Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide DOE Grid Study Points Finger at Natural Gas In a long-awaited study of electricity markets and grid reliability, the Department of Energy has called out natural gas as the No. 1 reason for retirements of coal and nuclear plants, […]

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) new grid study is based on analyses of federal government data collected between 2002 and 2017, a period it notes fostered critical developments in the nation’s power sector. Here are some of report’s most thought-provoking charts. [gss ids=”109885,109881,109883,109877,109865,109867,109869,109875,109873,109871″] For an in-depth analysis about the DOE’s grid study, see: DOE Grid Study Points Finger […]

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) much-anticipated study on grid resilience and reliability elicited immediate chatter from a variety of industry stakeholders, from power generators and trade groups to environmental and clean energy advocates. The 187-page study essentially notes that unprecedented changes are transforming the electricity industry. Over the past 15 years, market forces—namely, cheap natural […]

A settlement Mississippi Power reached on August 21 with stakeholders of the Kemper County facility will ensure customers won’t be subjected to rate increases associated with the now-abandoned gasification portion of the project. While that will affect revenues, the resolution could soften controversy surrounding the project and avoid protracted legal and financial turmoil, the company […]

Between 2006 and 2015, annual average heat rates from the nation’s natural gas–fired power plants plunged 7%, while only decreasing 1% for coal plants, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed on August 21. Heat rates, which are measured in British thermal units per kilowatt-hour (Btu/kWh), refers to energy conversion efficiency, calculated based on the amount […]

Final rules issued by Massachusetts agencies to help the state meet its stringent climate goals will require 21 in-state power plants to tamp down their carbon emissions annually. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) last week published a set of six rules designed to complement an […]

Power News Don’t miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers’ Guide SCANA Reverses Move to Abandon V.C. Summer Nuclear Project SCANA Corp. is withdrawing a petition submitted to regulators seeking to abandon the construction of Units 2 and 3 at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina. The company’s […]

In two actions on August 15, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) signaled its support for the Vogtle nuclear expansion project, provided it can be done economically, Georgia Power must show revised cost and schedule estimates to finish the costly Vogtle nuclear expansion as well as indicate whether it intends to finish the much-delayed construction […]

SCANA Corp. is withdrawing a petition submitted to regulators seeking to abandon the construction of Units 2 and 3 at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina. The company’s subsidiary South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G) said on August 15 that it will voluntarily withdraw its abandonment petition filed just two weeks ago with […]

Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide D.C. Circuit Again Delays Action on Clean Power Plan Those waiting for a decision in the court case against the Clean Power Plan are going to have to wait a bit longer. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the […]

Costs to build the two Vogtle AP1000 units under construction in Georgia could range between $18.3 billion and $19.8 billion—and for now, Southern Co. is pinning its hopes to complete the project on approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC). Southern Co. CEO Tom Fanning told investors in a second-quarter earnings call on August […]

Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide UPDATED: SCANA, Santee Cooper Abandon V.C. Summer AP1000 Nuclear Units, Citing High Costs SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper have ceased construction of Units 2 and 3 at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina. The project owners said […]

Winning POWER’s highest honor, the U.S.’s first and world’s largest commercial post-combustion carbon capture system at a power plant is distinctively both a globally significant environmental

SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper have ceased construction of Units 2 and 3 at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina. The project owners said the decision, prompted by analysis of detailed schedule and cost data, would save customers nearly $7 billion. The project, which was about 64% complete, has been in limbo since […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has approved a new service agreement finalized by Westinghouse and Georgia Power for the Vogtle AP1000 units under construction in Georgia, though the agency reached a separate deal with Georgia Power on a loan guarantee agreement that will require the Southern Co. company to provide it with a solid cost […]

Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Trump Administration Swats at Texas in Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository Legal Fight Citing its backing for the long-stalled Yucca Mountain permanent spent nuclear waste repository in Nevada, the Trump administration has asked a federal court to reject a petition […]

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has set the commonwealth’s much-anticipated energy storage target at 200 MWh to be achieved by January 1, 2020. Last week, it also issued a joint request for proposals for 400 MW of offshore wind energy. The announcements made this week follow an energy bill signed into law by […]

Citing its backing for the long-stalled Yucca Mountain permanent spent nuclear waste repository in Nevada, the Trump administration has asked a federal court to reject a petition filed by Texas in which the state sought a court-supervised process to take over administrative proceedings so as to guarantee licensing and eventual construction of project. Texas filed […]

Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Billions Over Budget, Kemper Facility Gasification Portion Is Suspended Operations and start-up of the lignite gasification portion of the Kemper County Energy Facility, marred by exorbitant delays and cost overruns, and will be suspended immediately, Mississippi Power announced on […]

  More grim news emerged for financially strapped Westinghouse after the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a chancery court decision that the company was counting on to recoup $2 billion from an acquisition dispute with Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I). The court rejected Westinghouse’s contention of CB&I’s calculations of its final purchase price—even though it paid […]

  Operations and start-up of the lignite gasification portion of the Kemper County Energy Facility, marred by exorbitant delays and cost overruns, will be suspended immediately, Mississippi Power announced on June 28. The Southern Co. subsidiary plans to continue running a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant that was completed as part of the $7.5 […]

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Army, and Army Corps of Engineers have proposed a rule to rescind the controversial Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, which asserts federal authority over small bodies of water. The rule, also known as the “Clean Water Rule,” was promulgated by the EPA and the U.S. Army […]

SCANA Corp. subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCG&E) and Santee Cooper—owners of the two-unit expansion of the V.C. Summer nuclear plant—have extended an interim assessment agreement with Westinghouse to allow the project’s owners to “continue to make progress on the site.” The companies on June 26 extended the agreement to August 10, but it […]

Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Mississippi PSC: Kemper Facility Should Operate Using Only Natural Gas The Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) at an open meeting on June 21 unanimously passed a motion instructing its counsel to prepare an order pursuing potential solutions regarding the […]

A bipartisan bill extending a production tax credit (PTC) for advanced nuclear power facilities passed the U.S. House on a voice vote on June 20. The bill, introduced by Congressman Tom Rice (R-S.C.), seeks to give facilities that use novel nuclear power technologies more investment certainty. The nuclear PTC was established under the Energy Policy […]

Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Bankrupt GenOn to Officially Split from NRG Energy GenOn has begun its transition back into a standalone power generation company after NRG Energy—which acquired it in a $1.7 billion deal just five years ago—struck a comprehensive restructuring agreement with […]

Marking a significant milestone, power generation from the combined utility-scale and small-scale wind and solar installations in the U.S. surpassed 10% of the nation’s total power generation in March, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The news comes on the heels of an announcement last week by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) that […]

GenOn has begun its transition back into a standalone power generation company after NRG Energy—which acquired it in a $1.7 billion deal just five years ago—struck a comprehensive restructuring agreement with GenOn’s creditors, and GenOn filed for Chapter 11 protection. A June 14 financial filing confirms that NRG, GenOn, and an ad hoc group of […]

Gas Power Direct   Current Issue | Find a Job | Post a Job SCE, GE Debut Battery-Gas Turbine Hybrid System Southern California Edison (SCE) put online the world’s first battery–gas turbine hybrid system on March 30 in Norwalk, Calif., pioneering a new direction in the way power could be generated and stored. Read More   […]

Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide KCP&L Will Retire Five Coal-Fired Units and One Unit Recently Converted to Gas Kansas City Power & Light Co. (KCP&L) plans to retire five coal-fired generating units at two stations by the end of next year. It will also […]