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Power
Fusion Energy Reaches Prime Time
Over the last three years, electricity generation from fusion has moved from the realm of science fiction to the brink of serious development. A lot has happened, but challenges remain before fusion arrives on
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Nuclear
Fusion Energy Is Coming, and Maybe Sooner Than You Think
The joke about fusion energy is that it’s 30 years away and always will be. But significant recent advances in fusion science and technology could potentially put the first fusion power on the grid as soon
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Legal & Regulatory
AES Closing Two More Ohio Coal Plants
AES subsidiary Dayton Power & Light (DP&L) confirmed on March 20 that it will close two of its coal-fired plants by 2018 because they have become uneconomic. The Ohio utility announced its intent to close the two plants in January as part of a settlement over its future reliability planning. The plan had been contested […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Japanese Court Awards Damages to Fukushima Residents
In a ruling that stunned the nation, a district court in Japan awarded damages to 62 plaintiffs who lived near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant before the 2011 disaster, finding that plant owner Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and the Japanese government were aware of risks to the plant and could have taken measures […]
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Renewables
Draft Trump Budget Proposes Major Cuts in EPA, DOE Programs
The Trump administration released a blueprint of its proposed 2018 budget on March 16, likely setting off a major battle with Congress. The budget proposal, “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again” makes major cuts in non-defense discretionary spending over 2017. While funding for the Department of Defense is boosted $52.3 billion, […]
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GAS POWER Direct–March 15, 2017
Gas Power Direct Current Issue | Find a Job | Post a Job New EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Sets Out to Restrain Agency The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) administrative priorities will be reined in to focus on process, rule of law, and cooperation with states, the agency's new head Scott Pruitt told attendees at CERAweek […]
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Nuclear
SONGS Arbitration Panel Awards SCE $125 Million
An arbitration panel of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has awarded Southern California Edison (SCE) $125 million in its dispute with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) over the failed replacement of four steam generators at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), a fiasco that ultimately led to the plant’s premature retirement. Victory for MHI The […]
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Nuclear
Fukushima Cleanup Hitting Snags as Robot Probes Fail
The epic recovery from the 2011 accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, already predicted to take decades and cost at least $35 billion, is encountering delays as a series of robot probes have failed due to encountering more difficult conditions than expected, plant owner Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said this month. TEPCO’s head of […]
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Renewables
Oroville Dam Power Plant May Reopen This Week
The Edward Hyatt hydroelectric plant at the damaged Oroville Dam in northern California, shut down earlier this month after its spillway nearly collapsed, may reopen soon, officials with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) said on March 1. The plant was forced to shut down after severe erosion from the dam’s spillway deposited large […]
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Energy Storage
SDG&E Unveils World’s Largest Li-Ion Storage Battery
California utility San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) on February 24 officially put into service what is currently the largest lithium-ion storage battery in the world, wrapping up a fast-track procurement process that began less than a year ago. The 30-MW, 120-MWh system (Figure 1) supplied by AES Energy Storage and located in Escondido about […]
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