Environmental

  • Fertile Ground for Community Solar Gardens

    Community solar projects, also known as solar farms or solar gardens, are maturing and moving forward. Minnesota leads the nation with 559 MW of capacity on the ground, and other states are following with new

  • Considering the True Costs of Carbon-Reducing Technologies

    The hard realities of an energy system based on renewables will soon be with us, causing far more problems than are realized. Renewables don’t offer a quick fix, and we need to get the transition from

  • The Power of a ‘Green’ Decommissioning, Remediation, and Redevelopment Plan

    Economic pressures coupled with new and proposed regulations to reduce air emissions and regulate cooling water use and the management and disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) continue to drive the

  • SCR Project Upgrades Two Units at Four Corners

    The numbers tell the story of how the addition of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology helped an iconic New Mexico coal-fired plant reduce its emissions, keeping the plant in operation and continuing

  • Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion Is a Winner

    New coal power plant technology is being developed by various companies around the world, but there are some pretty efficient and reliable designs already commercially available. Circulating fluidized bed

  • Biomass Power: Stalled in the Market, Stalled in Washington

    After flowering between 2008 and 2014, power from biomass has withered in the face of market forces. Furthermore, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have resisted regulatory action that could boost the industry

  • Power Plants of the Future: 21st Century Coal-Fired Steam Generator

    Coal-fired plants have been powering the electric grid for more than a hundred years, but the technology being used in them is not stagnant, as many advancements have been made. One new design—the Clean

  • BHP, Mitsubishi Partner on Emissions Reduction Technologies

    BHP and Mitsubishi Development Pty (MDP) in late June signed a memorandum of understanding for joint research, development, and deployment of greenhouse gas emissions reduction technologies in several countries, including projects with battery storage, solar, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). The agreement, signed in Tokyo, Japan, on June 20, also calls for research into […]

  • Worried About Climate Change? Save Nuclear Plants [PODCAST]

    Nuclear power advocates suggest there are many benefits associated with nuclear energy. They point to high-paying jobs; billions of dollars in economic activity for plant-hosting communities; and secure, reliable, baseload electricity. But the most-important benefit of nuclear power may be that it emits no greenhouse gases, and therefore does not contribute to climate change. According […]

  • MET TECHNOLOGY WINS FGD AWARD IN INDIA

    Lebanon, Pennsylvania – July 24, 2019 | Marsulex Environmental Technologies (“MET”) has announced the award of a contract for flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems by an Indian government power company at its thermal power plant in the State of Jharkhand. MET’s licensee for India, Thermax Limited, has concluded the order for two FGD units at […]

  • EnergySolutions in Negotiations to Acquire and Complete the Decommissioning of the Historic Three Mile Island Unit-2 Nuclear Power Plant

    CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EnergySolutions, Inc. announced today it has signed a term sheet with GPU Nuclear, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, to negotiate the asset transfer of Unit-2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (TMI-2) located near Middletown, Pennsylvania.  Unit-2 has been in a safe and stable storage condition […]

  • Reversing Climate Change with Nuclear Power [PODCAST]

    According to the Energy Impact Center, a Washington, D.C.-based research institute focused on deep decarbonization, CO2 emissions “must go net-negative by 2040, globally across all energy sectors” to begin countering climate change. The only way it sees to accomplish this is to “produce energy inexpensive enough to make carbon negative fuels that compete with fossil […]

  • The POWER Interview: New Directions for Aeroderivative Gas Turbines at PWPS 

    In a recent interview, Raul Pereda, president and CEO of PW Power Systems (PWPS), talked to POWER about the company’s long legacy as a gas turbine manufacturer, advancements in technology it has achieved over the past 60 years, and new applications for its turbines within a transitioning energy system.  No one can read a history […]

  • HEI™ (High Energy Ionizer) Wet Electrostatic Precipitator Offers Major Breakthrough in State-of-the-Art Fine Particulate Control

    Bionomic Industries, Inc., an industry leading manufacturer of proven air pollution abatement, product and heat recovery technologies, has announced the launch of their new HEI Wet Electrostatic Precipitator System. A breakthrough in the advancement of state-of-the-art fine particulate control, the HEI WESP System incorporates a unique discharge electrode technology that can be sized to specific […]

  • EPA Delayed on Proposed ELG Revisions for Steam Power Plants

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is behind on its proposed revisions to the Obama administration’s effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) for steam electric power plants.  In an e-mail to POWER on July 9, the EPA confirmed that the agency was still “working expeditiously” to complete the proposed rule, and it has yet to submit it to […]

