Sonal Patel is a national award-winning multimedia journalist and senior editor at POWER magazine with nearly two decades of experience delivering technically rigorous reporting across power generation, transmission, distribution, policy, and infrastructure worldwide.
Several gigawatts of solar energy faded from European grids during the two-hour solar eclipse that shadowed the continent, as well as parts of Northern Africa and Asia, on Friday morning. But according to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E)—an organization representing 41 transmission system operators (TSOs) from 34 European countries—grid operators […]
Cyberattacks on Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power’s (KHNP’s) computer systems last December were committed by a group of North Korean hackers, an interim South Korean investigation has concluded. The Seoul central prosecutors office said in a March 16 statement that the malicious codes used for the nuclear operator hacking were “the same in composition and […]
Global emissions of carbon dioxide from the energy sector were unchanged from the preceding year—marking the first time in 40 years in which there was a halt or reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases that was not associated to an economic downturn, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. The Paris-based autonomous organization said in a […]
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan will certainly be challenged in court, but states and power companies must expend enormous resources developing and complying with state plans regardless of the outcome, witnesses testified on March 17 at a House hearing on the proposal’s legal and cost issues. The three-hour-long hearing at the House […]
Four years after the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami heavily damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, cleanup efforts continue amid new challenges, while Japan has made little progress on the policy front. The Ongoing Crisis at Daiichi By the fourth anniversary of the devastating events at Fukushima, the situation onsite has improved markedly, […]
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) may further reduce its coal-fired capacity and scrap its unfinished Bellefonte nuclear power plant, the utility’s long-awaited draft power generation strategy unveiled on March 9 shows. The federally owned corporation has been developing its 2015 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), essentially a power planning roadmap to 2033, since fall 2013. The […]
Florida Power and Light (FPL) wants to buy a 250-MW coal-fired facility in Florida to shut it down. The Juno Beach, Fla.–based company filed a petition with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) on Friday requesting approval to acquire the Cedar Bay Generating Plant for $520.5 million. FPL has had a long-term power purchase agreement […]
French nuclear firm AREVA’s dismal financial results for 2014 are indicative of the continuing stagnation of nuclear operations, a lack of competitiveness, and the company’s difficulties in managing the risks inherent in large projects, CEO Philippe Knoche said today. The company reported a loss of €4.9 billion ($5.6 billion) for 2014 in line with a […]
A bipartisan group of Illinois legislators have introduced bills that propose a market-based solution to curb carbon emissions and ensure continued operation of the state’s nuclear power plants. The bills SB 1585 and HB 3293 introduced in the state Senate and House would enact the Illinois Low Carbon Portfolio Standard. That measure, like a renewable […]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Monday began a special inspection of damage to the containment vessel at Unit 2 of SCANA’s Summer nuclear plant, which is under construction in South Carolina. The inadvertent damage stems from an incident during the week of Feb. 9, the NRC said. “Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I) workers […]
France will look at all options in an attempt to overhaul its state-run nuclear industry, French Energy Minister Ségolène Royal told reporters on Monday, after AREVA reported a $5.6 billion loss for 2014. The nuclear giant announced in a Feb. 23 statement that it expects a hefty €4.9 billion loss ($5.6 billion) for 2014. The […]
A major U.S. solar manufacturer will shutter a manufacturing plant in Tennessee in part due to ongoing challenges presented by global trade disputes. Polycrystalline silicon–maker Hemlock Semiconductor, a company majority owned by Dow Corning Corp., on Dec. 17 said it would close a facility in Clarksville, Tenn., owing to “sustained adverse market conditions.” “As difficult […]
A final rule issued today by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate coal combustion residuals (CCRs) from coal power plants clarifies technical requirements for coal ash landfills and surface impoundments nationwide under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the nation’s primary law for regulating solid waste. The final rule is […]
In the third part of a long-awaited safety evaluation report (SER) for the stalled Yucca Mountain permanent nuclear waste repository released today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) says the Department of Energy (DOE) fails to meet necessary requirements relating to ownership of land and water rights. Volume 4 (Administrative and Programmatic Requirements) of the five-part […]
The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 that cleared Congress last week and was presented to President Obama on Monday has the backing of automation organizations. The bill was one of four cybersecurity measures passed—without much debate and by voice vote—by Congress before the 113th session came to a close on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Sen. John […]
Electric utility spending and budgets for customer-funded energy efficiency programs have seen a 30% boost compared to 2010 levels and could double by 2025, thanks to expanding state policies, an updated report from the Institute for Electric Innovation (IEI) suggests. The report, “State Electric Efficiency Regulatory Frameworks,” outlines policy developments that support utility investments in […]
Inadequate training and a culture of complacency among many owners and operators of critical infrastructure are significantly raising the risks of highly damaging cyberattack throughout the world, according to Steve Mustard, an industrial cybersecurity subject-matter expert of the International Society of Automation (ISA). The ISA reports that Mustard, who recently delivered a presentation on industrial […]
The U.S. on Tuesday issued a new final determination affirming that some crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) products from China and Taiwan have been sold at dumping margins of between 11% and 165%. The final determination from the Department of Commerce stems from anti-dumping duty and countervailing duty investigations covering a category of cells, modules, laminates, […]
The two nuclear reactors under construction at Plant Vogtle will be delayed beyond their forecast commercial operation dates of December 2017 and 2018, an oversight team told Georgia regulators in the project’s latest construction monitoring report. The consortium building the project had originally projected the first of the two AP1000 reactors would be operational in […]
The Department of Energy (DOE) today opened a loan guarantee solicitation to make available as much as $12.5 billion to bolster the construction of new nuclear projects. Issued under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Advanced Nuclear Energy Projects Solicitation backs four key technology areas: advanced nuclear reactors, small modular reactors […]
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed carbon rules for existing power plants amassed more than 1.6 million remarks before the public comment period ended on Monday. Here’s a snapshot of what states, regulators, industry groups, and environmental alliances told the agency about its Clean Power Plan. States Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday finalized changes to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), applying to periods of startup and shutdown at new and existing coal- and oil-fired power plants nationwide. As published in the Federal Register on Nov. 19, the final action on the EPA’s reconsideration of the startup and shutdown […]