Environmental
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Renewables
CAISO Expansion, 100% Zero-Carbon Bids Flatline, But Bills for Energy Storage, DERs Thrive
California’s legislature last week wrapped up its 2017 session without authorizing the broad expansion of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) into other Western states or passing a zero-carbon bill, which would have put the state on a path to 100% clean energy by 2045. It did, however, succeed in passing bills to encourage development […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Long-delayed Expansion of Kansas Coal Plant Now Considered Unlikely
Chances that an 895-MW project to expand Sunflower Electric Power Corp.’s coal-fired Holcomb Station in Kansas will ever be completed are “remote,” a key project partner said. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association—a Denver-based power generator owned by 43 electric cooperatives that partnered with Sunflower in 2005 to build the new unit—in an August 10-Q […]
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Legal & Regulatory
EPA Postpones Compliance Dates for FGD, Bottom Ash Transport Requirements in ELG Rule
Steam electric power plants preparing to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) effluent limitations guidelines (ELG) and standards as they concern bottom ash transport water and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) waste streams will get—for now—a two-year reprieve under a new rule the agency finalized on September 12. The ELG rule, which was finalized by […]
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Gas
Two SCE Gas-Battery Hybrid Projects Revolutionize Peaker Performance
For deploying a novel, groundbreaking gas-battery hybrid technology along with environmentally significant upgrades within a tight installment window, and despite logistical hurdles, Southern California
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Commentary
Fuel Cells: Key to Our Electric Energy Future
For more than 20 years, I have been championing the use of fuel cell powered cars to connect the natural gas distribution network of this country with the electric distribution network, making them partners in
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Renewables
Could Success Spoil ISO-NE?
Independent System Operator-New England celebrated its 20th anniversary last July with a solid record in its energy and capacity markets, turning around a fragmented regional electric system. Can it repeat
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Renewables
Xcel Energy Plan Would Close Coal Units, Add Renewables
Xcel Energy on August 29 said it wants to retire 660 MW of coal-fired generation capacity as part of a “Colorado Energy Plan” that also includes adding as much as 1,700 MW of renewable energy and 700 MW of natural gas-fired power generation to its portfolio in the state. A key element of the proposal […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Eastern States Expand Emission Cuts as Part of Cap-and-Trade
Nine states in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region have said they will cut emissions from power plants by 65% below 2020 levels by 2030, expanding a cap-and-trade program designed to reduce carbon output usually associated with power plants. States in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) agreed to increase emissions cuts by an additional […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Judge Rules TVA Must Move Gallatin Coal Ash
A federal judge on August 4 said the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) must dig up coal ash at one of its power plants and move it to a lined waste site. The order came in a suit filed by the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association (TSRA) and the Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN), who said coal […]
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Coal
Canadian Carbon Price Hits a Wall in Saskatchewan
If the province of Saskatchewan does not join Canada’s carbon pricing scheme, it will be unable to benefit from the nation’s recently announced Low Carbon Economy Fund. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said