Coal

Long-distance conveyors are a reliable and energy-efficient method of bulk material transport. Pipe conveyors—fully enclosed material handling systems—offer additional environmental protection and more

Two VECO-Drives will replace the existing boiler water feed pumps speed control in the NanSha thermal power plant Significant improvement of overall efficiency and reduction of energy consumption as well as greenhouse gas emissions Guangzhou, China. On August 27, 2018, Voith and Guangzhou China Resources Thermal Power Co., Ltd. signed an order for two VECO-Drive […]

FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. (FES) notified PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization (RTO), of its plans to deactivate four fossil-fuel generating plants in 2021 and 2022. In a press release issued on August 29, the company said it “is closing the plants due to a market environment that fails to adequately compensate generators for the resiliency […]

A spate of major power companies—including American Electric Power (AEP) and Southern Co.—have acquiesced to investor pressure and announced drastic cuts to their generating fleet carbon emissions over the long term. Industry group Edison Electric Institute (EEI) this week launched an official industry-designed template to help its member utilities better inform investors about their environmental, […]

An executive with the AES Shady Point coal-fired power plant in Oklahoma said the facility could close as soon as January after being notified its power purchase agreement (PPA) will not be extended. Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. (OG&E) this month said it will not execute another five-year extension of a PPA between the two […]

The Trump administration has extended a potential lifeline to coal-fired power plants with its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. Now the debate is about how much the plan will actually help coal generation. Energy analysts and other industry experts who spoke with POWER on August 28 say the new rule, which would give individual states the […]

The Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule announced August 21 calls for coal-fired power plants to meet state-designed performance standards, most notably focused on increases in heat rate and overall efficiency for individual generating stations. Energy experts speaking at the MEGA Symposium in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 22 agreed it’s a goal worth pursuing. […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule is proposed to replace the 2015 Clean Power Plan—which the Supreme Court stayed in February 2016 and never went into effect. According to the EPA, the replacement is necessary because the Obama-era Clean Power Plan “exceeded the EPA’s authority.” However, like the Clean Power Plan, […]

Energy industry experts speaking at the MEGA Symposium in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 21 agreed that storage is becoming more important to the overall mix of U.S. power sources. They also said utility-scale storage solutions remain “years away,” even as technology advancements in battery systems occur more rapidly. Panelists at the session entitled “The Transformation […]

The Trump administration has proposed an overhaul of U.S. power plant emissions rules, unveiling a plan that would allow individual states to determine how they will regulate pollutants. The proposal, called the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) plan and discussed during the keynote address at the MEGA Symposium in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 21, would essentially dissolve […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule to replace the Clean Power Plan—a rule regulating greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from existing coal-fired power plants. The new “Affordable Clean Energy” rule sets GHG guidelines for states to set standards for performance for existing coal-fired power plants. The proposal is the newest development in a […]

The possible new operator of the largest coal-fired power plant in the western U.S. told Arizona regulators this week the company would run the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) at less than half its installed generation capacity in order to maintain profitability. An official for Illinois-based Middle River Power (MRP) also said the plant would operate […]

A report from POLITICO says the Trump administration’s rollback of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP) would give individual states more leeway to set their own rules governing emissions from power plants. POLITICO, which covers politics and policy both in the U.S. and internationally, said its review of a draft document, and information from a […]

An Indiana consumer protection agency has told state regulators they should reject Vectren Corp.’s plan to build a new natural gas-fired power plant in the state. Vectren wants the plant to replace four of the utility’s retiring coal-fired units. Indiana’s Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) on August 13 said it completed a five-month legal […]

An official with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) told a nuclear industry group this week that the agency and Trump administration officials are trying to identify power plants they consider critical to the nation’s grid. The move is seen as part of the White House effort to prop up the struggling U.S. coal and […]

Order Received for 2 Sets of Steam Turbine Power Generation Systems MHPS to provide equipment for 1,330MW plant in Northern Vietnam Order for high-efficiency power generation systems Plant due for completion in 2022, will support Vietnam’s economic growth YOKOHAMA, Japan, Aug 9, 2018 – (JCN Newswire) – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has received […]

High-voltage power contractor Smith Brothers has secured an Independent Connection Provider (ICP) contract with sustainable energy specialist P3P Partners, marking the electrical engineering firm’s first foray into the fast-growing combined heat and power (CHP) market. A leading provider of CHP services, P3P develops energy-efficient centres across the UK and has previously delivered state-of-the-art solutions to […]

Siemens reported a 2% rise in industrial profit for its fiscal third quarter on August 2, topping analyst forecasts, though the German engineering giant also reported that revenue for the quarter dropped 4%. The earnings report comes as the company prepares to implement a new strategy that cuts its number of business divisions. The company […]

With an installed coal-fired generation capacity of 10 x 550 MW, Taichung Power Plant is amongst the five largest coal-fired power stations in the world. Six of the older units so far reclaim their ash by-products by mixing the ash with water to form slurry which is then further conveyed to ash retention ponds. The […]

General Electric (GE), long considered the most-prominent business in Schenectady, New York, on August 7 announced another 225 job cuts at its main campus in the city. The announcement comes as GE continues to restructure its operations amid a downturn in global demand for the company’s turbines. GE cut about 110 jobs at the Schenectady […]

The future of Georgia Power’s 865-MW coal-fired Plant Hammond in Floyd County, Georgia—which recently slashed more than half its workforce—is murky, company officials said August 3. The four-unit facility that began operations in 1954 employed 190 workers in September 2016. Today, according to company officials, the plant only has 41 full-time employees. Georgia Power Regional […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not intend to revisit national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone that the Obama administration issued in 2015, a court filing shows.  The agency said in its final status report submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on August 1 that it has reviewed […]

It is safe to say that every power plant in the world uses scaffolding in some way, shape, or form. It is a critical component for many maintenance activities where permanently installed access is not possible or practical. Therefore, the dangers associated with scaffolding should not be overlooked by the industry. Often, plant maintenance personnel […]

As the electric power industry moves forward with new technology, the workforce that is needed to design, build, and manage the next generation of systems will undergo an equal if not greater transformation

Water withdrawn by U.S. steam-driven power generators fell 18% in 2015 compared to 2010, owing largely to plant closures, coal-to-gas fuel switching, and the use of more water-efficient cooling system

Large Energy Storage System Commissioned in Germany. NEC Energy Solutions (NEC) in late June said it had commissioned the largest energy storage system in Europe for Germany-based EnspireME, a joint venture

Maintaining a reliable supply of power in Delhi, India, has been a major issue for the area as local demand for electricity continues to increase. The city in June repeatedly set new records for electricity

Through much of the developed world, we have come to rely on a steady flow of electricity just as we have a steady flow of air. Power outages are still disruptive, but they are few in number, and we have

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry last year petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to craft policies to provide for “resilience” in the nation’s generation resource mix. He wrote

An aluminum smelter in Odisha, India, built a 900-MW coal-fired captive power plant for its own power consumption. Though the plant features new generation turbogenerator sets, it was completed on time and on