Environmental

Beam Global is a company dedicated to providing clean energy for the transportation sector. The San Diego, California-based group has said its “mission is to lead the world to clean mobility. We believe that every person deserves access to clean sustainable transportation. That every community is safer with a resilient microgrid. That every state can […]

California has been driving America’s clean energy transition for years, but the road to net-zero is still paved with fossil fuels. Frequent extreme weather events and surging electricity demand are catalyzing the buildout of more reliable and secure clean energy. The state’s shift has largely been focused on renewable sources like solar and wind, which […]

Rising concerns over climate change have caused a major shift in the energy ecosystem, away from fossil fuels and toward renewable, clean, and sustainable energy. Currently, the earth is about 1.1C warmer than in the late 1800s. As outlined in the Paris Agreement, the goal is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, limit global warming […]

SAN FRANCISCO, BOSTON – February 7, 2023 – Voltus, Inc. (“Voltus”), the leading distributed energy resource (DER) software platform, today announced the launch of real-time, site-level carbon emissions avoidance reporting in VoltAppTM, Voltus’s cloud-based platform. This new feature allows customers and partners to report on avoided carbon emissions through DER program participation. Carbon reporting adds […]

An important part of the global effort to curb emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is development of technologies to capture CO 2 , to design ways to store it, and to find beneficial ways to use it. Addressing

Spirit Energy, the joint venture energy company of Centrica plc and Stadtwerke München GmbH (SWM), has today (Tuesday 31st January) confirmed its plan to convert its depleted South Morecambe and North Morecambe gas fields and Barrow Terminals into a world-class carbon storage cluster. If granted a licence by the North Sea Transition Authority and subject […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed barring six coal-fired power plants in various states—a combined 11 GW—from disposing coal ash into unlined surface impoundments. The agency, however, also proposed to provide disposal extensions if the coal plants are needed to maintain grid reliability. The EPA’s proposed determinations, issued on Jan. 25, fall under its […]

A 6.2-MW solar farm in Foster, Rhode Island, provides 3.35 GWh per year of clean, renewable energy for more than 700 community solar subscribers. The state of Rhode Island has ambitious targets for renewable energy production, including from solar. Many residents—especially those with the most to gain from cost-savings linked to solar power—are unable to […]

JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s largest power generation company, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) “for potential collaboration for the joint project development and sales & purchase of clean ammonia” with CF Industries Holdings Inc., the world’s largest producer of ammonia. Under the MOU, JERA and CF Industries have agreed “to jointly study […]

A six-month-long project to demolish the last coal-fired unit at Lakeland Electric’s C.D. McIntosh Power Plant in Lakeland, Florida, reached a milestone on Jan. 14 with the implosion of the facility’s 260-foot stack and 90-foot selective catalytic reduction unit (video below). Unit 3 at McIntosh, the plant’s last operating coal-fired unit, was closed in 2021, […]

SASKATOON – The best way to stave off the worst effects of climate change is to reduce CO2 emissions around the world. And one way to do that, says Zhongwei Chen, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo, is to capture the CO2 and convert it into other useful […]

Project in Lithuania could offer important lessons for U.K. power station cleanup DALLAS – A consortium comprising Westinghouse Electric Spain, Jacobs (NYSE:J) and the Lithuanian Energy Institute was selected to plan dismantling and waste management at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) in Lithuania. Soviet-designed Ignalina could be the first graphite-moderated reactor plant to be […]

There’s a growing belief that hydrogen will play a key role in lowering CO 2 emissions. However, there are several caveats in realizing that vision, and in some cases, hydrogen may not be the right choice

The Biden administration has rolled out in a final what it says is a “durable” definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS), potentially capping a legal and political battle that has raged for nearly two decades. The final rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army on […]

Every month, POWER magazine publishes several articles in its Global Monitor section covering topics important to the electric power generation industry. The articles typically feature interesting updates on progress made at notable projects around the world, big policy changes, or promising research and development (R&D) news. Short notes about major contracts are also touched on […]

