Coal

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 […]

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

A coal-fired plant in Colorado needed to further reduce its emissions to comply with more-stringent regulations. The work presented several challenges, and the owner and contractors worked together to complete

Dry Fork Station began commercial operation as a swath of older, less-efficient U.S. coal plants contemplated retirement amid a flood of environmental rules. Designed with foresight, this quintessential modern

The Samcheok Green Power Plant requires less maintenance and is more cost-effective than conventional coal plants, and more environmentally friendly with its use of once-through ultrasupercritical boilers

Emissions standards have changed a lot since the Shawnee Fossil Plant entered service during President Eisenhower’s second term in office, but the Tennessee Valley Authority has done its part to help the

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

Industries use a significant amount of water and energy in day-to-day processes, and monitoring boiler water systems can be the key to cutting costs and optimizing resources. SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions today introduced TrueSense* Analyze to digitally monitor and analyze boiler water chemistry, which can reduce water and energy usage, as well as greenhouse […]

California and Texas—two regions where summer reliability concerns were forecast earlier this year—are suffering extreme temperatures and are scrambling to relieve stress on the grid. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO)—the grid operator that serves about 80% of California—on July 24 and 25 issued statewide Flex Alerts, calling for voluntary electricity conservation during peak afternoon […]

Poised to drive the future of coal power, many Southeast Asian countries are considering new coal plants with high-efficiency, low-emissions (HELE) technologies, a new report suggests. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) December-released World Energy Outlook 2017, Southeast Asia, along with India and other developing economies in Asia, will drive global coal demand. The […]

An internal report from NTPC said an “error in judgment” by plant operators led to an explosion at India’s Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station last year that resulted in the deaths of 45 workers. Reuters news service on July 23 said it had reviewed a summary of the report on the accident that occurred […]

The Trump administration has finalized a significantly weakened rule governing the disposal of coal ash in landfills and surface impoundments by coal generators nationwide. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed on July 18 that it signed the first rule of its two-part rulemaking set that overhauls the Obama administration’s final 2015 rules for the disposal […]

NRG Energy will not restart its Dunkirk power plant in western New York, with the company on July 11 saying the cost to reconnect the facility to the state’s electric grid prohibits reopening the retired coal-fired plant as a natural gas-fueled facility. David Gaier, an NRG spokesman, told POWER the project’s increased costs, along with needed […]

The Navajo Nation on July 12 said it has identified a potential buyer for the 2,250-MW Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Arizona, the largest coal-fired power plant in the western U.S. The Navajo Nation Council, in a joint news release with the Navajo Nation’s Office of the President and Vice President, said the Hopi Tribe […]

The Trump administration is moving forward with its effort to replace the Clean Power Plan, with the president set to review a document sent to the White House on July 9. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 10 said a new rule, which insiders said would be more favorable to the coal industry, was […]

CDC has announced a 3-day open house event (July 24–26, 2018) to liquidate surplus equipment and machinery from the former 1600-MW Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset, MA. Largest fossil-fueled power plant in New England Will liquidate onsite equipment systems in a negotiated sale Will develop on-the-spot deals Certified riggers on site for removal Interested […]

Scott Pruitt, chosen by President Donald Trump to lead the Environmental Protection Agency despite repeated lawsuits against the agency when he served as Oklahoma’s attorney general, resigned as EPA director July 5. Pruitt had been under scrutiny throughout his EPA tenure for questionable ethical decisions involving his office. Pruitt, who repeatedly said he had done […]

Japan’s government on July 3 approved a new Basic Energy Plan for the country, saying it is committed to increasing the role of renewable resources for power generation while also confirming it wants nuclear power to remain a vital part of the nation’s energy strategy. Japan issues a revised Basic Energy Plan, which outlines the […]

On May 22, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the American Public Power Association (APPA), and two groups representing U.S. and foreign automakers sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Germany is often touted as a leader in the global energy transition. Energiewende has been part of the country’s public discourse since the 1970s, stemming from an anti-nuclear movement prevalent at the

A cooling tower water recovery system designed by engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) could capture water from power plant fogs and plumes, potentially rendering them into a source

Environmental regulations and a need to reduce its fuel consumption provide the incentive for an Egyptian plant to change its manufacturing process. Energy companies constantly grapple with controlling the