Business

The Appeals Court in D.C. has struck down a Bush administration 2007 ozone rule, sending the issue back to the Environmental Protection Agency for a mulligan. What will this mean in the future?

The National Academy of Public Administration faults the U.S. Department of Energy on human resource management, contract controls, and financial management.

The economic downturn hits Entergy Corp. and Bruce Power.

The world’s first supercritical circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) steam generator began successful operation at the Lagisza power plant in Poland early this July, according to power equipment and engineering firm Foster Wheeler. The new CFB — believed to be the world’s largest — replaced 1960s-era pulverized coal units at the power plant owned by Polish utility […]

TVA scales back plans to revitalize new nuclear construction at its Bellefonte plant, suggesting that it will scrap plans for new units at the site and perhaps focus on its unbuilt unit that has been mothballed for 25 years.

"If you build it, they will come" — the litigants, that is. The lawsuit involving the construction of Southwestern Electric Power Co.’s (SWEPCO) John W. Turk Jr. ultrasupercritical coal-fired power plant in Arkansas gives new meaning to that popular quote from the movie Field of Dreams.

“Engagement” was once the buzzword for employee satisfaction. That was then, say some HR gurus, but these authors argue that engagment is as important as ever.

U.S. wind power appears becalmed, partially stymied by transmission constraints, and also by financing difficulties in the current recession. Read the details.

Over the past decade, the development of new natural gas – fired generating assets has been similar to an amusement park roller coaster ride — very high peaks and the lowest of lows, with fast and stomach-churning movement between. Expect the ride to continue into the near future.

Is it possible to develop a business model whereby an economic dip can be used to a market advantage? One client uses a sports analogy to describe this opportunity: "We are between seasons, and we have an opportunity to recruit and retool our team for the future." This just might be the right time to retool your human resources processes to avoid past hiring mistakes and adopt new hiring practices that will maximize the life-cycle value of your company’s human capital.

News items of interest to power industry professionals.

In June, California issued yet another report on renewable energy. This one, a joint effort of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Energy Commission (CEC), analyzes implementation issues related to increasing the state’s renewables portfolio standard (RPS) to 33% by 2020. The report is the latest in an increasingly growing number of assessments, policy pronouncements, and administrative decisions examining renewable energy and climate change issues.

Does your business have a communications plan to deal with a catastrophe? The lack of one could cost your business its corporate reputation and the value of your shares on the market.

If a nuclear revival is to happen, it will depend on understanding the global nature of the supply chains that support it, argues a U.S. conservative think tank.

The bill that the U.S. House passed 219-212 in late June to establish a cap-and-trade regime for control of global warming gases also includes new authority for overriding states on siting power lines. But the new authority only applies to the West.

Everything you want to, or should, know about uranium mining and processing is in a new book by Tom Zoellner, not including the terrifying threat of crocodiles in northern Australia.

Even as hype about the U.S. nuclear renaissance is quieting down—a result of economic woes and unrealistic expectations about political and regulatory developments—some developments remain. As these stories from the nation’s media suggest, the building of new nuclear plants in the U.S. may move ahead at a slower, more measured pace.

Inventory is expensive. It sucks up, and locks up, cash. How can utility managers save inventory money? Here are some possibilities from experts in inventory management.

Educating a workforce about the concept of business acumen—going beyond financial literacy and developing a true understanding of what it takes for an organization to make money—is the key to producing real, bottom-line results.

News items of interest to power industry professionals.

At the opening ELECTRIC POWER 2009 plenary session, both the keynote speaker and the Power Industry Executive Roundtable participants kept circling back to the problems created by a public and lawmakers who seem to be promoting policies without an adequate understanding of energy realities. Most of the speakers acknowledged that the industry itself is partly to blame, but nobody offered a way forward.

The tension between the growing number of renewable energy projects and limited transmission capacity is reflected in Washington’s legislative agenda of establishing a national renewable portfolio standard and new transmission lines dedicated to moving renewable energy coast-to-coast. Even if those ideas become law, hurdles to the happy marriage of renewables and transmission remain.

This March, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) quietly completed development of the "J-series" gas turbine — a machine that has been extolled in the turbo-machinery world for its ability to produce one of the world’s largest power generation capacities and highest thermal efficiencies.

The intensifying spotlight on renewable energy seems to be casting a brighter light on the energy storage problem, with lawmakers, researchers, and investors scrambling to seek out the most feasible solution to bridge the intermittent nature of renewable power sources.

In the world of North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) Reliability Standards, each company (entity) that must comply with the standards determines for itself the scope and size of its compliance program, based on the scope and size of its operations.

Many U.S. power companies are focusing their hiring efforts on military veterans. According to human resources HR experts, it makes a lot sense—beyond pure patriotism. Vets are motivated, experienced, often well-trained, and instilled with team-work. Plus, there is a great need to replace the retiring “baby boomers” generation who have populated many key industry jobs. In some cases, there’s even a financial incentive for hiring vets.

The Obama administration has unveiled its long-awaited policy on cyber security of government and private-sector communication and distribution systems. Is it less than meets the eye, as some critics argue?

Clashes between industry and the Department of Commerce on backward compatibility of standards could stifle and delay the development of a “smart” electric transmission and distribution grid.

The Obama administration has pulled the plug on the Department of Energy’s attempts to develop hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars. (The Bush administration had been touting H-powered cars for many years, with nothing to show for the effort other than large expenditures and a General Motors concept car that cost in the millions to build.) At about the same time, the Obama administration announced it would resurrect the billion-dollar FutureGen coal-fired generating project, aimed for Mattoon, Ill.