Commentary

Sometimes, circumstances have a way of developing in such an unexpectedly serendipitous way that they practically force one to take notice. So it is with Cuba and its power sector. Coincidence It all started

Most readers will receive this issue while they are experiencing Northern Hemisphere winter, with its colder temperatures and higher energy bills, so it’s fitting that several articles address efficiency. You’ll find discussions of combined heat and power (CHP) as well as a refresher on the various ways to enhance thermal unit efficiency and thereby improve […]

One oft-cited roadblock to widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) is a lack of charging infrastructure, commonly referred to as electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), or charging stations. While Tesla is well known for designing electric vehicles that can travel more than 250 miles on a single charge, most PEVs can only travel 60 […]

Thomas H. Adams The American Coal Ash Association (ACAA) welcomed the publication on Dec. 19 of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Final Rule regulating coal ash disposal as a “non-hazardous”

“When pigs fly” is a figure of speech used to express disbelief that a particular situation will ever come to pass. For the power industry, several recent and emerging developments are the equivalent of

When Allison MacFarlane, the outgoing chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), abruptly announced her retirement in mid-October—leaving with almost four years left on her term—her stated

“Pivoting” is a popular business buzzword, particularly in the context of startups, which often quickly change strategic direction. The global nuclear industry isn’t exactly a startup, but it is at or

A number of recent developments suggest that continued use of a plentiful and relatively affordable fuel may have a future worldwide that is brighter than it now seems. That’s because, after at least a decade of rhetoric about “clean coal,” cleaner coal is slowly becoming a reality. Though many may see these developments as baby […]

William D. Magwood, IV, formerly head of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and commissioner at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and current director-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), spoke with POWER Editor Gail Reitenbach on October 16 at the World Nuclear Exhibition outside […]

Kelly Speakes-Backman Every day there is increasing evidence that we need to accelerate our nation’s transition to a cleaner energy infrastructure. The American Climate Prospectus released by the Risky

No, this isn’t a column about the value of providing electricity to everyone everywhere (though that is a worthy goal toward which several nations and nonprofits are working). It’s about why we write and publish this magazine, and for whom. When I read email sent to our editorial staff and talk with readers at industry […]

The experiences of the electric and gas markets in the Northeast this past winter highlighted better than any article, speech, or prediction the interesting and urgent challenges and opportunities arising from increased reliance on natural gas to heat and power homes, offices, and factories. The use of natural gas has risen so much that demand […]

The 2014 POWER Plant of the Year makes history, both as a project and as our cover story. The Plant of the Year award goes to the most interesting, usually new, plant in the previous year. Sometimes it’s a

The most contentious (though not necessarily the most expensive) proposed environmental regulation to hit the power industry in this century was released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 2. The most immediate consequence was an increase in the volume of email. The Big One As I write this column a week after the […]

Though our current power grid is more sophisticated and reliable than when Thomas Edison designed it nearly a century ago, it uses the same model: A company burns fuel to create electricity, which is then sent hundreds of miles along inefficient wires to customers who are given a single energy choice: on or off. Now, […]

Along with 3 billion other viewers around the world, I plan to tune in for the month-long World Cup to see whether the 22-year old Neymar can withstand the colossal pressure that has been put upon his shoulders to deliver a win for team Brazil. Every time I turn on my television set, I’m using World Cup-related energy. And […]

Everyone, it seems. From Bloomberg Businessweek to Rolling Stone, from ELECTRIC POWER (EP) to Platts Global Power Markets conferences, this spring everyone was talking about climate change. The topic is no

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to propose first-of-a-kind greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits for existing power plants by June 2014. The EPA will do so under a rarely used

There’s been a lot of talk in the past couple of years about “disruption” to the long-established status quo in the electric utility and power generation sector. But I would argue that both terms in this

That question isn’t as flippant as it may sound. If you look at the type of plant that’s familiar to the generation of power industry personnel who have retirement within view and compare it with the sort

Mike Duncan Coal is currently the feedstock for nearly 40% of America’s baseload electricity supply, and in communities and states where coal has the highest utilization, utility bills are the lowest. With

My earlier post graded my first five predictions for 2013. This post grades the remaining five posts and suggests my overall grade for 2013.   In past years, my best overall grade was a B+. I’m still hopeful I can better that score. 5. The EPA Fracks Gas. On the same day the Environmental Protection Agency […]

I have presented my top 10 predictions for the year in the January issue for the past several years. I then graded myself against the actual events of the year and presented the results at the end of that year. My grades over the past three years ranged from mid- to high-B, which wasn’t bad […]

If you read the environmental press, clean tech media, or even the New York Times, you might conclude that America is on the cusp of a distributed generation (DG) revolution. “Solar power and other

The business environment for generating companies worldwide continues to become increasingly complex, and not just as a result of regulations. Even in the U.S., the concerns and constraints faced by generators

The U.S. power generation market is experiencing a unique set of transitional drivers, the biggest being the current economics within the energy market. U.S. Market Drivers A significant portion of the U.S

Now more than ever, the power generation business is a global business. Supply chains are more international than in the last century. Thanks to more easily retrievable reserves of shale gas, the prospect of

A series of derivative lawsuits has recently been filed against the officers and directors of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) based on the explosion of a PG&E gas transmission line in San Bruno

New research conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Santa Fe Institute researchers finds that the number of energy patents is increasing faster than patents overall. However, the trend lines

Beginning with its landmark Order No. 888 in 1996, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has aggressively pursued policies designed to foster planning and construction of new transmission facilities