Coal

  • What Keeps Energy Leaders Up at Night? It’s More About Climate Change Than You May Think

    This year, it seems hardly a week has gone by without a new report making us even more nervous about climate change. It’s as if the editorial theme for 2019 was: “It’s worse than you thought.” Maybe

  • Nigeria Enlists Siemens to Help Shore Up Power Grid

    Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has an ambitious plan to rebuild the country’s power grid, as his government tries to jump-start the slow pace of growth in Africa’s largest economy. Buhari and Siemens

  • Shock Pulse Generators Help Clean Supercritical Power Plant Boilers

    Economic power plant operation includes keeping maintenance costs under control, and operating the plant efficiently. Boiler surfaces need to be kept as clean as possible to increase heat transfer and decrease

  • The Theory and Application of Acoustic Cleaners

    Sonic sootblowers and acoustic cleaners were once thought to be a last-chance alternative to difficult ash build-up problems. However, the technology has proven to be effective over years of service in

  • Combustion Optimization to Improve Heat Rate and Lower NOx

    Power plant operators are always looking for ways to boost performance. A combustion optimizer designed to improve efficiency and lower emissions could help. It supports more flexible operation of boilers by

  • Changing Power Market Conditions Warrant Smart Boiler Services

    There have been a lot of changes in how power plants do business. As financial pressure mounts and lean-staffing strategies are implemented, finding time to do all the work that needs to be done can be a

  • Consecutive Agreement for Long Term Service Agreements in Morocco IHI Group Continues to Expand Life Cycle Business for Power Plant

    IHI Corporation (IHI), in cooperation with Steinmüller Engineering GmbH (SE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of IHI having a profound technical knowledge of boilers for thermal power generation, has concluded a Long Term Service Agreement (LTSA) for a period of 6 years with Safi Energy Company (SafiEC)(*1), a power generation company in the Kingdom of Morocco (Morocco). […]

  • Germany Announces $44.4 Billion Plan to Lessen Impact of Coal Plant Closures

    German officials on Aug. 28 approved a plan to spend as much as €40 billion ($44.4 billion) over the next 20 years on projects designed to lessen the impact of the country’s complete move away from coal-fired power generation. Peter Altmaier, the country’s economy minister, said the money will become available after lawmakers pass legislation […]

  • FERC’s LaFleur Decries Partisanship and Politicization

    “I hate to see things going out along party lines,” Cheryl LaFleur, outgoing commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), told POWER during an exclusive interview. “During my 35 years of watching FERC, that has not been the pattern.” During the early years of the Obama administration, “we didn’t think of ourselves as [partisan],” […]

  • Drillinginfo Announces Name Change to Enverus

    Austin, TX (August 22, 2019) – Drillinginfo, a leading energy SaaS and data analytics company, announced today that it has changed its corporate name to Enverus. Marking both the company’s 20thanniversary and surpassing $300 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), the new name and brand better reflects the company’s identity as a leading data, analytics, and […]

  • Vistra May Close 2 GW of Illinois Coal Power By Year’s End

    Vistra Energy will shutter four coal-fired power plants—a total 2 GW—as required by Illinois’ recently revised Multi-Pollutant Standard (MPS) rule, but CEO Curtis Morgan noted the move was “inevitable” due to the changing regulatory environment and unfavorable economic conditions in the MISO market.  The company on Aug. 21 said it will close the 54-year-old 915-MW […]

  • EPA’s Final Regional Haze Guidance Highlights State Discretion, Flexibility

    New guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Aug. 20 to help states prepare for the second implementation period of the federal regional haze program puts emphasis on “discretion and flexibilities” they can use to comply with long-standing mandates to protect visibility in federal areas.   While it is not binding, the EPA’s […]

  • Although ‘Trump Digs Coal,’ His Administration Is Missing the Message

    COMMENTARY At this point, one thing should be abundantly clear about the Trump administration’s theme on energy policy: the president will do whatever it takes to prop up coal, even if the market and the public choose otherwise. The Trump administration’s latest pro-coal gambit is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) so-called Affordable Clean Energy rule, […]

  • Developer Blasts Ohio Nuclear Deal, Pulls Plug on Gas Plant Project

    The president of a company developing two new natural gas-fired power plants in Ohio said he is ending a project for a third plant there after lawmakers passed legislation to help two struggling nuclear generation facilities in the state. Bill Siderewicz, who leads Massachusetts-based Clean Energy Future LLC, on August 20 in a statement said […]

  • Leap, Google Nest Using Automation for Demand Response

    Utilities have offered demand response programs for years, in many cases offering rebates or other compensation to customers willing to allow the utility to reduce their household or business power consumption at certain times of the day. Other companies are moving forward with their own programs, seeking a piece of the growing market for automation […]

  • City Backs Deal for CCS Technology to Save New Mexico Coal Plant

    The Farmington, New Mexico, city council on Aug. 15 unanimously approved a deal to transfer 95% of the ownership interest of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station (SJGS) to Enchant Energy, a company run by executives of a New York-based hedge fund that wants to utilize what it calls “state-of-the-art environmental technology” to capture carbon […]

