Business
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Legal & Regulatory
Did the D.C. Commission Issue a Stealth Exelon-Pepco Merger Approval?
The District of Columbia Public Service Commission (PSC) on Friday (Feb. 26) rejected a restructured $6.8 billion merger proposal between Exelon and local electric utility Pepco, but offered a counter proposal with conditions that the two companies are likely to approve easily, according to local opponents of the merger. The commission turned down the merger […]
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Renewables
China Rolls Out Proposal for Worldwide Grid
A proposal put forth by China—and one that it says has received “positive responses” and substantial backing from international groups, including the United Nations—foresees a global smart ultra-high-voltage (UHV) grid that transmits only “clean energy.” The Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) outlined by State Grid Corp. Chairman Zhenya Liu on February 25 at the IHS CERAWeek […]
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Partner Content
Powering The Future
Discover the Power of Digital
White Paper: Powering the Future
Leading the Digital Transformation of the Power Industry
By:
Marco Annunziata, GE’s Chief Economist
Ganesh Bell, Chief Digital Officer of GE Power
Digital technologies are transforming the power sector. From delivering power to underserved markets to managing variations in market conditions and fuel costs, power leaders are using analytics and -
Gas
What Unites OPEC, U.S. Shale, and Power Generation
The OPEC secretary general and Saudi Arabia’s minister of petroleum shared their views on low oil prices, shale, and climate change at IHS CERAWeek.
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Coal
GE’s Immelt: It’s a World of “Slow Growth and Volatility”
We live in a world of “slow growth and volatility,” said Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, but there’s an opportunity to “make a lot of money” if you have courage in such times.
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Coal
Nieto: Mexico’s Energy Transition Will Persevere Despite Dismal Oil Prices
Mexico’s ongoing energy reform is a “paradigm shift” in the way the country obtains, transforms, and exploits its energy resources, President Enrique Peña Nieto told attendees at IHS CERAWeek on February 22. The reform allows the state to maintain ownership of hydrocarbons underground, but it also encourages private participation in the entire hydrocarbon value chain […]
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Renewables
Morgan Stanley Investment Banker “Bearish” on New U.S. Nuclear
Despite the positive attributes of nuclear power—zero carbon emissions, reliable generation, low fuel costs, and a small footprint—the outlook for new nuclear in the United States is “bearish,” said Anthony Ianno, a Morgan Stanley managing director who follows the electricity business as an investment banker and dealmaker.
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Partner Content
MPW’s Improvements Lead to Savings for Southeastern Pulp and Paper Facility
Problem
A Florida pulp and paper mill faced a complicated, dangerous process to clean its power boiler during scheduled outages.
Previous efforts to clean the boiler included manual water blasting from scaffolding, which posed a safety risk to workers below due to the potential for falling debris.
Solution
The Operations team at MPW Industrial Services recommended that the facility’s -
Nuclear
NYISO Warns of Power Capacity Gap When Ginna, FitzPatrick Nuclear Plants Are Closed
Closure of Exelon’s 614-MW R.E. Ginna and Entergy’s 882-MW James A. FitzPatrick nuclear plants will leave New York with a statewide power deficiency starting in 2019, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) has concluded. A generator deactivation assessment issued on February 11 that is focused on reliability impacts stemming from the deactivation of the FitzPatrick […]
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Coal
Duke Energy Mulls Sale of International Power Plants
Duke Energy is considering the sale of all or most of its international power plants, about 4,400 MW dispersed throughout Central and South America. The company’s international business segment, Duke Energy International (DEI), was forced to make the disclosure in light of a required statement from its Brazilian subsidiary, Duke Energy International, Geração Paranapanema S.A. […]
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T&D
Fortis’ $11.3B Acquisition of ITC Holdings Marks Foray into U.S. Regulated Markets
Canadian utility Fortis wants to acquire ITC Holdings Corp., the largest independent electric transmission company in the U.S., to benefit from “low-risk” regulated power markets. The deal valued at about $11.3 billion will allow Fortis to enter the U.S. regulated power market overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), providing a “unique, highly diversified, […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Duke Energy Fined $6.6 Million for Dan River Coal Ash Spill
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) issued a $6.6 million fine to Duke Energy on February 8 for environmental violations related to the February 2014 coal ash spill from the Dan River power plant near Eden, N.C. Although the fine is not insignificant, it pales in comparison to the $102 million the company […]
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Partner Content
Case Study: MPW’s Automation Simplifies RO Replacement Process for Indiana Energy Plant
Case Study: MPW’s Automation Simplifies RO Replacement Process for Indiana Energy Plant
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Legal & Regulatory
EPA, DOE Experts Upbeat on Regulatory Agenda
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) acting administrator of the Office of Air and Radiation, and the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) head of clean coal and carbon management gave upbeat assessments of the Obama administration’s regulatory agenda and power sector priorities speaking at the EUEC 2016 conference in San Diego on February 3. Janet McCabe of […]
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Partner Content
Case Study: MPW’s Emergency Response Pays Off for Virginia Power Station
INDUSTRIAL WATERMPW’s emergency response pays off for Virginia Challenge:
When a Virginia power station had an issue with its existing Reverse Osmosis [RO] process, it called on MPW to supplement its water needs during an excessively cold winter.
