Coal

  • America’s Power Statement on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Plans to Force the Shutdown of Coal-Fired Power Plants

    Washington, D.C. – America’s Power President and CEO Michelle Bloodworth issued the following statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plans to use new regulations to shut down coal-fired power plants, as part of the administration’s efforts to decarbonize the power sector.  The announcement follows last month’s decision by the Supreme Court that placed constraints […]

  • Charah Solutions Awarded 9-Year Multi-Pond Ash Pond Excavation Contract from Long-Term Southeastern Utility Partner

    Award Represents One of the Largest and Longest Term Projects in Company History Includes Excavation of Approximately 4.3 Million Cubic Yards of Coal Combustion Residuals from Three Ash Ponds to Support Ongoing Beneficiation Activities and Facilitate Future Pond Closures LOUISVILLE, KY (July 28, 2022) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) (“Charah Solutions” or the “Company”), […]

  • Energy Security, Climate Change Initiatives Endure with Surprise U.S. Senate Deal

    The inclusion of an estimated $369 billion in energy security and climate change investments in a July 27–unveiled U.S. Senate budget reconciliation proposal has prompted optimism from a range of energy sectors. Less than two weeks after negotiations on clean energy and climate provisions within the reconciliation package hit an impasse and suggested their demise, […]

  • Europe May Need Temporary Coal, Oil Power Increase to Ready for ’Hard’ Winter, IEA Warns

    European leaders should minimize gas use in the power sector and temporarily ramp up coal- and oil-fired generation while accelerating low-carbon sources to guard against energy market turmoil that has grown “especially perilous,” the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on July 18. “I’m particularly concerned about the months ahead,” wrote IEA Executive […]

  • JERA Readying to Start 1-GW Coal Plant as Japan Scrambles to Secure Power Supplies

    Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has called for up to nine nuclear plants to be put into operation to mitigate tight supplies expected this winter. The country could meanwhile resume operation of more than 10 thermal power plants to ensure electricity security this summer, he said. Kishida’s comments at a press conference on July 14 […]

  • Plant Bowen Will Showcase Largest Coal Ash Beneficial Use Project in the U.S.

    Georgia Power will harvest 9 million tons of coal ash landfilled at its 3.4-GW Plant Bowen station in Bartow County, Georgia, and beneficially use it in concrete for major regional construction projects. The project, announced on June 29, will be the “ single largest beneficial use project of its kind in the U.S., and the largest […]

  • Risks and Opportunities: It’s an Interesting Time to Be in the Power Industry

    War rages in Europe. Natural gas prices are through the roof. Drought threatens hydro production. Weather extremes are becoming commonplace. Supply chains are strained. Demand for electricity is headed

  • 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