Environmental

  • Wildfire Risk Is Rising. Electric Cooperatives Are Acting—Congress Must Too

    Wildfires are no longer isolated disasters limited to the western United States—they are a growing threat to communities, infrastructure, and electric grid reliability nationwide. For the 42 million Americans served by electric cooperatives, the risk is especially acute. Co-ops power more than half the nation’s landmass, primarily in rural areas where wildfire danger is highest […]

  • Advanced Weather Forecasting: How Sub-Kilometer Models Are Reshaping Utility Risk and Wildfire Decisions

    As fire-weather risk expands beyond California, utilities are turning to sub-kilometer, asset-level forecasts to support public safety power shutoff decisions they can defend in front of regulators. When the National Weather Service (NWS) issued routine convective outlooks on the morning of May 27, 2025, public guidance for the Houston metro called for widespread 30 to […]

  • Design and Construction Planning of Solar Power Projects Under Extreme Weather Conditions

    According to the State of the Global Climate 2024 report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the continued rise in global temperatures is driving a measurable increase in both the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Among these, tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons, as well as extreme precipitation events, have emerged as […]

  • Managing AI’s Footprint in a Carbon-Constrained World

    Behind even the smallest convenience powered by AI is a massive surge of computing power for training models and inference. All that computing power requires energy.

  • Beyond Carbon: How Emerging Fuels and Technologies Can Help

    For years, the case for emerging fuels and technologies has often been told through the lens of decarbonization. That lens still matters, but it does not reflect the entire value proposition. Energy strategy is now being shaped by artificial intelligence (AI)/data centers, policy volatility, geopolitical disruption, supply-chain constraints, rising system complexity, and rapidly rising demand, […]

  • Making Solar Truly Sustainable: The Case for Recycling End of Life Panels

    Leading corporations are advancing their sustainability goals by investing in renewable energy, particularly through community solar credits that support both environmental and social impact. This trend follows the ever-growing solar market, driven by new production contracted by these large companies and utilities, businesses, and residential solar panel users. But to be sustainable, there’s more to […]

  • Chernobyl at 40: The World’s Worst Nuclear Power Accident and Where It Stands Now

    On the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, POWER sent a freelance photographer and correspondent to the site in Ukraine to document the massive decommissioning effort still underway—and the new

  • Smart Systems Power Up Modern Emissions Monitoring

    Capable new lasers with quantum cascade and tunable diode technologies lay the foundation for accurate, low-maintenance, and fast-response continuous emissions monitoring systems to monitor multiple gas

  • How Energas Turned an Environmental Concern into Cuba’s Cheapest Power

    Energas is a company that stands as a successful example of foreign investment for over 20 years. Its partners include the Cuban state-owned companies Unión Eléctrica (UNE) and CubaPetróleo (CUPET), and its foreign partner is Sherritt International. With an installed capacity of 480 MW across three plants—Energas Boca de Jaruco (Figure 1), Energas Puerto Escondido, […]

  • Southern States Goes SF6-Free with New Switching Products

    The company’s O2rigen product line uses a carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) gas blend to eliminate potent greenhouse gas emissions from power switching equipment. Southern States LLC has launched a new line of power switching products that replace sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)—one of the most potent greenhouse gases known—with a natural-origin blend of CO2 and […]

  • Thermal Flow Meter Offers Precise NH3 Injection for NOx Control in Coal-Fired Power Plants

    Ideal for Pollution Control & Monitoring Systems’ Stack or Flue NOx Scrubbers San Marcos, CA—November 6, 2025—Process and pollution control engineers will find that the FCI ST100A Flow Meter helps them more accurately control the application of ammonia (NH3) for nitrous oxide (NOx) removal under harsh operating conditions in large flue stacks at cleaner coal […]

  • Nitrogen as the Safety Blanket for Your Industrial Process

    Sponsored by:
    AIr Products

    In this paper, Air Products’ representatives explain the basics of nitrogen blanketing, how to elucidate its various value propositions to maximize safety and efficiency, as well as how to practice it effectively and efficiently across a variety of industrial settings. Download the full white paper to learn more.

  • EPA Extends Steam-Electric Wastewater Deadlines to 2034, Citing Grid Reliability and Rising Power Demand

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has moved to shift capital planning and permitting timelines for the nation’s remaining coal-fired power units, acting on two measures targeting wastewater discharge under the Clean Water Act, and separately, air-quality visibility programs and the Clean Air Act. On Sept. 29, the EPA issued a proposed rule and companion […]

  • Tracks Moving Turbines: Delivering Clean Energy to North Carolina

    Transporting freight for the energy industry that weighs as much as a house and stretches longer than a city block leaves no room for error. Energy freight shipments, which are often referred to as specialized or dimensional freight, are usually oversized, overweight, and frequently irreplaceable loads that are essential to powering industries and communities. For […]

  • EPA Streamlines Preconstruction Permitting to Accelerate Power Plants, Data Centers, and Manufacturing Reshoring

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued new guidance under its New Source Review (NSR) preconstruction permitting program that could allow power plant developers to begin certain non-emissions‐related site work—such as installing concrete pads, grading, and utility trenching—before obtaining a Clean Air Act construction permit. The change, described in a sparse set of paragraphs […]

