Coal

  • EPA Moves to Significantly Tighten Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

    A proposed rule unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 5 could considerably tighten the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for power plants, with specific repercussions for coal- and oil-fired generation. The proposed rule seeks to significantly update the 2012–finalized National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Coal- and Oil-Fired […]

  • India Commissions First Supercritical Coal Plant Equipped with Air-Cooled Condenser

    NTPC, India’s largest energy conglomerate and its largest coal generator, in March commissioned the country’s first supercritical coal-fired plant equipped with an air-cooled condenser (ACC). The effort

  • New Coal-Fired Unit Operating at Zimbabwe’s Largest Thermal Power Plant

    The first of two 300-MW units being built as part of the expansion of a coal-fired generating station in Zimbabwe has come online. The Zimbabwe Power Co. (ZPC) said the unit began sending electricity to the national grid late on March 20. ZPC in a statement said, “Power will be progressively fed into the grid […]

  • EPA Projects Final ‘Good Neighbor Plan’ Will Result in 14 GW of Coal Retirements

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 15 issued the final “Good Neighbor Plan,” its latest iteration of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) that could require coal, oil, or gas steam power plants in 22 states to reduce their nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions levels by 50% by 2027 compared to the 2021 ozone season. […]

  • America’s Power Statement on EPA’s Ozone Transport Rule

    Washington, D.C. – America’s Power President and CEO Michelle Bloodworth issued the following statement on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Ozone Transport Rule (also known as the Good Neighbor Rule): “We are reviewing the final Ozone Transport Rule to determine whether EPA has addressed the concerns that we and many others raised that more coal […]

  • PJM Paper Adds to Reliability Warnings

    Washington, D.C. – In a recent letter to PJM Interconnection, America’s Power explained that near-term coal plant retirements could be three times greater than PJM anticipates in its recent white paper, thereby increasing the risk of electricity shortages.  The PJM paper examines the disconnect between increasing coal retirements, growing electricity demand, and the slow addition […]

  • EPA Rolls Out More Stringent Effluent Limitations Guidelines for Coal Power Plants

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing more stringent discharge standards for three types of coal power plant wastewater as part of an update to its Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs). However, the agency also proposed compliance flexibilities, and in a separate direct final rule, moved to extend a deadline to allow more coal plants to […]

  • Ohio University awarded $2 million from Department of Energy to develop products from coal waste

    ATHENS, Ohio (March 2, 2023) – The Department of Energy (DOE) announced it has funded six research and development projects that will repurpose domestic coal resources for high-value graphitic products and carbon-metal composites that can be employed in clean energy technologies. Ohio University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment was awarded two of the […]

  • A Complex Landscape for the Future of Combined Heat and Power

    Few power-generating resources present the combination of workhouse abilities that combined heat and power (CHP) does. But, powered predominantly by fossil fuels, will CHP find its unique footing within the

  • South Africa Energy Crisis at Critical Stage as Load-Shedding Continues

    The energy crisis in South Africa has prompted continued calls for government action, and officials in January said an energy action plan announced last year is starting to be implemented. The plan was laid

  • Understanding How Securitization Can Help with Power Plant Retirements

    Power companies across the nation are being pressured to retire fossil-fueled power plants and transition to cleaner energy resources. But many existing fossil plants have not been completely paid off or

  • POWER Digest [March 2023]

    Pakistan Begins Commercial Operation of 1.3-GW Coal Plant. Pakistan on Feb. 7 began commercial operation of a 1.3-GW coal-fired power plant in the Thar Desert in Sindh province, southern Pakistan. The project

  • THE BIG PICTURE: U.S. Combined Heat and Power and Microgrids

    As of December 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) CHP Installation Database recorded 4,674 combined heat and power (CHP) installations in the U.S., with a combined capacity of 80.4 GW. Installations were all sizes, from large industrial systems that are hundreds of megawatts to small commercial microturbine and fuel cell systems that are tens of […]

  • China Approves 106 GW of New Coal-Fired Capacity

    A new report from a two global energy research groups found that China last year approved its most new coal-fired power generation projects since 2015. The report from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) shows the Chinese government approved permits for 106 GW of new coal-fired […]

  • New Report Finds Coal Essential to Grid Reliability and Resilience During Winter Storm Elliott

    Washington, D.C. – A new report , “Operation of the U.S. Power Generation Fleet During Winter Storm Elliott,” analyzes the performance of traditional power sources and renewable energy during the December 2022 storm that brought record-setting low temperatures and high electricity demand to most of the country. Coal, natural gas, and fuel oil provided 94 […]

  • Indonesia Begins Carbon Trading Program for Coal-Fired Power Plants

    Indonesia’s efforts to decarbonize the country’s power generation sector took a major step on Feb. 22 as the government launched the first phase of mandatory carbon trading for coal-fired power plants. Officials in the capital of Jakarta have said they want to increase electricity production from renewable energy resources and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by […]

