Thomas W. Overton
Articles By

Thomas W. Overton

  • EIA: Gas Power Burn Down from 2012—But Coal Hasn’t Recovered

    According to the latest data from the Energy Information Agency (EIA), while gas power burn is down from its peak last year, generation from coal has not recaptured much of what it lost. EIA estimates show that electric power sector gas consumption was, on average, down 13% through November compared to the same period in […]

  • GAS POWER Direct 12-03-2013

    Gas Power Direct   Archive   |   Post Jobs   |   View Jobs   |   Email to Friend   |   Subscribe   December 2013 In This Issue California Builds a High Efficiency CHP Plant for Its Capital ComplexConference Presenters: World Shale Gas Growth Is Aloft on Uncertain Dynamics Coal-Fired Power Continues […]
  • California Builds a High Efficiency CHP Plant for Its Capital Complex

    When the State of California needed a new Central Utility Plant (CUP) to provide electricity, steam, chilled water, and compressed air to its 5.5 million square foot, 23-building campus in downtown Sacramento, the requirements were stiff. The original CUP was sending as much as 15 million gallons of heated water per day to a spray […]

  • Coal-Fired Power Continues Dramatic Decline in Southeast

    Once the dominant fuel in the southeastern U.S., coal has been hammered by plummeting gas prices and more efficient gas-fired plants, according to the most recent figures from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Though the region has seen a steady increase in gas-fired capacity over the past decade, as recently as 2008, coal still provided […]

  • COAL POWER Direct Nov 25, 2013

    COAL POWER DIRECT  
  • TEPCO Begins Removing Fuel from Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4

    Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) today began the delicate process of removing spent fuel from Unit 4 of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The six-unit site has two reactor groups, comprising Units 1–4 and Units 5 and 6. Unit 4 is the only reactor of its group that did not suffer a meltdown following […]

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  • Google and KKR Invest in Six More Solar Projects

    Google and investment firm KKR announced on Nov. 14 that they are investing in six solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities in California and Arizona that are currently under development by San Francisco–based renewable energy company Recurrent Energy. The projects are expected to be operational by January. The six facilities, five in California and one in Arizona, will have […]

  • MANAGING POWER Direct 11-12-13

    Managing Power Direct  
  • How Do Safety Leaders and Managers Create a Culture of Safety?

    Knowing that safety is important is clearly not enough to create (or even put a dent in creating) a culture of safety and incident-free environments. We have heard the messages: “Safety First,” “Target Zero” and, as a very dedicated guy in rural Louisiana explained it, “We ain’t toleratin’ no more dead dudes!” As powerful and […]

  • Coal Companies Must Battle NIMBYism with Better Tactics

    Coal projects continue to be met with NIMBY [Not in My Back Yard]-type groups protesting coal companies’ efforts to start new projects. Although these projects can create plenty of jobs, they are met by opposition groups who cite environmental concerns. The coal seam Medicine Bow Project in Wyoming is estimated to create 6,000 jobs, but […]