In response to a pivotal federal court decision in August, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last week said it will seek comments on how to restart the licensing process for the Yucca Mountain permanent nuclear waste repository in Nevada. The request will help the NRC “ensure the most efficient and productive use of the approximately […]

A discussion draft of a preliminary cybersecurity framework posted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) last week outlines several functions to protect industrial control systems, but it acknowledges that the power sector already engages in several cybersecurity practices and recommends that utilities opting to use the framework should leverage these rather than […]

The state of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E) on Tuesday asked the full 10-judge panel at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to review their challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) implementation of a regional haze rule to limit emissions from power plants in the state. The move follows a decision by […]

Duke Energy will retire four coal units and possibly two oil-fired units under terms of a settlement reached between the company and four citizen and environmental groups over outstanding air permits for the company’s Edwardsport Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) project. The agreement resolves a long-standing dispute over air permits for the now-operational IGCC plant […]

A new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) suggests wind and solar generation could become cost-effective without federal subsidies if they are sited in the most productive locations. “It is too early to say how strong the post-2025 market for renewables will be or whether it will be primarily market-driven or policy-driven. In […]

In a decision that sets precedent, a federal court last week ruled that residents neighboring a Pennsylvania coal-fired power plant may sue for property damage even though the plant fully complies with state and federal emissions rules. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit sided with two named plaintiffs in a class action […]

New Mexico could host the nation’s first buried long-distance high voltage direct current (HVDC) electric transmission network if an ambitious project proposed by Tres Amigas LLC gains traction. The merchant transmission entity whose mission it is to unite the nation’s three power grids to achieve its renewable energy goals unveiled the 2,000-MW New Mexico Express […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has fully allocated funds to support Babcock & Wilcox’s (B&W’s) initial project period for its mPower small modular reactor (SMR) technology. The North Carolina–based company was the only winner selected in November 2012 of the DOE’s competitively bid SMR Licensing Technical Support Program, an initiative designed to boost the accelerated […]

Two federally sponsored reports submitted to the Eastern Interconnection States’ Planning Council (EISPC) suggest that the rapid expansion of natural gas could force the closure of between 35 GW and 60 GW of U.S. coal power capacity over the next five years and weaken market forces that now bolster existing nuclear plants. An Energy Department–funded […]

The embattled Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, Vt., will be permanently shuttered in the fourth quarter of 2014 after its current fuel cycle, plant owner Entergy Corp. announced on Tuesday. The decision to close the 41-year-old boiling water reactor was based on a number of financial factors, including sustained low natural gas prices […]

Oklahoma will seek a rehearing of its regional haze case against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before the full 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, state Attorney General Scott Pruitt confirmed on Wednesday. On July 19, a divided three-judge panel threw out the state’s claims  that the EPA had “impermissibly rejected” a State Implementation Plan (SIP) […]

North Carolina on Friday sought a state Superior Court order to force Duke Energy to address groundwater and wastewater violations at 12 power plant sites that the utility uses to store coal ash residuals. The state’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) filed two lawsuits for injunctive relief against Duke Energy Progress Inc. and […]

An enforcement action filed in federal district court by the Department of Justice last week alleges Luminant Generating Co. made unauthorized changes to its Big Brown and Martin Lake coal-fired power plants in Texas that violated the Clean Air Act. The case filed under seal in the Northern District of Texas (Dallas division) follows a […]

Europe’s Gas Power Plant Carnage Intensifies Another 1.2 GW of gas-fired generation has been idled in Germany as utilities scramble to rein losses that are pegged to falling wholesale electricity prices and a surge in renewable power generation. Norwegian power company Statkraft put into “wet reserve” the 800-MW Knapsack 1 and 417-MW Herdecke power plants, […]

Entergy Corp. can continue operating Unit 2 at its two-reactor Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y., until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) decides whether to renew the unit’s operating license—even after it expires on Sept. 28. The federal regulator notified Entergy on Monday that it is “clear” the NRC will not issue a […]

The state of Vermont cannot force Entergy to shutter the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on Tuesday. The federal appeals court partially upheld a prior lower court decision stemming from a lawsuit filed by Entergy Corp., the owner of Vermont’s only reactor. In his January […]

President Obama on Friday signed into law two bills that are designed to boost hydropower production in the U.S. H.R. 267, the “Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013,” modifies the Federal Power Act and the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act to promote and facilitate the development of hydroelectric power capacity. The law directs the Federal […]

Installed prices for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the U.S. in 2012 fell for the third straight year by a range of roughly 6% to 14% compared to the prior year. In its latest edition of “Tracking the Sun,” the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) reports installed prices for PV systems fell […]

Europe’s third-largest power provider on Tuesday announced it would take offline 3.1 GW of natural gas and coal power plants in Germany and the Netherlands, citing a “continuing boom in solar energy.” Echoing several European utilities, Germany-based RWE has underscored the declining profitability of fossil fuel–fired plants that it says is pegged to fundamental changes […]

In an apparent legal victory for the states of Washington and South Carolina, a divided federal court on Tuesday directed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to continue its legally obligated review of a license application to build the proposed permanent nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain, Nev. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. […]

A report released by the White House and Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday that assesses how to best protect the nation’s electric grid from power outages that occur during natural disasters calls for increased cross-sector grid investment and identifies strategies for modernizing the grid. The report, “Economic Benefits of Increasing Electric Grid Resilience to […]