Environmental

An innovative European Union–funded Arbaflame project is aiming to produce 70,000 tonnes of biomass-based combustibles per year to enable clean power generation. The biomass pellets are made of wood and can be used as a 100% sustainable alternative to coal in power plants to produce carbon-neutral power. Sulzer Chemtech’s separation equipment will play a key […]

Detroit-based DTE Energy said it will cease all coal use at its Belle River Power Plant no later than December 2028, at least two years earlier than the facility’s previously scheduled 2030 end date. The Belle River Power Plant comprises two electric generating units, each with a maximum gross design generating output of 697 MW. […]

The Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) approved Appalachian Power Co. (APCo) and Wheeling Power Co.’s (WPCo’s) request to keep the 2,930-MW Amos, 1,320-MW Mountaineer, and 780-MW Mitchell coal-fired power plants operational until at least 2040. APCo and WPCo are electric power subsidiaries of American Electric Power Co. (AEP), which is one of the […]

LOUISVILLE, KY (October 7, 2021) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) (the “Company”), a leading provider of mission-critical environmental services and byproduct sales to the power generation industry, was selected as the 2021 Second Place Construction Safety Excellence Award winner for exceptional leadership in safety as part of the Annual Associated General Contractors of America […]

The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, next month. The roughly two-week-long event will bring together delegates from around the world with a goal

Many experts believe hydrogen will play a key role in the effort to decarbonize the world’s energy supply. However, current hydrogen production methods release a lot of carbon dioxide, and carbon capture

Thermal power plants need a continuous supply of cooling water to operate, but as the natural environment changes, more and more screen blockages are occurring at cooling water intakes. Maintaining intake

Coal-fired power plant decommissioning and remediation work is not typically a utility company’s core business. That’s why having the right partner and implementing a sound plan to ensure both

In March 2021, we reached an important milestone in the push for carbon neutrality across industries. A report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), a UK-based non-profit, found more than 21% of

Educational institutions increasingly are upgrading their physical utility infrastructure to become more efficient in their use of energy while addressing the reliability of the energy supply on their campus

Most people recognize that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas (GHG), and while not everyone agrees, a majority of climate scientists believe increasing concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere are causing climate change on Earth. Carbon pricing is a market-based strategy for reducing CO2 emissions. The goal of carbon pricing schemes is to place […]

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) projects often focus on the final NOx emissions levels achieved, but a successful project is about much more than that. Facility owners must consider the complete scope associated with an SCR installation, from supply chain issues and ultra-low NOx emissions levels to customization requirements associated with a given application’s pressure drop […]

Fly Ash Will be Recycled and Sold for Beneficial Use in the Ready-Mix Concrete Market LOUISVILLE, KY (September 9, 2021) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) (the “Company”), a leading provider of mission-critical environmental services and byproduct sales to the power generation industry, today announced that it has been awarded a five-year sales and marketing contract for the […]

Moving quickly after devastating winds from Hurricane Ida on Aug. 29 took out eight critical high-voltage lines and blacked out New Orleans, Jefferson, and two other Louisiana parishes, Entergy hashed out two options. One—the “preferred solution”—was to restore some of the critical transmission lines that tie Greater New Orleans to the larger MISO grid, and […]

After more than a decade of development, Minesto’s novel underwater “kite” technology kicked off commercial operation with a 100-kW project in the Faroe Islands. Despite some hiccups, the pioneering

The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) on Aug. 23 rattled American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) plans to operate the 2.9-GW John Amos and 1.3-GW Mountaineer coal power plants through 2040 when it partly denied cost recovery for expenses that the West Virginia plants need to comply with the federal Steam Electric Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) rule. The […]

Intensifying drought conditions in California and historically low water levels at the Oroville Dam on Aug. 5 forced the state’s Department of Water Resources (CDWR) to shut down the 644-MW Edward Hyatt Power Plant—the fourth largest energy producer of all California’s hydroelectric facilities. Similar conditions across the West are prompting a careful watch over hydropower facilities.

Entergy Texas will seek approval for a 1.2-GW hydrogen and natural gas–fired combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power facility in Orange County, Texas. The Beaumont-based Entergy Corp. subsidiary on July 29 announced it intends to file a Certificate for Convenience and Necessity with the Public Utility Commission of Texas “within the coming months” to build […]

West Virginia’s only remaining coal refuse–fueled facility, the 80-MW Grant Town Power Project, is a 2021 Top Plant winner for powering on, despite challenges, to remediate 530,000 tons of coal refuse annually while reclaiming roughly 30 acres of land per year. 

Korea Western Power’s Taean Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) Power Plant this year marked 4,000 hours of consecutive accident-free operations, setting a new world record for IGCC power plants

China in late June began operating two of the world’s first 1-GW hydropower turbines at the Baihetan Hydropower Station in southwest China. When the project’s 16 generating units are completed by July 2022

The truth about plastic placed in recycling bins is that most ends up in landfills. Converting the energy stored in plastic into electricity via waste-to-energy power plants offers a beneficial option

Food and beverage manufacturers around the globe generate greenhouse gas emissions from high-strength organic wastes, much of which is too concentrated to send to local wastewater treatment facilities. To develop new approaches to solving that problem, Leyline Renewable Capital is partnering with PurposeEnergy to convert Ben & Jerry’s ice cream waste into clean water, fertilizer, […]

Environmental Risk Transfer Services Leader to Demolish Existing Power Plant, Remediate Site and Redevelop Property in a Sustainable Manner LOUISVILLE, KY (July 19, 2021) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) (“Charah Solutions”), a leading provider of environmental services and byproduct sales to the power generation industry, today announced that it has entered into a binding […]

Stricken by repeated extreme heat events, the prospect of a worsening drought, incremental resource delays, and the “unforeseen” loss of 300 MW in thermal resources, California has set out to secure additional energy resources to ensure reliability this summer. Responding to a June 29 letter from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California […]

AES Corp. will retire four coal-fired power plants—a total 1,097 MW—in Chile “as soon as” January 2025 if supported by grid requirements under an agreement the Virginia-headquartered company signed with the Chilean government on July 6. The coal closures, which are outlined in what AES described as a “voluntary” retirement plan, represent the “single largest […]

Shell Energy has started up a 10-MW polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer facility—one of the largest of its kind in the world—to produce green hydrogen at its Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland refinery in Wesseling, Germany, and it says plans are underway to expand the plant’s capacity to 100 MW.  The startup of the electrolyzer […]