  • Endress+Hauser Announces Two Analyzers for the Power Market

    The CA76NA and CA80SI analyze boiler feedwater, steam, condensate and ion exchangers — making them a great fit for power industry applications. August 15, 2019—Endress+Hauser announces two analyzers for power industry applications: the CA76NA monitors sodium, while the CA80SI analyzes for silica in boiler feedwater, steam, condensate and ion exchangers. Each analyzer can accept up […]

  • Beumer Group Awarded Ash Pipe Conveyor Project by Vectren

    SOMERSET, NJ (August 15, 2019) – BEUMER Group, an industry leader in the design and manufacture of conveying and loading systems, announced today that it has been selected to provide design/build services for a new recycled ash pipe conveyor system at the A.B. Brown Generating Station located near Mount Vernon, Indiana, owned by Vectren, a CenterPoint […]

  • SwRI to Design Flameless, Low-Emission Coal Combustion Pilot 

    San Antonio-based Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) said on Aug. 12 it will get $3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and another $760,658 from an assortment of industry giants to design a large-scale flameless pressurized oxy-fuel combustion pilot plant.  The announcement is a major boost for the promising, but yet unproven technology, that […]

  • 22 States, Environmental Groups Mount Legal Challenges to EPA ACE Rule

    A coalition of 22 states and seven local governments on Aug. 13 filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which the Trump administration finalized in June to replace the Obama administration’s legacy Clean Power Plan (CPP).  Separately, 10 public interest groups filed a petition on Aug. […]

  • ASGCO® Announces Their Improved Line of Sure Grip™ Belt Clamps!

    Allentown, PA.: ASGCO® “Complete Conveyor Solution’s” unveils their newly enhanced series of Sure Grip™ Conveyor Belt Clamps in their line of Safe-Guard® safety conveyor products. Designed to secure the belt for safe repair, the BC6 (6 Tons) and BC8 (8 Tons) Sure Grip™ Belt Clamps were created for maximum grip! Capable to handle more weight […]

  • FES Will Close Mansfield Coal Plant Early

    FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) said it will close the Bruce Mansfield power plant in Pennsylvania in November, two years ahead of the previously scheduled closure for the facility’s remaining coal-fired unit. FES in a statement August 9 cited a “lack of economic viability in current market conditions” for the decision to shutter the 830-MW Unit 3, […]

  • Continuous, Real-Time TSS Monitoring Verifies Effluent Quality and Coal Ash Management Performance While Reducing Compliance Costs

    Sponsored by:
    Xylem

    As many power plants continue to struggle with the critical last step in their coal ash remediation processes – the final testing phase – some plants have successfully adopted the use of recently advanced sensor technology to measure real-time total suspended solids (TSS) to verify their discharge water is meeting specified requirements.

    Having the ability to monitor TSS real time, and obtain accurate results that are repeatable and verifiable with random lab tests, allows for users to automate functions such as controlling pumps transporting effluent, or start and stop pretreatment processes designed to keep effluent within permit guidelines.

  • Doosan Škoda Power to upgrade the heating plant at the Opatovice CHP

    Pilsen (08/06/2019) – Doosan Škoda Power, a Czech manufacturer and supplier of steam turbines and components for power-generating operations, has won a contract to upgrade the TG5 heating plant at the Opatovice Power Station, which supplies heat to several thousand households in the north-east region of the Czech Republic. Doosan Škoda Power will supply a […]

  • PG&E Asks Bankruptcy Judge to Back Restructured Power Deals

    California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has asked the judge overseeing its bankruptcy case to support restructured deals with some of the utility’s power suppliers in an effort to reduce the price PG&E pays for those companies’ electricity. The fate of $42 billion worth of long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) is a key component […]

  • RWE Will Close Wales Plant, Leaving UK With Four Operating Coal Units

    German utility RWE on August 1 announced it will close its last coal-fired power plant in the UK. The closure of the Aberthaw B power station in south Wales, scheduled by the end of March 2020, means just four coal plants will be operating in the UK. The plant originally was scheduled to be shuttered […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: A Spotlight on Oil-Fired Power

    Discussions about fossil-fueled power capacity are typically centered on coal and natural gas. The former is seeing a marked decline amid climate concerns, and the latter is seeing unprecedented growth, owing to relatively low prices. Seemingly forgotten, but still a major source of power, are plants fired with petroleum liquids. In 2017, according to the […]

  • Volcanic Rock Offers New Take on Energy Storage

    Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), known for its wind turbines used in both large onshore and offshore projects, in June began operation of an electric thermal energy storage (ETES) system in Germany

  • POWER Digest [August 2019]

    VW Chooses MHPS to Modernize Cogen Plant. Volkswagen AG (VW) in early July said it chose Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe (MHPS Europe) to build a gas-and-steam power plant in Wolfsburg, as part of the