, three key industry groups have warned. U.S. leadership of nuclear technology is “at risk,” and if changes aren’t made it will lose its standing as a […]

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) President and CEO Ralph Izzo gave NRG Energy a tongue-lashing for its pointed opposition of subsidies for PSEG’s two New Jersey nuclear power plants. The tense moment at a January 25 legislative hearing that sought to revive the measure is illustrative of a growing chasm within the power sector about the […]

The rapid growth of distributed energy resources (DERs) is spawning new financing models that could send growth for the fledgling sector soaring, upending the power sector at an even more breakneck pace. Industry executives at Distributech 2018 in San Antonio, Texas, this week noted that several trends are driving the growth of DERs, which are […]

A lawsuit challenging subsidies for New York’s nuclear plants will head to trial after the state’s  Supreme Court rejected motions to dismiss it. The measure deals a small setback for Exelon Corp., whose subsidiaries own the R.E Ginna and Nine Mile Point nuclear plants in upstate New York. Defendants in the lawsuit also include Entergy […]

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed and remanded a rule the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rolled out in 2015 that asserts federal authority over small bodies of water with a broader definition of the statutory term, “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS). In a ruling for National Association of […]

January 18, 2018 Don’t Let EPA Stall on Clean Power Plan, 17 States Tell Federal Court The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) recent request that the D.C. Circuit hold a case challenging the Clean Power Plan in additional abeyance until it concludes rulemaking has been strongly opposed… Read More Tampa Electric Will Convert Big Bend Coal […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) recent request that the D.C. Circuit hold a case challenging the Clean Power Plan in additional abeyance until it concludes rulemaking has been strongly opposed by 17 states and several cities. The EPA, in its latest 30-day court-required status report filed on January 10, asked the federal court for continued […]

New York and Connecticut on January 17 filed suit to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to curb ground-level ozone blowing in from Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia with federal implementation plans (FIPs) issued under the “Good Neighbor Provision” of the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The two states allege in their […]

 A draft law backed by the European Parliament on January 17 proposes to raise the European Union’s (EU’s) renewable targets to 35% by 2030—substantially higher than a 27% target proposed by the European Commission and EU Council. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted 492–88 (with 107 abstentions) to increase the share of renewable sources […]

EGEC Reaction to the European Parliament plenary vote on the first half of the Clean Energy Package Brussels, 17th January 2018 – The European Parliament proved ambitious and consistent with the objectives of the Paris agreement while voting on the Renewable Energy Directive, the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Governance Regulation this Wednesday. The vote sets […]

 Energy storage is redefining how smart energy solutions can support the ongoing urban energy transformation January 17, 2018 – Boulder, CO – A new report from Navigant Research examines the relationship between energy storage and smart cities, providing an overview of relevant applications as well as drivers and barriers. Smart energy technologies are increasingly expected […]

The company will install 24 of its G114-2.0 MW turbines at the Yangshugou wind farm, in north-eastern China, and 24 G97-2.0 MW turbines at the Wohushan wind farm, located in eastern China Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) continues to grow in China – the world’s biggest wind market – having signed two new agreements for […]

A control system that smooths out inter-area oscillations—a problem affecting power systems connected by relatively weak tie lines—has been successfully demonstrated by researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and Montana Tech University. The system that uses smart grid technology could allow utilities to push more power through transmission lines, possibly nixing the need for new transmission […]

January 11, 2018 Several Milestones Reached at Nuclear Power Projects Around the World The world’s nuclear power industry has been busy in the new year, with several construction projects reaching key milestones as 2018 began. EPR Units Making Progress Four EPR nuclear units… Read More AES and Siemens, Two Power Giants, Join Forces on Energy […]

Underscoring energy storage’s new vital role in power company operations, Siemens and AES Corp. have launched a joint company, Fluence Energy, that provides technology solutions paired with engineering and services capabilities. AES and Siemens on January 11 announced that Fluence, which merges AES Energy Storage and Siemens’ energy storage team, received all government approvals for the […]

