Environmental

Energy transition is the “new normal” (or the only way forward in some peoples’ minds), which aims to reduce emission levels through various forms of decarbonization. Some of the key drivers are increased penetration of renewable energy into the energy supply mix and battery energy storage systems. While these measures contribute incrementally to decarbonization, the […]

How can a utility, or any organization for that matter, prepare for the unexpected, especially when it comes to the volatility of weather? This question is increasingly coming to the forefront of risk

Transformational changes in the energy space will need to occur to meet the current global community’s decarbonization and climate protection commitments. Low-carbon-intensity hydrogen could provide valuable

Louisville Gas and Electric Co. and Kentucky Utilities Co. (LG&E and KU) will replace two aging coal generation units at Mill Creek Generating Station in Kentucky—a combined 600 MW—with a 645-MW GE Vernova hydrogen-ready 7HA.03 gas turbine. GE Vernova announced the order for the heavy-duty gas turbine—the most advanced of its HA-class models—from the two […]

Have you heard about the cobra effect? During the colonial era, Delhi had a major cobra issue. The then-British government announced a bounty for dead cobras to reduce the number of snakes on the streets. Entrepreneurial spirits rose as people started breeding cobras and offered a dead one on the bounty. Money given on bounty […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has voted to codify proposed changes to streamline a key environmental review process for advanced nuclear reactors. Nuclear advocates lauded the measure as one of the regulator’s most important actions in 2024.    The NRC on April 17 approved its staff’s recommendation to publish a proposed rule that would amend […]

Three major chemical processing companies announced the startup of a demonstration plant to show the viability of large-scale electrically heated steam cracking furnaces. BASF, SABIC, and Linde on April 17 said the facility, at BASF’s Verbund site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, will begin operating after three years of development, engineering, and construction work. The three groups […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied an industry petition seeking to delist stationary combustion turbines from the agency’s list of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) major source categories regulated under section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The agency’s final action on April 11 responds to an August 2019 petition filed by several […]

The California Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation, which began being implemented on Jan. 1, 2024, is designed to complement the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule, which mandates a significant increase in the number of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on California roads. There’s much to understand about the regulation and how it will impact […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has moved to retire its iconic 1.3-GW Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee in 2027 and replace it—with notable urgency—with a 1.5-GW modern complex featuring a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant, aero-derivative turbines, 100 MW of battery storage, and up to 4 MW of solar generation. The nation’s largest public […]