Environmental

  • The Green Cowboy, David Freeman Dies at 94

    Engineer, attorney, author, and former head of some of the largest public power utilities in the U.S., S. David Freeman passed away on May 12 outside of Washington, D.C., following a heart attack at the age of 94. Freeman was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and received a degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute […]

  • Yokogawa Real Time Gas Analyzer Breakthrough Design Drastically Reduces CAPEX and OPEX in Industrial Process Heating Installations

    Houston, Texas – May 4, 2020 High-speed analysis enables live process and safety control, energy efficiency and yield improvements, as well as air emissions reductions Yokogawa Corporation of America has released the TDLS8100 probe-type Tunable Diode Laser Spectrometer (TDLS). Industrial process heating operations – fired heaters, boilers and furnaces – account for approximately 70% of […]

  • How to Effectively Minimize Power Plant Water Usage

    Power plants across the U.S. are working to minimize water use in order to comply with regulatory requirements and offset the growing cost of water. This article offers some important recommendations to manage

  • What You Need to Know About Magnetic Flow Meters

    Magnetic flow meter technology is an optimal tool for wastewater processing, which can apply across power generating facilities that require water for cooling, steam, or other applications. In recent years the

  • How Low-Temperature Evaporation Treats FGD Wastewater

    Veolia Water Technologies’ low-temperature CoLD crystallizer technology can help coal power plants clean and recover water for reuse from the wastewater produced in wet scrubber systems. The innovative

  • Electric Vehicle Fleets and Load Demand: Are You Ready for the Surge?

    Electric vehicle adoption is expected to continue growing, especially in delivery and service company fleets. That means load demand could surge, particularly around charging depots, and utilities must plan

  • Competitive Power Ventures Helps Avoid More Than 15 Million Tons of Carbon Dioxide

    Braintree, MA — Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) celebrates Earth Day by announcing that more than 15 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have been avoided since 2011 because of the company’s new, highly-efficient electric generation facilities, which is the equivalent of removing more than 3 million cars from the road for a year. CPV […]

  • Charah Solutions Awarded Large-Scale Pond Closure Contract by Southeastern Utility for Beneficial Use

    Over 2 Million Tons of Ash from Retired Coal-Fired Power Plant Will Be Beneficially Used in Concrete Industry LOUISVILLE, KY (April 28, 2020) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) (the “Company”), a leading provider of environmental and maintenance services to the power generation industry, today announced that it recently was awarded a Closure by Removal […]

  • Natural Gas and Renewables as Natural Partners, Especially in Challenging Times

    Earth Day is normally when we honor the headway made in advancing environmental and climate goals, while also reflecting on the challenges that remain before us. However, this year our society was caught up in a pandemic-induced economic downturn that has left Americans focused squarely on sensible preservation of ourselves, our families, and our way of […]

  • Charah Solutions Signs Agreement With Consumers Energy For The Closure And Reclamation Of Ash Ponds To Natural Wetlands

    Will Provide Turnkey Environmental Liability Transfer Services to Repurpose Former B.C. Cobb Ash Ponds LOUISVILLE, KY (April 20, 2020) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) (the “Company”), a leading provider of environmental and maintenance services to the power generation industry, today announced that it will close the B.C. Cobb Generating Facility’s Ash Ponds previously owned […]

  • Groups File Legal Challenges to ACE Rule

    Legal challenges to the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule began in earnest April 17, as more than two dozen states and cities, along with several environmental activist groups, filed briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., seeking a rollback of power plant regulations that also have been decried by coal […]

  • EPA Nixes Legal Justification for MATS Rule

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 16 withdrew the legal justification for an Obama-era rule that required coal-fired power plants to reduce their emissions of mercury. The Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) remains in place, but Thursday’s action by the Trump administration could prevent similar regulations from being implemented in the future. EPA […]

  • Renewable Fuels Will Help Pave the Way to a 100% Renewable Energy

    The need to reduce carbon emissions is real. In 2018, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that global emissions would need to reach net-zero (or carbon-neutral) by 2050 to prevent severe climate change impacts. Electricity is a major contributor—electricity generation was responsible for approximately 33% of total CO2 emissions in the U.S. in […]

  • EPA Relaxes Noncompliance Enforcement During COVID-19 Pandemic

    Adopting a new temporary policy that gives it more “enforcement discretion,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said March 26 it does not expect to seek penalties for civil violations of the agency’s rules that result from the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy adopted Thursday addresses concerns that regulated facilities are facing potential worker shortages, travel restrictions, […]

  • Gas-Heavy ISO-New England Braces for Steep Influx of Wind, Solar, Storage

    While it is currently highly dependent on natural gas generation today, about 95% of ISO-New England’s (ISO-NE’s) interconnection request queue—a proposed total capacity of 20.9 GW—comprises wind, solar, and battery projects. That clearly indicates that developers in New England’s wholesale market “are looking to take advantage of state incentives, declining technology costs, and revenues from […]

  • Exelon’s Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant Licensed for 80 Years—Will It Make It?