  • How Advanced Monitoring and Early Warning Tools Are Revolutionizing Power Plant Cooling Water Intake Management

    Thermal power plants, nuclear and fossil-fueled, rely on cooling water intake structures (CWIS) to withdraw water for rejecting waste heat. The CWIS serves as a critical interface between engineered systems and the natural environment, making it vulnerable to various external factors such as biological growth, water chemistry changes, hydraulic forces, drifting debris, and meteorologic events. […]

  • Understanding Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Systems

    Reverse osmosis (RO) is a vital water purification technology used in various applications such as boiler feedwater treatment, cooling water systems, and wastewater recycling. The feedwater for RO can

  • Yokogawa Establishes Trusted Green Sustainability Guiding Principles Covering the Product Lifecycle

    Yokogawa has established sustainability guiding principles called Trusted Green that cover Yokogawa Group products over their entire lifecycle, from planning and development to the procurement of parts and materials, production, service, collection, and recycling. For many years, Yokogawa has emphasized the establishment of environmental design standards for products, development of life cycle assessment (LCA) criteria […]

  • Debunking Nuclear Power’s Biggest Misconceptions and Why It’s Needed Today

    Despite nuclear power’s unmatched ability to produce reliable, carbon-free energy at scale, it is often dismissed by clean energy advocates in favor of renewable resources like wind and solar. Cost arguments and public misconceptions around safety and radioactive waste have kept it out of many mainstream climate strategies. But as Tim Gregory argues in his […]

  • How Biogas Is Solving Data Centers’ Clean Energy Challenge

    Biogas doesn’t just offer a backup plan for tech companies seeking more power; it provides a blueprint for sustainability. By transforming landfill, agricultural, and wastewater emissions into usable power, biogas solves two problems at once: it reduces fugitive methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), and generates renewable electricity. This is energy that’s good for […]

  • Hybridization of Offshore Wind

    Sponsored by:
    Siemens Energy Global

    The white paper underscores the transformative potential of hybridizing offshore wind energy, emphasizing the integration of hybrid technologies, e.g. energy storage systems (BESS), to enhance the reliability, stability, and economic feasibility of offshore wind farms. This approach mitigates the intermittency of wind power, resulting in a more consistent and predictable energy output. By contributing to grid stability […]

  • EPA Extends Coal Ash Compliance Deadlines, Citing Utility, Contractor Strain

    Citing a mounting compliance crunch in America’s coal-fired power sector, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized new rules extending key deadlines for coal ash cleanup and management, while floating the prospect of a further 12-month delay. The changes address calls from utilities, engineering contractors, and state regulators for more realistic timeframes to assess, […]

  • A Transformative Dawn: South Fork Wind Leads America’s Offshore Reboot

    Winning POWER’s highest honor, South Fork Wind—the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in U.S. federal waters—stands as a beacon for the power sector’s ambition to forge new industries in the

  • Innovative Stormwater Improvement Project Strengthens Burbank’s Power System

    In drought-prone Southern California, Burbank Water and Power has implemented a groundbreaking stormwater capture and reuse system that saves more than eight million gallons of water annually. This

  • A Modern Blueprint for Coastal Power: China’s Offshore Solar-Hydrogen Integration

    Built on degraded tidal flats in China’s Jiangsu Province, CHN Energy’s Rudong project combines 400 MW of offshore photovoltaic generation, grid-scale battery storage, and green hydrogen production with

  • Reclaimed Ash: Turning Domestic, Legacy Materials into Modern Infrastructure Solutions

    As government policies around energy transition continue to evolve, the pace of coal plant retirements in North America has shifted in some regions, slowing in a few cases due to energy reliability concerns. But broadly speaking, many coal-fired units have already retired, leaving behind a significant legacy challenge: the long-term management of coal ash stored […]

  • Ireland Ends Use of Coal for Power Generation

    Ireland is no longer burning coal to produce electricity after the country’s last coal-fired unit was converted to use heavy fuel oil. ESB, the plant’s operator, on June 20 issued a notice that the 305-MW Unit 3 of the Moneypoint station, located on Ireland’s southwest coast, has ended its use of coal after 40 years. ESB previously had said Moneypoint after the conversion would operate under direct dispatch instructions from EirGrid, the grid operator, as part of the balancing market.

  • The Great Shift: Navigating the Global Energy Transition

    As the world grapples with the urgent need to combat climate change, the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is accelerating, driven by technological advancements and governmental directives. This global shift promises not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also to create a more sustainable and resilient energy future. The world stands […]

  • EPA Weakening Rules on Power Plant Emissions in Boost for Fossil Fuels

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced sweeping changes to regulations on emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other pollutants from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants, weakening rules established under the Biden administration that sought to combat climate change.

  • Trump Administration Moves to Allow Unlimited Pollution from Power Plants

    Former EPA employees at the Environmental Protection Network (EPN) strongly oppose the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to repeal all federal limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants and to rescind the most recent update to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). These proposals represent a sweeping dismantling of critical […]