EY earlier this month released the findings from its Energy Consumer Survey 2022. The report is “focused on how energy impacts the lifestyles and wallets of consumers,” according to the company. EY is the trade name for Ernst & Young, the multinational professional services group headquartered in London, UK. The report is based on a […]

Many experts believe small modular reactors (SMRs), which are generally classified as nuclear power reactors with an electrical output of 300 MW or less, offer great promise for supplying the world with carbon-free energy. Several SMR designs are under development by companies around the world including NuScale Power, GE-Hitachi, Terrestrial Energy, TerraPower, Toshiba, X-energy, and […]

GE Gas Power announced on Dec. 6 that it has deployed an “innovative technical solution” on four TM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines at the California Department of Water Resources’ (DWR’s) sites in Yuba City and Roseville, California (Figure 1). The solution reportedly reduced nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by more than 90%, surpassing […]

Identifying areas in your plant where insulation is inadequate and fixing the problem can save significant amounts of money, eliminate safety hazards for workers, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a

Coal ash, or coal combustion residuals (CCRs), is the second-largest waste material in the U.S., just behind household garbage. The safe and sustainable management of coal ash poses one of the most complex

The Biden administration has reversed a controversial Trump-era rule that barred plan fiduciaries from considering climate change and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when choosing retirement investments and exercising shareholder rights, such as proxy voting.  A final rule issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) on Nov. 22 removes restrictions issued in two […]

The world is on a quest for solutions to decarbonize its economy. More than 70 countries and over 1,200 companies have set a net-zero target, according to the United Nations. To limit warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, emissions of hundreds of gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) would need to be prevented and removed from […]

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) first round of funding from its $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program is poised to go to Diablo Canyon Power Plant, California’s only operational nuclear plant. Pacific Gas & Electric  (PG&E), Diablo Canyon’s owner, could receive up to $1.1 billion in credits to extend the 2.2-GW plant’s operation for […]

European energy giant EnBW will pilot switching a 114-year-old coal-fired waste incineration and district heating power plant in Stuttgart-Münster, Germany, to gas-fired technology while ensuring the regionally significant plant will be ready to combust hydrogen “as quickly and completely” as possible. Siemens Energy on Nov. 17 sealed an agreement with the utility for an overall […]

Hydropower projects frequently face resistance from environmental groups for a variety of reasons. One of the more common objections to hydro is the high turbine-induced mortality of fish. The passage of fish through hydroelectric turbines can quickly prove fatal—a danger that increases with the size of the fish. Furthermore, if several hydropower plants are located […]

The sustainable hydropower sector is at the heart of two new initiatives that aim to accelerate the clean energy transition, both announced at COP27 today. Planning for Climate Commission aims to accelerate hydropower and other renewables The Planning for Climate Commission is a new global forum focused on speeding up planning and approvals for the massive […]

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA  – The newly approved long-range energy plan for Minnesota’s second largest public utility company reflects an exciting agreement reached between Minnesota Power, Clean Energy Organizations, labor unions, industrial customers, and the Boswell coal plant host communities to more quickly transition towards a reliable and carbon free electric system that works for everyone.  […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will pursue a first-of-its-kind pilot program at the Shawnee Fossil Plant in West Paducah, Kentucky, to determine if closed coal ash sites are suitable for utility-scale solar projects. The self-funded U.S. corporate agency’s board on Nov. 10 unanimously approved a $216 million pilot project to explore repurposing the 1,071-MW coal-fired power […]

First-to-market solution offers emergency managers access to better prepare and manage through weather impacts with advanced outage prediction technology   MINNEAPOLIS, MN (November 8, 2022) – DTN®, a data, analytics, and technology company, recently  launched Storm Risk Analytics, a first-to-market solution that combines advanced weather intelligence and machine learning outage prediction to help mid-size electric utilities more confidently make incident […]

Marking intent interest from the power sector in hydrogen’s decarbonization potential, six major utilities—Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Louisville Gas & Electric Co. (LG&E), Kentucky Utilities Co. (KU), Southern Co., and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)—have announced they will jointly pursue federal financial support for a Southeast Hydrogen Hub. The utilities, along with Battelle, an independent […]