Environmental

Last year, five of the world’s 449 operable nuclear reactors reached 50 years of operation for the first time, four first-of-their kind reactor designs were brought online, and while the industry showed capacity factor impacts from load-following, the global nuclear fleet performed  at an average capacity factor of about 80%, says a new report from […]

As of August 2019, 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), and eight others had non-binding renewable portfolio goals. Three states also had clean energy standards, which set targets for low-carbon non-renewables, like nuclear, and two had clean energy goals. Shown in the bars below are the shares of generation by source […]

A greenfield concentrated solar power (CSP) project with novel parabolic trough technology and a molten storage system has revitalized a remote region. But the project is also laudable for its social

Power plant operators are always looking for ways to boost performance. A combustion optimizer designed to improve efficiency and lower emissions could help. It supports more flexible operation of boilers by

This year, it seems hardly a week has gone by without a new report making us even more nervous about climate change. It’s as if the editorial theme for 2019 was: “It’s worse than you thought.” Maybe

Vistra Energy will shutter four coal-fired power plants—a total 2 GW—as required by Illinois’ recently revised Multi-Pollutant Standard (MPS) rule, but CEO Curtis Morgan noted the move was “inevitable” due to the changing regulatory environment and unfavorable economic conditions in the MISO market.  The company on Aug. 21 said it will close the 54-year-old 915-MW […]

The list of 181 CEOs who earlier this week moved to publicly degrade shareholder value in a bid to redefine the “purpose of a corporation” includes several chief executives from power companies.  The Aug. 19 statement issued by the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs “to promote a thriving U.S. economy and expanded opportunity for […]

New guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Aug. 20 to help states prepare for the second implementation period of the federal regional haze program puts emphasis on “discretion and flexibilities” they can use to comply with long-standing mandates to protect visibility in federal areas.   While it is not binding, the EPA’s […]

A coalition of 22 states and seven local governments on Aug. 13 filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which the Trump administration finalized in June to replace the Obama administration’s legacy Clean Power Plan (CPP).  Separately, 10 public interest groups filed a petition on Aug. […]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 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 […]

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 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