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted a 20-year license extension for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3. The extension authorizes the two reactors—both of which began commercial operation in 1974—to continue operating through 2054. “We are pleased with the NRC’s decision to grant a subsequent license renewal for Peach Bottom Units […]

  • Trump’s Attempt to Bring Sanity to a Torturous Environmental Review and Permitting Process

    The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations to promote “efficient, effective, and timely” NEPA review by federal agencies (85

  • Winning Operations, Maintenance, Environmental, Safety, and Technical Solutions

    The Combustion Turbine Operations Technical Forum (CTOTF) recently announced the winners of the 2nd annual CTOTF/POWER Innovation Excellence awards, which recognize outstanding performance in various

  • Types of Filtration Systems Used for Wastewater Applications

    The liquid filtration process is an important step in various applications that reuse water within systems. This article provides details on the types of filtration systems available and the benefits of each

  • Energy Storage—A Trillion-Dollar Holy Grail

    The science of renewable energy is remarkable—the ability to harness nature to magically power our modern world is a seductive vision. And yet, the actual business of renewable energy is late to establish itself as a viable competitor to the petrochemical industry. The problem is rooted in cost parity and the challenges of production, storage, […]

  • Charah Solutions Awarded Large-Scale Ash Marketing and Landfill Operations Contract by Entergy Utility Companies for Plants in Arkansas and Louisiana

    Over 2 Million Tons of Ash from Three Entergy Plants Will Be Marketed for Beneficial Use in Concrete Industry LOUISVILLE, KY (February 25, 2020) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) (the “Company”), a leading provider of environmental and maintenance services to the power generation industry, today announced that it recently was awarded a large-scale, multi-year […]

  • CORMETECH Announces the Success of Its Breakthrough DustBuster™ Coal SCR Catalyst

    DustBuster™ SCR catalyst has proven performance in over 11,000 MW of coal-fired power units since 2016 CHARLOTTE, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In making the announcement, Mike Mattes, President & CEO of CORMETECH said, “Demand continues to be strong as utilities worldwide recognize the benefits of DustBuster™ and are looking to improve their coal-fired generation SCR performance and meet […]

  • Engineering Group: American Gas Turbines Will Remain Relevant But Need Advancement

    Given current trends, the U.S. gas turbine industry is set to play a critically important role in power generation, aircraft propulsion, and the oil and gas industry “for decades to come,” but it could benefit from prioritized research and development (R&D) and technological leadership, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and […]

  • Dominion Latest to Set Net-Zero Carbon Goal

    Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Energy has joined a growing list of power companies establishing net-zero emissions targets. The company, which has more than 7 million electricity and natural gas customers in 18 states, said it intends to reach its carbon dioxide and methane reduction goals by 2050. Under the net-zero framework, the company is committing to […]

  • Energy Northwest Study Makes a Case for SMRs in Future Power Mix

    Deep decarbonization of the U.S. Northwest can be achieved at “manageable” costs by 2045, but only if utility agency Energy Northwest secures zero-emitting firm capacity, such as by relicensing Columbia Generating Station—the sole nuclear plant in the region—and building small modular reactors (SMRs), a new study suggests. The study by San Francisco-based consulting group Energy […]

  • California Official: Solar’s Future Bright, but Clouds Persist

    The technology behind solar power is changing rapidly. Researchers at the University of California, Davis have said so-called “anti-solar” panels could even generate power at night. But even as solar deployments grow worldwide, more innovative solar products are launched, and more governments enact clean energy mandates, political headwinds threaten to slow the progress of the […]

  • Is Biomass Dead?

    With subsidies running short and emissions regulations still a challenge, the promise of biomass as a sustainable source for utility-scale power generation remains elusive. Yet, there are novel applications

  • Community Solar: Ready for the New Decade

    Community solar refers to local solar facilities shared by multiple subscribers who receive credit on their electricity bills for their share of the power produced. Community solar allows homeowners, renters

  • A Closer Look at Coal Power Plant Impacts

    When I see estimates of premature deaths attributable to coal-fired power plants, I usually take the data with a grain of salt. It’s not that I don’t trust researchers to do their best to calculate the

  • Policy Support for Carbon Capture Critical to Clean Energy Future

    Analysis by both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and International Energy Agency shows that achieving a zero-carbon energy system by 2050 will require large-scale deployment of carbon capture