In a press briefing held with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg on January 10, President Donald Trump said that U.S. could “conceivably” re-enter into global climate change mitigation efforts under the Paris accord. While he has “no problem” with the accord itself, he felt the agreement negotiated by the Obama administration treated the U.S. unfairly, […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has rejected the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) controversial proposed rule on grid reliability and resilience pricing, initiating instead a new proceeding that will examine the resilience of the bulk power system. The DOE’s “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule” proposed on Sept. 29 directed FERC—an independent regulatory government agency that is […]

 IRVING, Texas (January 8, 2018) – Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) confirmed today that the company, working under its contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in support of a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mission to help repair and restore the power grid in Puerto Rico, has completed work on two 115kv transmission […]

Wärtsilä Corporation, Press release, 8 January 2018 at 3 p.m. EET The technology group Wärtsilä will deliver a 22.7 MW Smart Power Generation plant under a full Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) contract to Cooperative Energy, a member-owned electric cooperative based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The project will consist of two gas-fired Wärtsilä 31SG engines, the […]

January 4, 2018 Brookfield Business Partners to Acquire Westinghouse from Toshiba Corp. Westinghouse Electric Co., a company that is emerging from a bankruptcy stemming from the half-built AP1000 reactor projects in Georgia and South Carolina, is to be acquired from Toshiba Corp.… Read More Despite New Jersey Senate Vote on Nuclear Subsidies, Bill May Not […]

Westinghouse Electric Co., a company that is emerging from a bankruptcy stemming from the half-built AP1000 reactor projects in Georgia and South Carolina, is to be acquired from Toshiba Corp. by business services and industrials company Brookfield Business Partners. Brookfield, a company of Toronto-headquartered Brookfield Asset Management, announced on January 4 that it entered into […]

 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has proposed a revision of the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards to enhance awareness of existing or developing cybersecurity threats to the nation’s energy infrastructure. FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) on December 21 that directs the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) to broaden CIP-008-5 […]

New Jersey’s full Senate is scheduled on January 4 to vote on a bill to subsidize two of the state’s nuclear power plants. However, industry observers posit that the measure won’t clear the full Assembly before the state legislature’s lame-duck session ends on January 9. S.3560 was introduced on December 14 after a preliminary hearing earlier […]

SCANA Corp., a company reeling from a decision to abandon two half-built nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer project in South Carolina, is getting a lifeline from Dominion Energy, one of the nation’s largest utilities. The two companies on January 3 announced an agreement to combine in a stock-for-stock merger. The proposed deal is valued […]

Despite recent regulatory reforms relieving the oil industry of certain federal requirements, many oil and gas companies, refineries, and pipeline facilities operating in California are not immune from state regulatory requirements, including some new regulations that become effective August 30, 2018. Even if companies think they are in compliance, they should check again to make […]

An energy transition is underway across the world. Market upheaval, defining events, and recent policy changes have accelerated a shift away from coal toward renewables. Here is how this transformation played out for some of the world’s major economies over the past decade. Graphs show percent of each fuel source of total generation for that […]

December 28, 2017 Eight States Sue EPA, Arguing Ozone Transport Region Decision Is “Unlawful” Eight northeastern states are again suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force the agency to slash emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) blowing in from… Read More Siemens Reaches for Higher Efficiency with Its HL-Class Gas […]

Eight northeastern states are again suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force the agency to slash emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) blowing in from power plants and other sources in nine “upwind” Midwestern and southern states. The Ozone Transport Region, which was established by Congress under Section 184 of […]

Olkiluoto 3, a much delayed first-of-its-kind EPR nuclear plant project under construction in Finland, has begun hot functional tests and should begin generating electricity in May 2019, according to Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO). TVO on December 19 said hot functional tests underway at the reactor, which are part of commissioning, are expected to […]

December 14, 2017 Georgia PSC Will Decide Vogtle's Fate on December 21 The Georgia Public Service Commission on December 11 said it will decide December 21 whether to allow construction of two new nuclear reactors at the Plant Vogtle site to move… Read More Game-Changing Supercritical CO2 Cycles Are Closer to Commercialization Supercritical carbon dioxide […]