Environmental

  • Exelon CEO Clarifies Headline-Grabbing No-Grid-Emergency Comment

    Chris Crane, CEO of Exelon Corp., seemed to take umbrage with the way comments he made on June 5 were reported by Utility Dive. The website published the headline “Exelon CEO: No grid emergency to justify DOE coal, nuke bailout,” but Crane went out of his way to clarify his position while on stage participating […]

  • India’s Power Industry Struggles to Solve Pollution Problems

    In a bid to tamp down pollution, India’s government in December 2015 notified the country’s coal generators they would need to meet—for the first time—new emissions limits for nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and mercury, as well as tightened limits for particulate matter (PM) and water consumption. The gazetted notification gave new plants until […]

  • Maintaining Nuclear Plant Ice Condensers: A ‘Cool’ Responsibility

    Although nuclear plant ice condensers are rare—only seven sites throughout the world have them—the theory behind these passive heat sinks is quite novel. In fact, some next-generation plant designers have built upon the concept and incorporated passive accident intervention schemes into their plans. A nuclear plant ice condenser is a passive, static heat sink that […]

  • Common Goals and Team Mentality a Winning Combination

    A lot of things factor into success at a coal-fired power plant, but leadership and teamwork certainly rank high on the list. Comanche Generating Station has parlayed those two attributes, among others, into a

  • Power in Africa: Prospects for an Economic Foothold

    To sustain unprecedented economic growth, lift hundreds of millions out of poverty, and attract investment, African countries are taking bold steps to expand electricity infrastructure. Are the continent’s

  • The Shift from Coal to Biomass Is on in Europe

    Various schemes are underway in Europe as nations use existing coal-fired power plants to generate electricity without coal as the feedstock. With rising carbon prices, some big utilities are repowering with

  • Equipment Showcase: Boilers, Burners, Combustion

    Boiler and burner manufacturers, along with those who supply combustion control systems, work with a variety of industries, providing power generation to commercial, industrial, and residential sites. A 2017

  • Why the EPA’s Proposed Coal Ash Rule Is Concerning

    Over the past decade, together with my students and colleagues at Duke University and other academic institutions, I have conducted scientific research and published 13 scientific articles on different aspects

  • New Jersey Nuclear and Renewable Energy Bills Signed by Governor

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a few important energy bills on May 23 including one (S-2313) that establishes a zero emissions certificate (ZEC) program, which reportedly will provide the state’s nuclear power plants with $300 million a year in ratepayer subsidies. To qualify, the plants must demonstrate that they make a significant contribution to […]

  • AMETEK LAND STANDARDISES CERTIFICATES OF CONFORMITY AND ADDS CALIBRATION DATA AS STANDARD FOR FIXED THERMAL IMAGERS AND LINE SCANNERS

    SHEFFIELD, UK, 21 MAY 2018 – AMETEK Land*, a major innovator in non-contact temperature measurement, and combustion and environmental monitoring equipment, has standardised all its Certificates of Conformity for its fixed thermal imagers and line scanners.  This includes the ARC, NIR, NIR-B Borescope, LSP-HD Line Scanner, FTI-Eb Borescope and FTI-E instruments. This means customers now […]

  • Xcel Energy Cuts Carbon Emissions 35 Percent

    Retiring coal plants and increasing renewables key to company’s clean energy transition MINNEAPOLIS, May 22 /CSRwire/ – Xcel Energy is a step closer to achieving one of the most aggressive carbon-reduction goals in the industry. Today, the company announced it cut carbon emissions 35 percent, according to its newly released Corporate Responsibility Report. This puts Xcel […]

  • Upheaval and Innovation in Wastewater Management

    Regulatory uncertainty, changing resources, and an industrywide drive to cut costs and boost flexibility and efficiency are among a growing list of challenges that are prompting new approaches to treat power

  • Bringing New Life to Industrial Wastewater

    As water demand soars in every corner of the world amid widespread drought and water scarcity concerns, recovery and recycling of wastewater is increasingly becoming a valuable solution to alleviate pressures

  • Power Mix Comes Down to Cost

    It’s not a secret that the North American power mix is changing. Renewable energy and natural gas are picking up market share while coal-fired generation shrinks and nuclear power remains stagnant at best

  • Equipment Showcase: Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems and Gas Analyzers

    A continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) is required in the U.S. under Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations to continuously collect, record, and report emissions data. CEMS are used to

  • The Nuclear Waste Impasse Can Only Be Resolved by the Public

    The more I review the Yucca Mountain political boondoggle, the more I am convinced the stalemate will have to be resolved through a grassroots public campaign. At the outset of the Yucca startup, the

