Coal

Power generators continue to expand their use of digital technologies. Data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are all part of a rapid transformation in how utilities are improving the

An Electric Power Research Institute-led collaborative utility project, called I4Gen (Insight through the Integration of Information for Intelligent Generation), is exploring new technologies for digitally

It is fairly common for power plant engineers and maintenance managers to focus on fireside issues rather than waterside issues during routine maintenance outages. However, that could be a mistake. Waterside

Thermohydraulic simulations can provide detailed heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) data to help determine the root cause of failures, predict the degree of wear from various mechanisms, and assess the

The Connected Plant Conference is a forum designed for professionals in the power generation and chemical process industries who are leading digital adoption at all stages. Sessions are tailored to offer

China’s power sector reforms represent perhaps the world’s largest industrial reform program, with important consequences on both domestic and global levels. In 2015, Erdaoqiao, a settlement in southwest

Two weeks of intense negotiations at the 24th meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) in Katowice, Poland, last December culminated in

Brutally cold temperatures in the midwestern and northeastern U.S. spurred grid operator alerts as natural gas demand has surged, power prices have soared, and there have been forced generator outages.  The polar vortex, an extreme cold event characterized by back-to-back cold fronts, has so far prompted states of emergency in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. On […]

January 31, 2019 — The Department of Energy has awarded four Virginia Tech researchers a $1.8 million grant to reduce the stress renewable energy sources put on the U.S. power grid. The Virginia Tech Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) and the Power and Energy Center (PEC) will partner with Siemens to tackle this challenge. […]

The Colstrip Power Plant, a four-unit, 2,094-MW coal-fired station located about 100 miles east of Billings, Montana, could see its coal supply contract nullified as a result of Westmoreland Coal Co.’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Westmoreland operates the 25,000-acre Rosebud coal mine, among others. Rosebud is adjacent to the Colstrip plant and supplies almost all […]

Düsseldorf, January 30, 2019 – GEA has developed high-temperature filters with ceramic elements that enable the removal of NOx, dioxins, mercury and VOC through an integrated catalyst matrix. BisCat ceramic catalyst filters are chemically inert and corrosion-resistant. This means that for many applications only one single system is required instead of three. Particle separation takes […]

California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 29, as the company faces as much as $30 billion in potential liabilities for its role in a series of wildfires in the state. The filing was expected after the company notified its workers two weeks ago it was preparing a […]

Shares of beleaguered California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) soared on Jan. 24 after a state agency said the company bore no responsibility for a 2017 wildfire in the state. A statement from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) on Thursday said, “After an extensive and thorough investigation, Cal Fire […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 23, 2019) — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $38 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects enhancing technologies that improve the overall performance, reliability, and flexibility of the nation’s existing coal-fired power plant fleet. Coal is vital to the Nation’s energy security and provides […]

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on Jan. 23 said a federal judge’s proposal that the utility mitigate fire danger in its service territory by trimming trees, along with inspecting and repairing thousands of miles of power lines, could cost the company as much as $150 billion this year. William Alsup, a judge in the U.S. […]

French labor unions on Jan. 22 said U.S.-based General Electric (GE) will cut 468 jobs at its units in France, including some staff at Alstom Power Systems (APS). GE confirmed to Agence France Press (AFP), a French news service, that talks with its unions on staff reductions are underway. The unions said 229 jobs would […]

China continues to finance new coal plants in more than two dozen countries, even as the country has taken the lead in global renewable energy investment, according to a report from a U.S. group of energy analysts. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) in its report said China is backing more than […]

Facility in Upstate New York Further Expands Charah Solutions’ Byproduct Sales Footprint LOUISVILLE, KY (January 17, 2019) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA), a leading provider of environmental and maintenance services to the power generation industry, today announced that it has opened its first facility using new patented technologies for grinding granulated blast furnace slag […]

California utility PG&E Corp. on Jan. 14 gave its workers the state-required 15-day advance notice of its intent to file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company on Monday said its electric and natural gas service to customers should not be impacted during its reorganization, which comes as PG&E faces billions of dollars in liabilities related […]

Reports on Jan. 13 said giant California utility PG&E Corp. could notify its workers as soon as Jan. 14 that it’s preparing to file for bankruptcy. Bloomberg on Sunday said the San Francisco-based utility, which faces billions of dollars in liabilities as investigations into its role in a series of deadly wildfires continues, will notify […]

Colorado-based Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a group cited in an analysts’ report last year for its high wholesale power costs and its reliance on coal-fired units, on Jan. 11 announced a 100-MW project that will more than double its solar power portfolio as it continues to add to its renewable power resources. Tri-State in […]

Beijing, January 2019 Jordan is building its first oil shale power station in Attarat, 50 kilometres east of Al Qatranah. As soon as the two 235 MW plant units are commissioned, AUMUND technology will also be in operation here. Working closely with WorleyParsons Beijing and Guangdong Power Engineering Co. Ltd., AUMUND China developed the technical […]

In a letter addressed to Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) CEO Bill Johnson, Kentucky Gov. Matthew G. Bevin said it “would be a huge mistake” to permanently shut down Paradise Unit 3—the last operating coal unit at the Paradise site in Muhlenburg County, Kentucky. According to the governor, “the impact on our economy and our region’s […]

While the Republican-led U.S. House and Senate in the 115th Congress was mainly focused on reviewing, for modification or repeal, several environmental rules issued under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the new Democrat majority in the House could focus on a slew of different measures, a new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) suggests.  […]

Glancing back to the 1970s, those of us in the power sector can remember when polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were the cooling liquid of choice for transformers in locations where fire risk was a critical consideration. Then it happened — PCBs were classified as carcinogenic and persistent organic pollutants. A safer replacement liquid was needed, and […]

A new study from an economic research group shows that U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) rose about 3.4% last year, including a 1.9% rise in emissions from power generation. The New York-based Rhodium Group, which released its findings on Jan. 8, said its study used data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and […]

New Proven Technology Will Increase Charah Solutions’ Supply of High-Quality Fly Ash and Expand Byproduct Sales Offerings LOUISVILLE, KY (January 8, 2019) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA), a leading provider of environmental and maintenance services to the power generation industry, has installed its proprietary fly ash beneficiation technology at the company’s Sulphur, Louisiana, terminal […]

Kevin McIntyre, who briefly served as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), died Jan. 2 at age 58. He had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 and had surgery to remove a tumor. President Trump nominated McIntyre, a Republican, in August 2017 to serve as FERC chairman. He was confirmed by the […]

Renewable energy sources increased their share of the UK’s electricity supply in 2018, with new wind farms and biomass plants helping renewables contribute a record 33% of the country’s power in the past year. Coal-fired units, meanwhile, saw a 25% drop in their output, with coal providing about 5% of the country’s total generation. The […]

The International Energy Agency forecasts that based on current and proposed policies, global power generation will grow about 15,000 TWh (about 60%) from 2017 to 2040. About 70% of additions will be supplied by natural gas, wind, and solar photovoltaics in nearly equal shares. But despite a drop from its current share from 38% to […]