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.
Investor-owned electric utility companies spent $14.8 billion in 2012 to upgrade transmission infrastructure, and investments in 2013 and 2014 are expected to soar even more, peaking at about $17.5 billion, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) says in a new report. The eighth annual publication of the EEI’s report “Transmission Projects: At A Glance,” estimates more […]
Andy Dobrzanski, Mark Collett, and Dave Markle were among the presenters at the Powder River Basin Coal Users’ Group (PRBCUG) preconference workshop on Monday. While several speakers mentioned housekeeping’s important role in the safe operation of facilities, other topics were also covered in-depth. One was Fly Ash Handling Systems and PRB Coal Ash. Dobrzanski, fuel […]
One of the world’s first power storage systems employing used electric vehicle (EV) batteries began operating on Japan’s Yumeshima Island in Osaka this February. The 600 kW/400 kWh system developed by Tokyo-based Sumitomo Corp. consists of 16 EV batteries that were recovered and inspected by the Sumitomo and Nissan Motor Co. joint venture 4R Energy […]
The crown for the world’s most powerful operating wind turbine was transferred this January to Danish wind turbine maker Vestas, as its first 8-MW prototype began generating power at the Danish National Test Center for Large Wind Turbines in Østerild. Compared to the first 450-kW offshore wind turbine that was installed in 1991 at Vindeby, […]
The changing generation mix and recent extreme weather throughout the U.S. have led the power sector to evaluate and begin making changes to address their increased dependence on natural gas and the integration of renewables, staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said in the 2013 State of the Markets report. Gas Price Hikes […]
Lawmakers in the House and Senate on Wednesday introduced identical bills that would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the authority to issue emergency orders to protect the grid from physical, cyber, electromagnetic pulse and other threats and vulnerabilities. The Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense (GRID) Act was introduced separately by Rep. Henry A. […]
Of 257 cyber incidents reported by asset owners or trusted partners to the Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) in 2013, an overwhelming 56% occurred in the energy sector, exceeding all incidents reported in other sectors combined. Notably, ICS-CERT last year responded to a “major cyber intrusion campaign” from […]
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.)—one of a handful of Democrats that are critical of the Obama administration’s carbon rules for new power plants—on Monday introduced a bill that would provide federal funds, tax credits, and pricing support to private power companies investing in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Heitkamp’s newly unveiled bill, “Advanced Clean Coal […]
In the past week, as the Cape Wind project planned for offshore Massachusetts saw crucial legal victories, New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on Wednesday rejected a $188 million offshore wind farm that was planned along the Atlantic City coast. Federal Court Upholds DOI Approval of Cape Wind Issuing rulings in four lawsuits challenging […]
In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, South Carolina has charged the Department of Energy (DOE) with “flouting” the law when it indefinitely suspended the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility under construction at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken County, S.C. The complaint stems from recent recommendations in the Obama administration’s fiscal year 2015 […]
A federal court has denied the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) petition for the full court’s review of a November 2013 decision suspending payments into the Nuclear Waste Fund. The decision culminates a legal dispute initiated by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the industry group, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), in 2010. The […]
Germany’s biggest utility E.ON will shutter nearly 13 GW of capacity—more than a quarter of its conventional fleet in Europe—to offset the “negative effects of a difficult economic and regulatory environment” in the European Union (EU), CEO Johannes Teyssen said on Wednesday. The company released gloomy financial year results for 2013, reporting a 14% drop […]
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Friday directed the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to develop reliability standards requiring owners and operators of the bulk power system to address risks due to physical security threats and vulnerabilities. The standards will require owners and operators of the bulk power system to take at least […]
Janet McCabe, a top air regulation official at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defended the agency’s carbon rule for new power plants at a House hearing on Wednesday, even as industry witnesses countered that technology does not yet exist to meet the regulatory requirements. The EPA’s acting assistant administrator for air and radiation reiterated the […]
March 11 marked the third anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck the east coast of Japan. Within days of that event, with no backup power, cooling systems failed at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (TEPCO’s) Fukushima Daiichi plant, leading to meltdowns and hydrogen explosions at Units 1, 2, and 3. But […]
U.S. energy infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to acute weather events and long-term changes in the climate, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a new report. Options to help reduce those risks include measures to improve its durability and resiliency. The Mar. 4–released report titled “Energy Infrastructure Risks and Adaption Efforts,” cites data from the National Research […]
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy underscored the agency’s collaboration with the energy sector as it develops environmental rules in her keynote address at IHS CERAweek in Houston on Thursday. While her focus was centered on the proposed New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, POWERnews asked about the status of […]
At a keynote address at CERAweek 2014 in Houston, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz reiterated the Obama administration’s support for all U.S. fuel sources while pursuing a low-carbon future but rarely mentioned nuclear power. Prompted by POWERnews, Moniz later outlined the administration’s actions to address spent nuclear waste. Following the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in November 2013 […]
In a surprising deal, the developer of a proposed $1 billion natural gas–fired power plant in Salem, Mass., has agreed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the new facility annually over its 40-year lifespan to meet state climate change mandates—and to permanently shutter the plant by 2050. The settlement reached between New Jersey–based Footprint […]
A plan developed by Oklahoma to address regional haze that was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week will force Public Service Co. of Oklahoma (PSO) to shutter two coal units by 2026. The agency on Feb. 10 approved Oklahoma’s state implementation plan (SIP) to control regional haze from two coal units owned […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking comment on its interpretation of provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005), which it claims do not alter the agency’s determination that the best system to reduce carbon emissions for new coal and gas-fired power plants is partial carbon capture and storage (CCS). The issue […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today released its final version of a national framework for improving critical infrastructure cybersecurity. The “living” document will be updated as industry reports back on its implementation. The “Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” is essentially composed of a core, tiers, and profiles. The core presents five […]