Coal

Polish utility PGE scrapped plans to build two 900-MW coal-fired power units worth $3.6 billion at a plant near the southwestern city of Opole, citing falling electricity prices and weak demand.

Dr. Ernest Moniz, President Obama’s nominee for the next Secretary of Energy, appears poised for easy confirmation after responding to questions from the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee on April 9. His remarks indicated support for, among other things, small modular reactors, carbon capture technology research, and moving forward with the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future.

The proposed 2014 federal budget that President Obama submitted to Congress on Wednesday includes increases for the Department of Energy in general and for DOE-sponsored research and development (R&D) in particular. It also shows a slight decrease in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Monday that Dominion Energy has agreed to pay a $3.4 million civil penalty and spend approximately $9.8 million on environmental mitigation projects to resolve Clean Air Act (CAA) violations.

The Wyoming state Industrial Siting Council has approved an amended permit for the $800 million, 300-MW Two Elk coal-fired power plant, which was first proposed in 1996 but has yet to break ground.

The 3,600-MW Vuhlehirska Thermal Power Plant in Svitlodarske, Ukraine, was heavily damaged on Mar. 29 by a fire that killed one worker and seriously injured at least eight others. Four units at the seven-unit coal-fired plant were destroyed, and the region was temporarily without power and heating.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 28 finalized updates to emission limits for new power plants under the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). The rule includes emission limits for mercury, particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), acid gases, and certain individual metals.

Southern Co. has withdrawn plans to seek a $1.5 billion federal loan guarantee for the 582-MW lignite-fired integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant its Mississippi Power Co. unit is building in Kemper County.

Nevada power company NV Energy Inc. has proposed a plan to accelerate the retirement of its coal-fired generating facilities and the construction of natural gas and renewable power plants.

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