The plant lost RO functionality at one of its four power-production units, which would severely damage its ability to -
Commentary
And Now, a Word from (and to) Our Sponsors
You’ve heard that Nothing in life is free , yet this magazine is free for the vast majority of readers—both in print and online. That’s only because of the continued support of our advertisers. No media
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Renewables
POWER Digest (February 2016)
RWE Abandons Hard Coal Construction Project. RWE scrapped plans to complete the 800-MW Block D of the Hamm hard coal plant in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on December 18, citing damage and delays
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Renewables
Statkraft Ends Investments in Offshore Wind Projects
Europe’s largest generator of renewable power will no longer invest in new offshore wind projects and may postpone some international hydro plants. Norwegian state-owned power company Statkraft will stop
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Nuclear
Nuclear Newcomers Face Varying Hurdles
Nuclear ambitions fostered by some countries were tested by a variety of events at the end of 2015. Work Continues on Turkey’s Russian-Built Akkuyu Plant. Reports that Russia has halted construction of
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Legal & Regulatory
Navigating Legal Implications of Power Industry Regulations
A summary of POWER’s legal affairs conference on power industry regulations.
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Commentary
Fusion Power Illusions, Delusions, and Hope
Fusion provides the energy of the sun and all stars, but harnessing fusion for civilian electric power has proven exceptionally difficult. For over 50 years the U.S. government has pursued
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O&M
Winter Storm Wallops East Coast, Disrupts Power
The historic winter storm that buried the Eastern U.S. in snow over the weekend shut the lights off for more than a million customers from Arkansas to Massachusetts as it downed power lines and hampered operations at some power plants. According to the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, at one […]
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Partner Content
MPW Industrial Water Capabilties
For over 30 years, MPW Industrial Water Service has worked to provide customized and expert solutions for our clients that chop operating costs in half. We offer professional water services that rise to the occasion during an emergency, or to provide long-term purified water needs that rank as some of the best in the industry.
https://vimeo.com/151532115#download
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Legal & Regulatory
Entergy Sues New York for New Attempt to Shut Down Indian Point Nuclear
Entergy has asked a federal court to invalidate a November 6 New York state (NYS) objection to a certification needed for the 20-year license extension of its Indian Point nuclear facilities by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The state’s Department of State (DOS) claimed in its decision that Entergy’s twin nuclear reactors, which supply nearly 25% […]
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Gas
Calpine to Take Uneconomic CCGT Plant Offline in Calif.
Calpine Corp. will idle a 578-MW natural gas–fired combined cycle (CCGT) power plant in northern California for likely the remainder of the year. The Houston-headquartered company told POWER on January 15 that it will put the 2001-built Sutter Energy Center in Yuba City in “cold layup.” That means that while will the plant will not […]
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Coal
EIA: Wholesale Power Prices Saw Sharp Fall in 2015
Wholesale power prices across the nation plunged between 27% and 37% at major trading hubs last year compared to 2014, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported. The agency said on January 11 that the drop was driven largely by lower natural gas prices. Natural gas spot prices in 2015 at the Henry Hub averaged $2.61 […]
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Renewables
SOTU Address Champions “Clean Energy” over “Dirty Energy”
In his final State of the Union (SOTU) address on January 12, and arguably less so than in any other address he has given over the last seven years, President Obama made sparse mention of energy and climate change. The president dedicated most of the energy references in his address to “clean” energy, encapsulating wind […]
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Instrumentation & Controls
Malware Campaign Reportedly Prompts Large-Scale Blackout in Ukraine
Malware has apparently been used for the first time to prompt a large-scale power blackout. An attack was tied to a Dec. 23 blackout affecting about 1.4 million Ukrainians living in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, reported Ukrainian news media outlet TSN. However, Slovakian information security firm ESET later confirmed that the reported case “was not an […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Vogtle Expansion Owners, Contractors, Settle All Claims
Georgia Power (GP) announced on Jan. 4 that the owners of the expansion project at the Vogtle nuclear power plant (GP, Oglethorpe Power Corp., the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, and Dalton Utilities) have settled all pending litigation with the original project contractors, Westinghouse and CB&I. According to GP, the settlement resolves “all claims currently […]
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Renewables
Record Changes and Uncertainty Reshape the U.S. Utility Industry
Wind production in the U.S. hit record highs in October 2015, natural gas prices hit record lows, and solar photovoltaic (PV) adoption is continuing to grow to unprecedented levels. Energy storage prices are