Coal

  • Report: Human Error to Blame in Fatal India Plant Accident

    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 […]

  • EPA Finalizes First Set of Coal Ash Rule Revisions

    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 Ends Effort to Repower Dunkirk Plant

    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 […]

  • Navajo Nation Negotiating Sale of West’s Largest Coal Plant

    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 […]

  • EPA Sends Replacement for Clean Power Plan to Trump

    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 […]

  • Surplus Equipment and Machinery to be Sold from the Former Brayton Point Power Station

    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 […]

  • EPA Chief Pruitt Resigns; Former Coal Lobbyist Takes Helm

    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 New Energy Plan Commits to Renewables—And Nuclear and Coal, Too

    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 […]

  • Water-Capturing Cooling Tower Technology Makes Headway at MIT

    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

  • More Efficient with Fewer Emissions: Cement Factory Finds Sugar-Based Biomass a Sweet Solution

    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

  • Innovative Tool Monitors for Damaging Impacts and Vibration

    The safe transportation of transformers, gas turbines, generators, and other electrical production equipment is a vital component in suppliers’ current business models and future growth potential. Equipment

  • Equipment Showcase: Construction Equipment

    Successfully operating a power plant or other industrial complex depends on many things, including the vendors who supply equipment for construction of the facility, along with those who provide the materials

  • Electric Vehicles—Subsidies for an Environmental Pretender

    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)

  • Has Germany Paved the Way for the World’s Energy Transition?

    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

  • Trump Administration’s ‘All-of-the-Above’ Strategy Stresses Export Role for Natural Gas

    The Trump administration, which is considering subsidizing baseload coal and nuclear power for resiliency and “national security,” is pursuing an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy that emphasizes natural gas exports, said Energy Secretary Rick Perry at the World Gas Conference this week in Washington D.C. In a keynote speech on June 26, Perry described the shale gas […]

  • Grid Reliability and Resilience Pricing: FERC’s Rulemaking and How Our Energy Markets Are Responding

    Kenneth W. Irvin and Christopher Polito1 Sidley Austin LLP – Washington, D.C. What is “resilience,” and do we need it? As anyone who has not been on Mars knows, last year, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to craft policies to provide for “resilience” in our generation resource […]

  • GE CEO: Company ‘Finished’ with Restructuring

    General Electric (GE) saw its stock price surge more than 7% on June 26 after the company said it would dissolve its stake in oil services company Baker Hughes and spin off its healthcare unit over the next few years. The announcement comes one day after GE said it would sell its Distributed Power business, […]

  • Rebranded ‘MAN Energy Solutions’ Replaces Former MAN Diesel & Turbo Name

    MAN Energy Solutions represents a new vision, as reflected by a new, corporate design. The new branding embodies a strategic and technological transformation, a process the company had already begun back in 2017 by implementing its new strategy for the future: to expand its business with sustainable technologies and solutions such that they become its […]

  • Test Your Knowledge: Monitoring and Treatment of Closed-Loop Cooling Water Systems

    There are often multiple closed-loop water cooling systems installed in a power plant. Chances are good that they cool or control temperature on some very critical components. It can be easy to ignore these systems because they are usually quite reliable. By its very nature, when a closed-loop system remains closed and operates properly for an extended period of time, it is often […]

  • Restructuring on Horizon for Siemens and GE

    Siemens and General Electric, two rivals battling financial problems due to fewer orders for their flagship energy products and services, could each announce major restructuring moves in the coming weeks, according to media reports. Reuters on June 21, citing a person familiar with the matter, said Siemens plans to merge or trim some of its […]

  • Puerto Rico’s Grid Needs Resiliency. Here’s Why It Won’t Be Easy.

    Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure must be redesigned and rebuilt with an emphasis on resilience—and that will require wide-ranging, long-term efforts, the Department of Energy (DOE) says in a new report. In its June 20 report, “Energy Resilience Solutions for the Puerto Rico Grid,” the agency lists a number of recommendations for the government of the […]

  • Analysts: Coal Generation Will Plummet More Than 70%

    About half the world’s power will be generated by wind and solar resources by 2050. Generation from coal will drop more than 70% from today’s levels. That’s according to research from energy analysts published June 19 in the “New Energy Outlook 2018” (NEO) from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The NEO report outlines information from […]

  • FERC: There Is No Grid Emergency

    President Trump wants to provide financial support to struggling coal and nuclear power plants. He’s told the Department of Energy (DOE) to make it happen. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, along with commissioners from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), made it clear June 12 they don’t support federal government intervention […]

  • SPX Mobile Display Trailer Highlights Advantages of Marley® Cooling Tower Components

    Showcasing innovative gearbox, driveshaft, fan, and heat transfer fill options Overland Park, Kan. – SPX Cooling Technologies, Inc., a full-line, full-service industry leader in the design and manufacture of evaporative cooling towers and air-cooled heat exchangers, has outfitted an 18-foot mobile trailer with displays of field-erected cooling tower components. Visitors to the trailer can see […]

  • GE Will Cut Jobs, End Manufacturing at Virginia Plant

    General Electric’s (GE’s) power unit has said it will end manufacturing operations at its plant in Salem, Virginia, next year, with more than 260 workers losing their jobs, according to union officials. Officials noted that 42% of the affected workers are eligible for retirement. The plan announced June 8 said the Salem plant, which opened […]

  • Tests Incorporating AI in Coal Plant Boiler Combustion Tuning Reap Big Results

    Tests of a boiler combustion tuning system employing artificial intelligence (AI) at a Taiwanese coal-fired power unit verify improvements to fuel economy that could ultimately reduce costs by up to $1 million annually, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) announced on June 11. Verification testing of the AI-enabled combustion tuning system was conducted at Unit 2 […]

  • Employees Safe After Tornado Hits Dry Fork Coal Plant in Wyoming

    Employees at Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s 385-MW coal-fired Dry Fork Station are all safe after a tornado touched down at the plant’s site in Gillette, Wyoming, on June 1. The company described the harrowing hour before and after the tornado hit the plant and surrounding area. Though the plant “mostly avoided damage,” employee safety protocol […]

  • PENNSYLVANIA COAL PLANT SAVES ON REQUIRED MAINTENANCE UPGRADES AND OPERATING COSTS BY IMPLEMENTING SUEZ’S MOBILE WATER SOLUTIONS WITH INSIGHT*

    Seeking to reduce its operating costs and environmental footprint, the Conemaugh Generating Station in New Florence, Pennsylvania, utilizes SUEZ’s mobile water solutions to produce boiler feedwater. By using the mobile demineralizer with InSight*, the coal-fired power plant will gain $220,000 in annual operating cost savings, reduce chemicals associated with the make-up demineralized (DI) systems and […]

  • Chicago Company Preparing Offer for Navajo Generating Station

    A suburban Chicago-based energy company executive on June 7 told Arizona officials his group is putting together a proposal to purchase the Navajo Generating Station (NGS), the largest coal-fired power plant in the western U.S. The plant’s current owners have said they will close the 2,250-MW facility by year-end 2019 unless a buyer is found. […]

  • Completion of Dunkirk Coal-to-Gas Repowering Project Uncertain

    A long-stalled plan to repower NRG Energy’s coal-fired 435-MW Dunkirk power plant in Chautauqua County, near Buffalo, New York, to natural gas may be scrapped, owing to uncertainty involving New York Independent System Operator’s (NYISO’s) interconnection process, the company said. NRG mothballed all four units at the plant by January 2016 during four years of […]