Gas

Dynegy this week announced it will sell three more power plants to reduce debt as it works to satisfy an agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reached after the company’s $3.3 billion purchase of French energy giant Engie’s U.S.-based assets earlier this year. Houston, Texas-based Dynegy said it has agreed to sell its […]

NRG Energy said it will sell as much as $4 billion in assets as it seeks to lower its debt and cut costs after a revolt by activist investors unhappy with the company’s direction. Shares of the company jumped 29% to a two-year high on July 12 after NRG announced the moves as part of […]

A federal appeals court has ruled the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should not have denied a 2012 proposal by PJM in which the regional power operator sought to revise its minimum offer price rule (MOPR). The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 7 said FERC went beyond its “passive and reactive role” under […]

Florida regulators next week will consider whether to support an exemption to a state rule, a move that could speed the approval process for a new 1,163-MW natural gas-fired power plant on the state’s Atlantic coast. Florida Power & Light (FPL), the nation’s third-largest electric utility, has proposed the $888 million power plant for Broward […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) earlier this year reported that the power sector was poised to add 11.2 GW of new natural gas–fired capacity in 2017. If that forecast proves accurate, it

A number of baseload generators across Europe have decried the fall in average European wholesale power prices, which some peg to additions of subsidized low-marginal-cost renewable generation to an already

Beyond the bitter disputes that have recently cropped up between Ukraine and Russia concerning Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the subsequent separatist violence in Ukraine’s Donbass region

India to Sell Only Electric Vehicles by 2030. India’s power minister Piyush Goyal said at a Confederation of Indian Industry session in April that the government plans to make all its cars electric by 2030

It can be a challenge to keep emissions in check while operating dual-fuel reciprocating engine technology during low-load conditions. However, doing so is especially important under California’s strict

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO’s) geographic footprint extends down the middle of the U.S. Because of the structure of its market, MISO has artfully avoided some nasty policy and

Coal proponents and climate skeptics often cite China’s current and future reliance on coal power to bolster talking points. What is little discussed is the recent, massive transformation of China’s vast

  Operations and start-up of the lignite gasification portion of the Kemper County Energy Facility, marred by exorbitant delays and cost overruns, will be suspended immediately, Mississippi Power announced on June 28. The Southern Co. subsidiary plans to continue running a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant that was completed as part of the $7.5 […]

Although President Trump has been promoting a pro-coal energy agenda, there are four things killing coal that the administration may not be able to remedy. That was the message Bill Ritter Jr. delivered to American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Power and Energy Conference & Exhibition attendees during his keynote address on June 27. Ritter […]

The nation’s power grid may or may not have reliability issues if too many renewables are added to the energy mix, according to conflicting statements by Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Colette D. Honorable. Speaking June 27 at the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 2017 Conference in Washington, D.C., […]

The Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) at an open meeting on June 21 unanimously passed a motion instructing its counsel to prepare an order pursuing potential solutions regarding the Kemper County Power Generation Facility. In a press release, the MPSC said the “Kemper Facility should operate using only natural gas.” The commission said it wanted […]

A newly released update to the Power Sector Carbon Index, developed by Carnegie Mellon University with the support of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS), found that U.S. power plant emissions averaged 955 lb of CO2 per MWh during the first three months of 2017. 1. Carnegie Mellon University Power Sector Carbon Index. The index shows […]

The Trump administration says it’s not going to pick winners and losers when it comes to energy generation, but it sure doesn’t seem to like wind and solar, judging from a recent presentation by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The nation needs a diverse energy mix, including nuclear, coal, natural gas, and renewables, several energy industry […]

GenOn has begun its transition back into a standalone power generation company after NRG Energy—which acquired it in a $1.7 billion deal just five years ago—struck a comprehensive restructuring agreement with GenOn’s creditors, and GenOn filed for Chapter 11 protection. A June 14 financial filing confirms that NRG, GenOn, and an ad hoc group of […]

Minnesota Power and Wisconsin’s Dairyland Power Cooperative announced plans to co-develop a combined cycle natural gas–fired power plant, a 550-MW facility designed to provide backup power for the utilities’ efforts to expand their use of renewable energy sources. The Nemadji Trail Energy Center would be built along the Nemadji River in Superior, Wis., a location […]

Mississippi Power’s Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project is now expected to be in service by the end of June, but the company expects it will need post in-service improvements. It also said timing of when it will file a case to address the recovery of costs not currently reflected in rates is uncertain. […]

Kansas City Power & Light Co. (KCP&L) plans to retire five coal-fired generating units at two stations by the end of next year. It will also close, by December 31, 2019, a unit that was just converted from coal to gas last year. The decision is part of “the company’s commitment to a sustainable energy […]

Southern Co. announced yet another lag beyond a new in-service date for its Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project. Along with concerns about delays and mounting cost increases afflicting the plant’s coal gasification component are how it will be used in the face of cheap gas prices. The company’s subsidiary Mississippi Power last […]

In May, GE’s Power Services and Ansaldo Energia separately completed initial validation of two gas turbines designed for high efficiency and flexibility: the 9EMax and the GT36. GE also announced first fire

India Joins IEA as an Association Country. India joined the International Energy Agency (IEA) as an association country on March 30, marking a significant move for the country into global energy affairs. The

Southern California Edison (SCE) put online the world’s first battery–gas turbine hybrid system on March 30 in Norwalk, Calif., pioneering a new direction in the way power could be generated and stored

A lot of different methods are available to encourage compliance with company policies and regulations, but some are more effective than others. One that has worked well for GE and its customers inspires

Flow reversal in piping systems can degrade equipment performance and cause significant water hammer, potentially resulting in catastrophic failure. Power plant condenser cooling water systems—or circulating

Inspecting the internal condition of a turbine generator is an important maintenance activity, but tearing a unit apart is a long and expensive process. Borescope inspections offer one way to minimize work

The conversation at the ELECTRIC POWER Conference and Exhibition, as underscored by comments made in its keynote address and at the annual event’s executive roundtable, was optimistic yet cautious, owing to