Coal

  • RWE to Take Over Vattenfall’s 1.4-GW ‘Hydrogen-Ready’ Dutch Gas-Fired Plant

    German energy giant RWE will in September acquire Vattenfall’s 1.4-GW Magnum combined cycle gas-fired power station, a project in the Netherlands where work is underway to explore converting one of the three

  • POWER Digest [July 2022]

    Large-Volume Ammonia Co-Firing Demonstration at JERA Coal Plant to Begin a Year Earlier. Japanese firms JERA—a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and Chubu Electric—and IHI Corp. on May

  • Supreme Court Limits EPA Authority to Regulate Power Plant Emissions

    The U.S. Supreme Court has curbed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) options for limiting emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from power plants, an important environmental decision that could impact the federal government’s authority to enforce other regulations. The court in a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, on June 30 said the EPA does […]

  • AEMO Begins Cautious Lift of Australian Electricity Market Suspension

    The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on June 22 initiated the first step to lift a suspension of its National Electricity Market (NEM), citing a “clear improvement in market conditions.” The measure comes more than a week since it indefinitely suspended spot markets in all regions of its NEM, given critical power generation supply shortfalls […]

  • Germany Set to Increase Coal-Fired Generation in Face of Gas Crunch

    A leading German economic official said the country must increase the burning of coal for power generation and reduce its use of natural gas to avoid an energy crisis later this year. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck in a statement on June 19 said the country’s move away from receiving natural gas from Russia due […]

  • Australian Energy Crisis Prompts Suspension of National Electricity Market

    The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on June 15 indefinitely suspended spot markets in all regions of its National Electricity Market (NEM), citing critical power generation supply shortfalls that it said made it “impossible to continue” operations under national electricity rules. AEMO—the independent system operator (ISO) that operates the competitive market serving New South Wales, […]

  • ‘Wyoming Innovation Center’— a Testbed for Sustainable Coal Products — Officially Opens

    5,500 SF Facility on 10 Acres in Gillette to spur innovation, jobs in the “Carbon Valley,” which has 165B tons of recoverable coal GILLETTE, Wyo. – June 14, 2022 – The Wyoming Innovation Center (WyIC), a 5,500-square-foot coal commercialization facility, has officially opened in Gillette, Wyo., owner Energy Capital Economic Development (ECED) announced today. The […]

  • CAMS Awarded O&M Services Contract for Hallador Energy’s Merom Generating Station

    HOUSTON – Consolidated Asset Management Services (CAMS), an industry leading asset management and operations and maintenance (O&M) services provider, announced today that it was awarded an O&M contract to support Hallador Energy Company (Hallador) and its Merom Generating Station (Merom), a 1,000 MW coal-fired power generating station in Indiana. Located in Sullivan County, Ind., Merom […]

  • Two Killed in Collapse of Coal Pile at Colorado Power Plant

    Two employees of a company that manages coal-handling operations for Xcel Energy’s Comanche Generating Station in Colorado were killed June 2 when they were trapped in a coal pile that collapsed at the power plant. The collapse happened Thursday morning about 8:30 a.m. Mountain time, according to officials. Rescue crews located the victims Thursday afternoon. […]

  • Much-Watched Reciprocating Engine Hydrogen Pilot Kicks Off at Michigan Power Plant

    A landmark project to test fuel blends of up to 25% volume of hydrogen mixed with natural gas in reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICEs) has launched at WEC Energy Group’s 56-MW A.J. Mihm power plant in Michigan. If successful, the pilot—one of the first of its kind in the U.S.—could provide key insight into how […]

  • Reliability, Resiliency, Cost, and Climate Driving C&I Power Systems

    Commercial and industrial (C&I) entities want to ensure they have electricity when they need it. Businesses also are looking at sustainability, decarbonization, and control of their energy costs as factors

  • New Life for Dead and Dying Coal Plants?

    As coal plants are retired, power companies must decide what to do with sites. Some old plants have been added to the National Register of Historic Places and repurposed as commercial or office space, while

  • POWER Digest [June 2022]

    Twenty20 Energy Will Build Gas-Fired Plant in Papua New Guinea. Singapore-based Twenty20 Energy Systems in April announced it would design and build a new gas-fired power plant in Hela province, Papua New

  • India Plans to Reduce Coal-Fired Generation, and Mine More Coal

    India’s Power Ministry, despite the country facing shortages of electricity in recent years and as recently as the past month, said it plans to reduce the amount of power generation from at least 81 of the country’s 173 coal-fired power plants over the next four years. The agency, in a letter dated May 26 that […]

  • NERC Warns of Mounting Reliability Risks, Urges Preparation for Challenging Summer