  • MHPS Will Convert Dutch CCGT to Run on Hydrogen

    Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) in March said it would work with the Netherlands Carbon-Free Gas Power project to support the conversion of the country’s 1.32-GW Magnum gas-fired power plant to run

  • EPA Rampaging on Coal Ash Rule Despite Groundwater Concerns

    Despite pleas by environmental groups for more time to review recent dumps of groundwater monitoring data from power companies, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is forging ahead to finalize a proposed overhaul of the Obama administration’s 2015 final Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule. The EPA’s 45-day comment period for the agency’s March 1 proposed rule, […]

  • EPA Declares Forest Biomass Is ‘Carbon Neutral’

    Future regulatory actions issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will treat biomass from managed forests as carbon neutral when used for energy production at stationary sources, an agency policy statement declares. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who revealed the policy statement  on April 23 during a meeting with Georgia forestry leaders, also said the […]

  • Costs and Emissions Will Increase If Nuclear Plants Close

    A report released this week by The Brattle Group says that if four nuclear power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania are allowed to retire early it will cause “substantially higher emissions of CO2 and other pollutants” and that there will be “a significant increase in electricity prices” not only in the two states, but also […]

  • New Jersey Legislature Backs Nuclear Subsidies

    New Jersey’s Assembly and Senate in separate actions on April 12 passed bills to ensure continued operation of PSEG’s Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power plants. Lawmakers also passed bills to modify the state’s renewable portfolio standards and for support of a pilot offshore wind farm. Legislation (S-2313/A-3724) directing the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) […]

  • Under Competitive Pressure, Nuclear Industry Doing All It Can, NEI Head Says

    The nation’s paramount nuclear power trade group has launched a wide-ranging strategy to help generators stay profitable in tight markets, the head of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) told Wall Street analysts on April 12. In an address broadcast on Facebook, Maria Korsnick, NEI president and CEO, said that nuclear plants that operate in competitive […]

  • Eskom’s Kusile wet flue gas desulphurization plant achieves 93% removal efficiency rate upon completion and performance test evaluation

    Kusile is the first power plant in Africa to implement clean fuel technology such as flue-gas desulphurization – a state-of-the-art technology used to remove oxides of Sulphur Kusile’s Wet Flue Gas Desulphurization technology is first of its kind in Africa, WFGD guarantees cleanest and most environmental friendly coal power processing with a SO2 removal efficiency […]

  • Are Energy Companies Practicing Good Product Stewardship?

    The Product Stewardship Institute—a consumer advocacy group—defines product stewardship as “the act of minimizing the health, safety, environmental, and social impacts of a product and its packaging

  • Minnesota May Be Next to Support Nuclear Plants

    Following the lead of Illinois and New York, which have enacted policies supporting nuclear power plants, the Minnesota Legislature is weighing a bill that could help the owner of two nuclear facilities within its borders. Minnesota is home to the single-unit 671-MW Monticello nuclear plant and the dual-unit 1,100-MW Prairie Island plant (Figure 1). Xcel […]

  • NEW E9000 Portable Emissions Analyzer With Heated Sample Line

    The NEW E9000 emissions analyzer with Heated Sample Line is a complete portable system for EPA compliance level emissions monitoring and testing. The E9000 is ideal for regulatory & maintenance use in boiler, burner, engine, turbine, furnace, and other combustion applications. Features: Up to (9) Total Gas Sensors Electrochemical Sensors – O2, CO, NO, NO2, […]

  • Germany’s New Coalition Government Agrees to Phase Out Coal, but Will Miss 2020 Emissions Targets

    Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) members agreed to join their longtime rival and governing partner, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and reluctantly entered into a third grand coalition government on March 4. While this ended months of anxious handwringing following September’s national elections, the entire process was mired in frustration as the prospect of yet […]

  • Experts: Warfare Between Coal and Gas Is Nonexistent

    Markets may currently favor natural gas, but coal, which has been diminished for “good reason,” will likely have a significant place as a reliable fuel for power generation, a diverse panel of U.S. coal experts—including a generator, a supplier, and a market analyst—suggested at CERAWeek by IHS Markit in Houston on March 7. Coal lost […]

  • More Coal and Nuclear Can Replace Retired Generation, State Supreme Court Rules

    The Supreme Court for the state of New Mexico affirmed a final order by state regulators to allow Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) to replace lost generation from two shuttered units at its 1,800-MW coal-fired San Juan Regional Generation Station with coal and nuclear resources. The case stems from a petition filed by […]

  • EPA Proposes Overhaul of 2015 Final Coal Ash Rule 

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed more than a dozen significant changes to the Obama administration’s final 2015 rule governing disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR) by the nation’s power generators. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on March 1 signed the first of two rules that propose to amend the 2015 rule, saying the changes […]