Business

Bill Gates didn’t mince words last night when sharing with the IHS CERAWeek crowd his thoughts about public support for basic scientific research in the United States.

China will reduce the nation’s carbon emissions and energy use per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by at least 3.7% this year and perform trials for a carbon-trading program, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said in a report on Tuesday. The country would also make "greater efforts to conserve energy" and "reduce the discharge of major pollutants," it’s top economic planner said.

President Obama this week nominated Gina McCarthy, the current assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation, to head the EPA. He also nominated Dr. Ernest Moniz, currently a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for secretary of energy. Both are expected to face a difficult confirmation process.

A survey of European power utility and consultancy workers conducted by energy information provider Platts last week suggests that regulatory risk and weak wholesale power prices are thought to be at the top the industry’s most significant challenges.

Among the early-stage energy technology projects on display at last week’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Energy Innovation Summit were two from the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) that have the potential to enhance a variety of battery and other power-related applications. POWER shot video demonstrations of these technologies, which are approximately three to five years from commercialization. See if you can figure out which one was inspired by striped toothpaste.

Energy demand in Mexico, according to the Secretary of Energy (SENER), will increase by approximately 4% each year for the next ten years, and with it the potential for private sector growth in the industry. Download the report.

Japan’s scramble to replace generation lost from nuclear power plants that were shuttered after the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident has forced it to rely on pricey imports of fossil fuels—and soaring energy costs are hammering the world’s third-largest economy.

Selected business news and deals in the power generation industry.

Controversy concerning natural gas exports flared the day the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its estimate that U.S. natural gas exports could begin in 2021.

Mercury emissions from power plants in 137 United Nations member countries could be subject to strict controls and reductions if an international treaty is signed by participating nations this October.

Here are some of the longest pipelines recently built as well as noteworthy ones in the pipeline.

More and more electricity is generated by natural gas. This trend is likely to persist. Hydraulic fracturing technology is increasing domestic supplies and enabling natural gas prices to remain at historic lows.

The use of low-grade coal is becoming synonymous with circulating fluidized bed (CFB) power plants. Although CFB technology may often be a better choice than pulverized coal technology, that is not always the case. Owners and developers need to consider several technical and economic factors before making this decision.

The lifeblood of the combined cycle plant is its water chemistry program. This is particularly true for plants designed for high pressures and temperatures as well as fast starts and cycling. Even though such plants are increasingly common, no universal chemistry program can be used for all of them.

Recent reports by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and others suggest that the emissions-reducing benefits of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar may have been overstated and the cost of cycling fossil-fueled plants underestimated. These findings may change how utilities and policymakers weigh the costs and benefits of wind and solar energy.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) may be the most important federal agency many in the power industry have never heard of. Whatever generation technology you are associated with, ARPA-E’s work will affect its future.

Technological progress and policy interventions over the last decade have arguably enhanced U.S. energy security and put it in a stronger position to shape its own energy destiny, a new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) argues. Among more than 50 energy policy recommendations outlined in the report to tackle significant challenges still faced by the nation’s energy sector are those calling for the establishment of a comprehensive national energy strategy.

The Department of Energy (DOE) last week announced the availability of up to $20 million for the development of tools and technologies to enhance cybersecurity of delivery control systems for electricity, oil, and gas in the U.S.

Dr. Steven Chu gave what was likely his last public speech as U.S. secretary of energy today on the last day of the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit. As usual for Chu presentations, it was a mix of data, vision, and humor. It fell to others to comment on the value and legacy of his service, especially to energy research and development.

President Obama outlined a number of key energy-related measures in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, urging Congress to pursue legislation to mitigate climate change and calling for an expansion of clean energy and reduced red-tape for natural gas and oil permits.

Citing low natural gas prices, Duke Energy announced on Feb. 1 that it would shutter its 1920s-built Buck and Riverbend stations two years before the coal-fired plants were slated for retirement. The company had chosen to retire the plants just before April 2015, which is the compliance deadline for recently enacted federal environmental rules.

A newly announced resource strategy could require Duluth, Minn.–based Minnesota Power to convert its 110-MW Laskin Energy Center in Hoyt Lakes, Minn., to a natural gas peaking facility in 2015, install environmental upgrades at its 558-MW Clay Boswell Energy Center Unit 4 in Itasca County, and retire one of three coal-fired units at its 225-MW Taconite Harbor facility in Schroeder.

Sally Jewell, who has been CEO of REI, a privately held outdoor recreation gear retail corporation organized as a consumers’ cooperative, has been nominated as the next secretary of the interior, the White House announced on Wednesday.

The shift toward greater reliance on natural gas for power generation is not just a story of greater efficiency and lower emissions. There are also lurking risks to reliability unless the natural gas and electricity industries can plan carefully for the future.

Last October, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced that it was seeking a record $470 million penalty against Barclays Bank for manipulating California energy markets for several years in the late 2000s. The amount includes a $435 million fine as well as disgorgement of $35 million in profits Barclays gained from allegedly illegal trading. In addition, FERC levied hefty fines against several individual Barclays traders.

Rick Tempchin, executive director, Retail Energy Services for the Edison Electric Institute, talks about the impact of distributed energy resources on utilities and their customers.

A settlement agreement reached with environmental group the Sierra Club last week may mean that Iowa’s largest utility, MidAmerican Energy Co., will switch 674 MW of coal-fired capacity to natural gas or other fuels by April 2016.

Mississippi regulators last week approved a settlement with Mississippi Power that will allow the Southern Co. subsidiary to seek higher customer rates for rising costs associated with its 582-MW Kemper integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant under construction in Kemper County. On the day following that ruling, the utility asked the state for permission to recover $172 million for the 2013 regulatory year.