    An unprecedented array of risks—ranging from capacity shortfalls, extreme weather, extended drought, supply chain issues, cybersecurity, solar PV tripping, fuel constraints, to wildfires—could imperil the reliability of nearly every North American bulk power system (BPS) region west of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) this summer, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) warned in […]

  • Keeping Coal Relevant: University of Wyoming Leads the Way

    To say the coal industry faces challenges is an understatement. Coal-fired power plants are being retired around the globe as efforts to decarbonize the world’s power supply have intensified due to climate change concerns. That’s a problem for people working in the coal industry, as well as for states and governments that rely on coal […]

  • ERCOT, MISO Warn of Potential Power Supply Shortfalls

    (Updated—May 6, 2022) The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) over the past week separately expressed concerns about power supply uncertainties in the face of upcoming warmer-than-normal temperatures. MISO raised an alarm on April 28 when it said that it projects “insufficient firm resources” to cover the summer […]

  • Revolutionizing Refractory Maintenance: Increasing Efficiency with Specialized Equipment

    Refractory maintenance, though vital, can often be a logistical and financial burden. This is especially true for power plants, cement plants, and other large facilities that rely on boilers, kilns, coolers, preheater towers, and risers for day-to-day operation. These facilities stand to lose many thousands of dollars a day in production if their refractory can’t […]

  • History of Power: Duke Energy’s Century-Old Legacy

    Duke Energy, one of the largest energy companies in the world, grew out of a system of lakes and dams along the Catawba River to generate power for the Piedmont Carolinas. While the company has sustained a

  • There’s Value in Old Power Generation Components

    Equipment from both renewable and thermal energy power plants is finding new life in the recycling market. The market for recycled power equipment components is getting a boost due to ongoing global supply

  • UK Leans Heavily on Nuclear in Bold New Energy Strategy

    A long-awaited energy strategy published by the UK government on April 6 lays out bold commitments that tackle Great Britain’s multi-pronged challenges, including achieving net-zero carbon emissions while

  • Advanced Analytics Applications Power Predictive Maintenance Efforts

    Moving from reactive to predictive maintenance requires the right tools for use by subject matter experts. As the power industry continues to advance from preventative to predictive maintenance, one thing is

  • POWER Digest [May 2022]

    Czech Republic Chooses Site for SMR Development. CEZ Group, a major conglomerate in the Czech Republic, in late March said it had set aside an area at the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant as a possible location for

  • ACES Delta’s Giant Utah Salt Cavern Hydrogen Storage Project Gets $504M Conditional DOE Loan Guarantee

    The Advanced Clean Energy Storage Project, a much-watched project under development in Delta, Utah, that is shaping up to be the largest renewable hydrogen energy hub in the U.S., has garnered a conditional commitment for a $504.4 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) federal loan guarantee program. The conditional loan guarantee commitment […]

  • At Least 15 China-Backed Coal Plants Canceled, Another 37 GW in Limbo

    A research group focused on the energy industry and its impact on air pollution said the Chinese government’s decision to no longer provide financing for overseas coal projects has resulted in the cancellation of at least 15 coal-fired power plants in recent months. The group said China’s investments are so far-reaching that the change in […]

  • America’s Power Statement on MISO Electric Capacity Shortfalls

    Washington, D.C. – Following the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO) release of the results of its 2022-2023 annual Planning Resource Auction (PRA) indicating electric capacity shortfalls in both the north and central regions of MISO, America’s Power issued the following statement by Michelle Bloodworth, President and CEO: “MISO’s recent capacity auction shows that it might […]

  • EPA Proposes Tighter Controls on NOx Emissions from Power Plants, Industrial Sources

    A sweeping new proposed rule published in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 6 establishes new nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions budgets that will require fossil fuel–fired power plants in 25 states to participate in an allowance-based ozone season trading program starting in 2023. The proposal, which builds on the agency’s […]

  • SCOTUS Reinstates Trump-Era Environmental Certification Rule

    The U.S. Supreme Court on April 6 reinstated a Trump-era environmental rule that limited state and tribal roles in enforcing a section of the Clean Water Act (CWA) related to project certification. The order is a temporary triumph for eight states and three energy trade associations, including the National Hydropower Association (NHA). The high court’s […]

  • Homer City Coal Plant to Keep All Three Units Operating

    The Homer City coal-fired power plant will continue operating, according to multiple news sources in western Pennsylvania, where the plant is located. Owners of the three-unit, 1,884-MW generating station in Indiana County, about 45 miles east of Pittsburgh, had been contemplating shuttering one or more units, while also exploring options to add renewable energy to […]

  • Australia’s Coal Conundrum: Economy, Climate at Odds

    Coal has long been a lifeblood for Australia. The country is the world’s largest exporter of metallurgical coal used to make steel, and it’s the second-largest exporter of coal for use in power generation