  • A Brief History of GE Gas Turbines

    July marks two important milestones that set gas-fired generation on its course to becoming a dominant form of power generation: commercial operation of the world’s first industrial gas turbine in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in 1939, and commercial operation of the first gas turbine in the U.S. used to generate electric power—a 3.5-MW General Electric (GE) unit […]

  • Coal Unit CCUS Retrofits More Economic Than Many Alternatives, NETL Study Suggests

    Adding carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to two Xcel coal units in Colorado that are slated to be retired by 2025 would push up the cost of power if compared with replacement with wind/storage hybrids. But CCUS, which generates revenues, would still work out to be cheaper than other alternatives mandated under the company’s […]

  • Duke Energy Passes 1 GW of Owned Solar Capacity

    Duke Energy passes major renewable milestone: 1 gigawatt of owned solar energy capacity Owned capacity serves about 2 million homes and businesses Part of the company’s 4 gigawatts of owned and purchased solar capacity Delivering renewable energy to retail and wholesale customers from Florida to California CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With the North Rosamond Solar Facility […]

  • A Fine Couple They Are (Wind and Solar Power)

    The pairing of wind and solar is emerging as a smart strategy to implement renewable energy sources with better economic feasibility. The pairing of wind and solar power is an advantageous complement; the two benefit each other. The synergistic combination is an emerging trend in renewable energy and power generation as costs drop. The pairing […]

  • The Clean Energy Conundrum

    The worldwide movement toward a clean energy future is barreling ahead. Most clean energy advocates seem to focus on wind and solar power as their resources of choice, and it shows, as the installed capacity

  • A Clean Sweep for Invasive Mussel Biofouling

    The rapid proliferation of dreissena rostriformis bugensis—the quagga mussel—has major implications for power plant reliability. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation installed a groundbreaking solution at Parker

  • Distributed Energy Award Goes to Unique Hog Farm Microgrid

    Power from pig manure is not a public relations stunt, but rather, it’s an innovative solution to several farm challenges. Installing lagoon covers not only reduces odors and eliminates rainwater ingress

  • Hydropower Is Vital to Africa’s Future

    Africa has a number of power supply challenges, many of which can be overcome with renewable energy. Foremost among the options is hydropower. While large projects can meet stiff resistance in the development

  • The Cleanie Awards Announces Partnership with POWER Magazine and ESA

    The Cleanie Awards™ announces it’s strategic partnership with POWER and the U.S. Energy Storage Association (ESA) for its 2019 awards program. WASHINGTON, June 28, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The Cleanie Awards™, the only comprehensive awards program focused exclusively on the cleantech industry, recently entered into a partnership with POWER and the U.S. Energy Storage Association (ESA). […]

  • Charah Solutions to Open Third Facility Using New Grinding Technologies for Natural Pozzolan

    Facility Will Expand Charah Solutions’ Byproduct Sales Footprint Throughout Southern California LOUISVILLE, KY (June 27, 2019) – 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 open a third facility using new patented grinding technologies to create supplementary cementitious […]

  • Wheeler: Keeping U.S. Coal Sector Alive Will Benefit ‘International Environmental Protection’

    Coal power, which has seen a marked decline in the U.S., is necessary for reliability and energy affordability, and sustaining it could boost pollution technology exports and “improve lives while driving down emissions worldwide,” said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler in a speech last week. Wheeler made the remarks at a 90-minute event […]

  • EPA Urges States to Submit CCR Programs Even as Coal Ash Regulatory Overhaul Continues

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 24 proposed to partially approve Georgia’s permit program for the disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR). As it did so, it gave other states some advice: Follow Georgia’s lead and assume oversight of coal ash that power plants dispose within your borders. The preliminary approval marks another important […]

  • Deep Isolation Announces Memorandum of Agreement with Bechtel

    Deep Isolation, Inc. and Bechtel National, Inc. have announced a cooperative agreement on sales, product development, and the deployment of Deep Isolation’s patented technology. BERKELEY, Calif., June 24, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Deep Isolation, Inc., a leading innovator in nuclear waste disposal solutions, and Bechtel National, Inc., part of the largest engineering and construction company in the […]

  • New Jersey’s First Offshore Wind Farm Will Be a Mammoth 1.1-GW Ørsted Project

    Danish renewables firm Ørsted’s 1.1-GW Ocean Wind project is the winner of New Jersey’s first award for offshore wind, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) said on June 21.  Ørsted, with support from Public Service Enterprise Group’s (PSEG’s) non-utility affiliate, vied for the award with two other offshore wind developers that submitted bids […]

  • Energy Infrastructure on Tenuous Winning Streak in the Courts

    Federal courts have been pretty kind to energy infrastructure in recent weeks, particularly in cases involving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). For starters, this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit removed one of the hurdles to construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The court decided that a new presidential permit—issued […]