Coal

The Netherlands Orders Early Closure of Coal Plants. The Dutch government on March 8 told Swedish power producer Vattenfall to stop using coal at the 650-MW Hemweg-8 hard coal-fired unit in Amsterdam by the

Colorado lawmakers are considering legislation (HB19-1037) designed to help the state’s investor-owned utilities gracefully back out of non-economic coal-fired power plants. Colorado is at the forefront of

The right level instrumentation is key to keeping boilers on an even keel. Guided-wave radar offers a critical combination of capabilities. If asked to make a short list of factors able to improve heat rate

Comparing the costs of differing electric generating technologies has become popular among advocates for particular technologies and those seeking to find the optimal approach to new generation. While getting

The ELECTRIC POWER Conference + Exhibition celebrates its 21st birthday this year, with the event scheduled for April 23–26 at the Mirage Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. ELECTRIC POWER for the past two

In an apparent attempt to show supporters he is making good on his pledge to revive the dying coal industry, President Trump has been trying to find a way to funnel tens of billions of dollars to a small

Houston Facility Will Expand Charah Solutions’ Byproduct Sales Footprint in Texas and Gulf Coast LOUISVILLE, KY (March 27, 2019) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA), a leading provider of environmental and maintenance services to the power generation industry, today announced that it will open a second facility using new patented technologies for grinding granulated blast […]

Lebanon, Pennsylvania | Marsulex Environmental Technologies Corporation (MET) has been granted two new US patents, building upon MET’s commercially-proven ammonium sulfate flue gas desulfurization technology (AS FGD). These new developments, together with the patented and proprietary AS FGD, provide further recognition of MET’s commitment to the continual innovation of its flagship technology. The new patents represent […]

After a Navajo tribal council on March 21 voted 11–9 to block acquisition of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) and Peabody Energy’s Kayenta coal mine, the Navajo Transitional Energy Co. (NTEC) announced it would drop its bid to keep the 2.3-GW coal-fired plant near Page, Arizona, open.  NTEC, a company wholly owned by the Navajo […]

The United States Energy Association (USEA) is an association of public and private energy-related organizations, corporations, and government agencies that helps increase understanding of the world’s energy issues. Barry Worthington has been the executive director of the USEA for more than 30 years. During that time, he has seen the association grow from a two-person, […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 22, 2019) – The U.S. Department of Energy has announced $36 million in awards for 18 projects as part of the High Intensity Thermal Exchange through Materials and Manufacturing Processes (HITEMMP) program, as well as the final OPEN+ Cohort, High Temperature Devices. These project teams seek to develop new approaches and technologies for the […]

A German business magazine reports that Siemens is exploring options for its struggling gas turbine business, and could look to form a joint venture with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). Manager Magazin on March 21 said Siemens “wants to accommodate the large turbine business of the Japanese Mitsubishi Group and in the future hold only a […]

A report from an independent market monitor for PJM Interconnection shows that natural gas-fired power generation topped coal-fired output in PJM in 2018, the first time that gas has topped coal in the history of the largest U.S. grid operator. The “2018 State of the Market” report from Monitoring Analytics LLC, which includes Volume 1 […]

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators are urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw a proposed rule that they said could “lead to the undoing” of the Obama administration’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).  In a March 18 letter to newly appointed EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler, the group led by Sens. Lamar Alexander […]

Westmoreland Coal Co., the nation’s largest independent coal producer, announced March 15 that it has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will operate as a new, privately held company. The company, headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, near Denver, said its assets, including three mines in Montana, are now owned and operated by Westmoreland Mining LLC, a […]

The chief executive of Vistra Energy Corp. last week said coal is not likely to regain market share in the U.S. power market. Curtis Morgan, in a panel discussion March 14 at the CERAWeek event in Houston, Texas, said “coal is on its way out. More and more plants are being retired.” It’s not the […]

Eric Effinger Promoted; David Clem and Jameel Allen Join Growing Team LOUISVILLE, KY (March 13, 2019) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) (the “Company”), a leading provider of environmental and maintenance services to the power generation industry, today announced the following promotion and new hires, which expand the Company’s strong leadership bench. “We are pleased to promote […]

A Wyoming bill designed to keep coal-fired power plants operating in the state was signed into law by the state’s governor last week, one of several developments worldwide that impacted the power generation landscape in early March. Also in the U.S., the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) defended its hiring of a contractor that led the […]

Brüel & Kjær Vibro (B&K Vibro) announced that it had received an order for the supply of VC-8000 SETPOINT® systems and services for monitoring a 250 MW gas/coal fired steam turbine, generator and main boiler feed pump at the Huntly power station, the largest in New Zealand. Huntly is owned by Genesis Energy, the third […]

An estimated 91% of U.S. coal power plants that submitted groundwater monitoring data as required by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2015 Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule have unsafe levels of one or more contaminants, a collaborative analysis of the monitoring data by several environmental groups suggests.  The March 4 report is significant because power […]

Grappling with a historically low planning reserve margin of 7.4%, owing to a mass of coal plant closures, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is forecasting record electric use this summer and warns it could issue energy alerts at “various times.”  ERCOT said its March 5–released final Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) for […]

Several developments worldwide impacted the power generation landscape in the past week, including more news about the closure of a coal-fired power plant in Alabama, the restart of a geothermal facility in Hawaii, and construction of a biomass-fueled power plant in Japan. In addition, a company said it plans a $150 million investment in three […]

The New York-based hedge fund aiming to take over New Mexico’s San Juan Generating Station (SJGS), targeted for closure by state lawmakers, wants to refit the 46-year-old, coal-fired plant to use carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology. Acme Equities LLC said last week that retrofitting the 847-MW plant with CCS technology would cut carbon emissions […]

Johannesburg, South Africa (March 2, 2019) – Zimbabwe recently resumed the construction of the $1.5 billion Hwange Expansion Project for Units 7 and 8 as it aims to progressively implement the Vision 2030 which will transform Zimbabwe into an upper middle class economy. The $1.488 billion project is being funded by China Exim Bank, Sinohydro […]

The Distribution System Is Newest Energy Transition Frontier in Europe. The European power sector is urging member states and regulators within the European Union (EU) to speed up development of

Eight years after Germany decided it would halt nuclear power production by 2022, the country that relied on lignite and hard coal for 38% of its generated power in 2018 will phase out coal by 2038 or earlier

Dust collection plays a vital role for safe and efficient power plant operation. There are a number of dust collection options available to plant designers, and baghouses have gained wide acceptance. The

America’s energy mix is undergoing a period of rapid change. The way we generate electricity in this country looks dramatically different than it did just a decade ago, as wind and solar have matured and

As the world grapples with climate change concerns, carbon capture and storage could be the holy grail for continued fossil fuel use. Projects have come online that prove its feasibility, but costs can be

Battery storage technology has moved in fits and starts, but today experts note that rapid advances make it difficult for safety standards to keep pace. Developers of storage systems are designing projects to