  • 2022 Set a Global Record for Coal Generation

    The recent shake-up in natural gas markets and their ensuing impact on energy security, and geopolitical tension, dramatically altered the trajectory of global coal-fired generation, sending it soaring to

  • POWER Digest [February 2023]

    Geothermal Plant Planned in Colombia. Colombian petroleum company Ecopetrol in December announced plans to build a 250-kW geothermal power plant in the Apiay oil complex in Meta, Colombia. The power plant will

  • EPA Moves to Deny Coal Ash Disposal at Six Massive Coal Power Plants 

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed barring six coal-fired power plants in various states—a combined 11 GW—from disposing coal ash into unlined surface impoundments. The agency, however, also proposed to provide disposal extensions if the coal plants are needed to maintain grid reliability. The EPA’s proposed determinations, issued on Jan. 25, fall under its […]

  • Bangladesh leans towards coal-based power as renewables development faces challenges, says GlobalData

    Bangladesh is set to increase the coal-based power generation capacity to ensure supply security at a time when many other countries are focussing on the development of renewables and cut dependency on thermal power to achieve climate goals. The country’s move to expand coal power comes as challenges remain for renewables development, including inadequate grid […]

  • Texas Utility Will Close Remaining Coal-Fired Units

    The largest municipally-owned electric and gas utility in the U.S. will close its remaining coal-fired power units by 2030. The board of trustees for San Antonio, Texas-based CPS Energy on Jan. 23 voted 4-1 to approve a plan to shutter the last two coal-burning units at the J.K. Spruce power plant. The plan, known as […]

  • Group Says China Will Add 70 GW of Coal- and Gas-Fired Generation in 2023

    A lobbying group for China’s power generation sector said the country will add about 70 GW of fossil fuel-powered capacity this year, even as renewable energy is set to provide more than half of China’s electricity production in 2023. The China Electricity Council in a report published Jan. 19 said the 70 GW of new […]

  • 140 Workers Cut Permanently with Sammis Coal Plant Closure

    Workers at the W.H. Sammis coal-fired power plant have been notified that a mass layoff will begin “sometime between March 14, 2023, and April 14, 2023.” The announcement was made public through a letter Energy Harbor Corp., owner of the plant, sent to the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services, as required under the […]

  • Japan’s Largest Power Generator Signs Deals in Pursuit of Ammonia for Coal Power Plant Co-Firing Project

    JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s largest power generation company, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) “for potential collaboration for the joint project development and sales & purchase of clean ammonia” with CF Industries Holdings Inc., the world’s largest producer of ammonia. Under the MOU, JERA and CF Industries have agreed “to jointly study […]

  • Valmet to convert two coal-fired boilers to enable biomass combustion for Veolia Group’s subsidiary in Hungary

    January 9, 2023 — Valmet will deliver boiler conversions and emission reduction solutions for Veolia Group’s Hungarian subsidiary CHP-Invest Kft at its power plant in Oroszlány, Hungary. The order includes the conversion of two coal-fired boilers to bubbling fluidized bed combustion to enable the boilers to run mainly on biomass fuel. The order is included […]

  • Former power station equipment to be sold to support circular economy

    New owners of the former Fiddler’s Ferry Power Station in Warrington look to repurpose plant, equipment and inventory Large sale of transformers, pumps, motors, machinery, water processing plant and other equipment a boost for circular economy across several industries The redevelopment of Fiddler’s Ferry Power Station in Warrington will not only provide new much-needed homes […]

  • Watch Implosion Topple Florida Coal-Fired Plant

    A six-month-long project to demolish the last coal-fired unit at Lakeland Electric’s C.D. McIntosh Power Plant in Lakeland, Florida, reached a milestone on Jan. 14 with the implosion of the facility’s 260-foot stack and 90-foot selective catalytic reduction unit (video below). Unit 3 at McIntosh, the plant’s last operating coal-fired unit, was closed in 2021, […]

  • Grid Infrastructure and Renewable Energy Projects Thrive, Workforce and Supply Chain Issues Continue in 2023

    The Inflation Reduction Act will spur growth in clean energy and upgrades to grid infrastructure, but workforce shortages and supply chain constraints are likely to challenge power companies for at least the

  • 10 Near-Term Global Power Sector Trends

    While 2021 provided its own share of extraordinary energy debacles, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 cascaded into full-blown energy turmoil. This year will begin with the world “in the midst of

  • POWER Digest [January 2023]

    Brazil Formally Restarts Construction of Angra 3 Nuclear Reactor. Eletronuclear, a mixed-ownership subsidiary of Brazilian state-run power group Eletrobras, has resumed construction of Angra 3, a 1.4-GW