Coal

Life cycle analysis or assessments (LCAs) are a quintessential tool for power and utility industry professionals and tradespeople. They determine the environmental and financial value of new technologies. Consumer products get the most attention, but LCAs for renewable energy systems (Figure 1) should be discussed more. It is time to synthesize known information to create […]

An iconic coal refuse power plant in West Virginia that burns gob—basically dirt—and pond fines as part of a complex environmental solution to address coal waste is stepping up efforts to improve its efficiency, reliability, and cost reductions by embracing cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI). American Bituminous Power’s (AMBIT’s) 80-MW Grant Town Power Project—West Virginia’s only […]

Negotiators from nearly every country in the world closed COP28 with a decision that—for the first time—formally recognizes the necessity of moving away from fossil fuels to achieve Paris Agreement targets. The decision, adopted on the last day of the two-week 28th Conference of the Parties (COP 28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate […]

Colorado-based cooperative Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association will accelerate the closure of a coal-fired unit in the northwestern part of the state, and also announced a retirement date for an Arizona coal plant, as part of the utility’s latest electric resource plan (ERP). Tri-State on Dec. 1 also said it wants to acquire at least […]

Despite a dismal outlook for coal, countries with substantial coal fleets are intensifying efforts to develop new technologies and operational capabilities to improve coal power’s environmental impact

Indonesian officials said they would increase their use of renewable energy and move away from coal-fired power generation in order to receive funding from an international public and private decarbonization

The World Bank on Oct. 25 granted South Africa a $1 billion developmental policy loan (DPL) as a significant measure to help the country address its debilitating energy crisis, and encourage it to transition

Kenya Set to Expand Hydropower Project. Kenya Electricity Generating Co. (KenGen) said it received approval from government officials to move forward with the Gogo hydropower redevelopment project. The Gogo

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. One of the key ingredients in concrete is Portland cement. The American Concrete Institute explains that Portland cement is a product obtained by pulverizing material consisting of hydraulic calcium silicates to which some calcium sulfate has usually been provided as an interground addition. When […]

Mitsubishi Power has successfully demonstrated partial load and full load combustion of a fuel blend with 30% hydrogen (by volume) in a grid-connected J-series Air-Cooled (JAC) gas turbine. The achievement closely follows the completion of a combustion test on an ammonia single-fuel burner for coal firing by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Mitsubishi Power’s parent company. […]

A Cambodian energy official said the country no longer plans to build a coal-fired power plant along the nation’s southwest coast, and will instead move forward with a natural gas-fired facility. Energy Minister Keo Rottanak told the Reuters news service an official announcement is expected Nov. 30. Rottanak said the proposed 700-ME coal-fired plant, which […]

Speaking at the 5th annual India Coal Conference in New Delhi, FutureCoal CEO Michelle Manook said, “Government and finance policies, which embrace a ‘cancel coal’ mantra, are short-sighted and undermine the very ambitions we seek to achieve as a global community.” Formerly known as the World Coal Association, FutureCoal: The Global Alliance for Sustainable Coal […]

A government agency in China announced that operators of coal-fired power plants will receive guaranteed payments based on the installed capacity of their units, part of a program to ensure a stable power supply across the country. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in a notice published Nov. 10, said the program will commence […]

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is an important emissions control technology utilized at many coal, biomass, waste-to-energy, and gas-fired power plants. Many items must be considered when designing SCR

Extreme temperature and weather events have become more prevalent in the past decade. The December 2022 Christmas freeze in the southeast U.S. saw many areas experiencing single-digit temperatures. The February 2021 Texas freeze saw temperatures in Dallas reach as low as –2F. Meanwhile, the January–February 2019 Midwest Arctic Polar Vortex saw temperatures plunge as low […]

India’s government has issued an emergency order that extends the operation of coal-fired power plants using imported coal, as the country grapples with a shortage of domestic coal and continued high demand for electricity. The order, which came from the power ministry on Oct. 23, asks coal-fired power plants using imported coal to operate at […]

Government officials in Germany have approved a plan to bring some shuttered coal-fired power plants back online in an effort to avoid energy shortages this winter. Cabinet members on Oct. 4 said they would support putting on-reserve lignite-fired power plants back online from now until the end of March 2024. It’s another move related to […]

Salt River Project (SRP) has become one of the first U.S. utilities to shift from an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to an Integrated System Plan (ISP), a “holistic roadmap” that takes into account evolving power system needs, energy affordability, and carbon reduction goals. The pioneering move by the public power entity that provides power and […]

Fossil-fueled power plants are billion-pound investments that businesses (as well as whole nations themselves) around the world can’t afford to simply discard. Yet, the combinations of old plant, new fuels, and new operating conditions lead to corrosion, faults, downtime, and inefficiencies for plant operators and manufacturers. But these kinds of bridging technologies—between the “black” and […]

Planning, building, operating, or overhauling power plants has long been an emphasis in the power sector—and an important one, given that the creation of new power capacity plays an outsized role in

Pingshan Phase II, a cutting-edge 1.4-GW ultrasupercritical coal-fired unit, achieves a remarkable net efficiency of 49.37%—making it the world’s most efficient coal-fired power plant. The state-of-the-art

Coal-Fired Plants Serving EV Battery Makers Could Get Special Financing. Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), which supervises and regulates financial services for Indonesia, in early September said it is considering

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in May of this year issued a proposed rule that would greatly expand the scope of federal regulations governing the management of coal combustion residuals, or

Over a year after the start of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Germany is at the heart and center of current debate when it comes to energy dependence. Like most European countries, Germany did not have adequate time to wean off Russia’s rich and steady inflow of natural gas. But the impact of Russia’s abrupt supply […]

Incremental unplanned generation outages triggered during Winter Storm Elliott spiked to 90.5 GW—significantly more than the 61.8 GW during Winter Storm Uri in 2021—representing 13% of the U.S. portion of anticipated resources in the Eastern Interconnection. That finding, one of many disturbing details unveiled by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and North American Electric […]

Just because something hasn’t failed doesn’t mean it won’t—especially when an “old dog” of a plant is taught new tricks. Two women wearing personal protective equipment waited impatiently in the

Indian USC Coal Plant, First Transnational Power Project, Begins Operation. Indian independent power producer Adani Power on July 12 began full commercial operation of the coal-fired 1,600-MW Godda Ultra

The North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) will for the first time consider “energy policy” among five significant evolving and interdependent risks to grid reliability. In its latest biennial ERO Reliability Risk Priorities Report, the designated North American Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) identifies energy policy as a new risk priority alongside grid transformation, resilience to extreme […]

The path to achieving net zero is intricately tied to addressing the challenges posed by coal consumption. Industrialized nations highlight concerns about coal’s environmental impact, given its emissions of various pollutants that contribute to issues like smog and respiratory problems. These emissions encompass a range of substances, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, […]

As the quest to develop a net-zero carbon emissions electricity grid marches on, global entities like the International Energy Agency (IEA) increasingly point to a big role for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). The IEA goes so far as to say reaching net-zero will be nearly impossible without CCUS. Proposed governmental greenhouse gas emissions […]