Coal

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 […]

Digital technology is everywhere today including in most power plants. Computer hardware and software are changing the way plants are operated and maintained. Many technology experts will tell you that

EDF Inks Agreement for O&M Services at UAE Nuclear Plant. French nuclear power plant operator EDF will operate and maintain the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under a

The International Energy Agency (IEA) deemed growth and disruptions of the world’s power sector so significant to the future of energy, it dedicated—for the first time—a four-chapter “special focus”

Control rooms are vital for organizations to efficiently and effectively monitor multiple information streams and make accurate mission-critical decisions. With an ever-increasing number of content sources and

What began in the world of finance has moved into the power sector. Blockchain, a nascent technology most often associated with cryptocurrency, is a new frontier in the energy space, changing the way power is

To be a relevant player in the future power mix, coal power efficiency and costs must improve, and technologies in the realm of research and development promise to do just that. Although most experts agree

Heavy loads must often be moved at power plants of all types. Air bearing-based vehicles can make the process safer, faster, and cheaper. Cask relocation at a nuclear waste facility offers one successful

With many challenges facing both fossil fuel and nuclear power generation facilities, training and workforce development has never been more important. Establishing a culture of continuous improvement is

A new system to remove dissolved (ionic) mercury, along with other contaminants, from power plant wastewater is being developed. It is free of the drawbacks of using a traditional stannous chloride reagent

What is the best way to construct a complete chemical-feed system for use in a power plant—piecing together equipment acquired from a hodgepodge of suppliers or creating a system with components sourced from

Because compliance costs to coal- and oil-fired power plants for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) far exceed quantifiable benefits to regulating hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions, the Trump administration has proposed it is not “appropriate and necessary” to regulate HAP emissions from power plants under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), […]

NV Energy plans to retire a 254-MW coal-fired unit in a power-constrained region of Nevada at the end of 2021, four years ahead of schedule. The company will instead purchase 1,001 MW from new solar photovoltaic projects equipped with 100 MW of long-term battery storage, effectively doubling its total renewable generation from 14% in 2017 […]

For decades the U.S. has relied on coal for much of its energy supply. States with abundant coal—Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and others—have towns and cities whose economies are driven by the coal industry. Now, as the coal industry declines and those areas struggle, the Trump administration wants to use taxpayer money to save coal […]

The accelerated retirement of coal-fired and nuclear generation by 2022 could adversely affect reliability in four regions, including in the East and over parts of the central U.S., the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) warned as it released findings from a “stress-test” scenario.  But the entity tasked with ensuring reliability and security of the […]

There’s never a dull moment in the power industry, and like most years, 2018 was filled with many interesting developments. As it has been for more than 135 years, POWER was there to break the news. The following 10 articles were the most-read online stories of the year. #10: New York Denies Air Permit for […]

Washington, DC — Yesterday, NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation) released a Special Reliability Assessment to evaluate the risks to the reliability and resilience of the electricity grid from the significant loss of fuel-secure baseload generation. While NERC’s review is not a forecast of expected future conditions, it does represent a credible stress-test of the […]

Dominion Energy’s bid to purchase SCANA Corp. and its South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) utility, approved by South Carolina regulators on Dec. 14, could bring some stability to SCANA. Shareholders hope that’s the case; they’re excited about swapping their devalued SCANA shares for more valuable Dominion stock. Workers, though, remain uncertain about their futures, […]

Hitachi Ltd. and ABB on December 17 announced that Hitachi will acquire 80.1% of ABB’s Power Grids unit in an $11 billion deal. Reports of the possible acquisition surfaced December 16, with several media outlets including POWER  discussing the agreement, citing sources familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified. Hitachi plans to […]

Charah Solutions has launched MP618, a proprietary fly ash thermal beneficiation technology that improves the quality of fly ash produced at electric utilities and increases its supply of marketable fly ash to concrete producers nationwide. Our proven MP618 Multi-Process fly ash beneficiation technology allows for beneficiation of both wet and dry fly ash, reduces loss […]

Hitachi Ltd. and ABB could announce an $11 billion deal as soon as December 17 in which Hitachi will acquire 80% of ABB’s power grids unit. Reports of the possible deal surfaced December 16, with Bloomberg and others citing sources familiar with the agreement who asked not to be identified. Neither ABB nor Hitachi commented […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has significantly relaxed requirements needed to build new coal-fired power units in the U.S.  The revisions proposed on December 6 for performance standards governing carbon dioxide emissions from new, reconstructed, and modified coal power units respond to the Trump Administration’s Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth, which […]

In a move widely applauded by the power industry, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Army proposed a new definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) that could exempt groundwater and ditches from regulation under the Clean Water Act (CWA).  The measures follow other recent significant regulatory actions by the agency. On […]

Siemens on December 11 said it would lay off about 200 workers at a gas turbines parts and components service center in Houston, Texas, sometime in late 2019 or early 2020. A company spokesperson made the announcement Tuesday, saying the cuts are due to weak global demand for the company’s turbines. Siemens in a statement […]