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.
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 […]
What’s the utility of the future going to look like within two or three decades? That was a question put to former Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, Great Plains CEO Mike Chesser, and former chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission Ron Binz by the head of the Brookings Institute’s Energy Security Initiative (ESI) last […]
A natural gas shortage triggered by extreme cold weather in much of the U.S. and Canada has affected supplies to power plants in drought-stricken California and forced the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) on Thursday to issue a conservation alert. CAISO said the natural gas shortage was only affecting Southern California but appealed to customers […]
Legally binding targets to slash the European Union’s (EU) carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 40%, increase the bloc’s renewables’ share to 30%, and improve energy efficiency by 40%—all by 2030—were strongly backed by the European Parliament on Wednesday. The EU’s directly elected parliamentary institution adopted a resolution by a vote of 341–263 to set […]
Legally binding targets to slash the European Union’s (EU) carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 40%, increase the bloc’s renewables’ share to 30%, and improve energy efficiency by 40%—all by 2030—were strongly backed by the European Parliament on Wednesday. The EU’s directly elected parliamentary institution adopted a resolution by a vote of 341–263 to set […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is calling for public comment and information on approaches to updating radiation protection standards for nuclear power operations. The standards have not been updated since they were originally issued in 1977. The agency issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Feb. 4 in the Federal Register and related fact […]