Gas

The changing generation mix and recent extreme weather throughout the U.S. have led the power sector to evaluate and begin making changes to address their increased dependence on natural gas and the integration of renewables, staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said in the 2013 State of the Markets report. Gas Price Hikes […]

With natural gas exports as its focus, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held its first oversight hearing with new chair, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), at the helm on Mar. 25. Landrieu began the hearing by pointing out how greatly America’s natural gas situation has changed in less than a decade. She noted […]

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.)—one of a handful of Democrats that are critical of the Obama administration’s carbon rules for new power plants—on Monday introduced a bill that would provide federal funds, tax credits, and pricing support to private power companies investing in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.  Heitkamp’s newly unveiled bill, “Advanced Clean Coal […]

Source: POWER During IHS CERAWeek in Houston in early March, POWER Editor Gail Reitenbach sat down with Heiner Markhoff, president and CEO of GE Power & Water’s Water & Process Technologies, to ask him about several issues of concern to power plants.  Though the “water/energy nexus” theme has gained prominence recently, Heiner Markhoff’s comments underscored […]

Germany’s biggest utility E.ON will shutter nearly 13 GW of capacity—more than a quarter of its conventional fleet in Europe—to offset the “negative effects of a difficult economic and regulatory environment” in the European Union (EU), CEO Johannes Teyssen said on Wednesday.  The company released gloomy financial year results for 2013, reporting a 14% drop […]

Janet McCabe, a top air regulation official at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defended the agency’s carbon rule for new power plants at a House hearing on Wednesday, even as industry witnesses countered that technology does not yet exist to meet the regulatory requirements. The EPA’s acting assistant administrator for air and radiation reiterated the […]

A study by the Sandia National Laboratory last year demonstrated that hydrogen fuel cells mounted on floating barges could potentially provide shore-based power for visiting ships at West Coast ports, substantially reducing emissions from shipboard diesel generators. Now, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the U.S. Department […]

March 11 marked the third anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck the east coast of Japan. Within days of that event, with no backup power, cooling systems failed at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (TEPCO’s) Fukushima Daiichi plant, leading to meltdowns and hydrogen explosions at Units 1, 2, and 3.  But […]

U.S. energy infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to acute weather events and long-term changes in the climate, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a new report. Options to help reduce those risks include measures to improve its durability and resiliency. The Mar. 4–released report titled “Energy Infrastructure Risks and Adaption Efforts,” cites data from the National Research […]

At a keynote address at CERAweek 2014 in Houston, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz reiterated the Obama administration’s support for all U.S. fuel sources while pursuing a low-carbon future but rarely mentioned nuclear power. Prompted by POWERnews, Moniz later outlined the administration’s actions to address spent nuclear waste.  Following the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in November 2013 […]

In its preliminary Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) for the summer of 2014, the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said that more than 2 GW of new combined cycle plants coming online this summer will “significantly reduce the likelihood of scarcity conditions.” The region has struggled with its reserve margins for years, and […]

Brazil’s electricity market is vast: the largest in Latin America and 10th largest in the world, with an installed capacity of 121,000 MW. Download the report.

Increasing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) restrictions pertaining to emissions from coal-fired power plants, the increasing cost of coal operations, and the decreasing cost of natural gas provide strong

Recent shale gas development, resulting in cheap natural gas in the U.S., has opened the debate about whether or not to export some of that energy—mainly as liquefied natural gas (LNG). As the U.S. considers

The Gyeonggi Green Energy facility, a 59-MW fuel cell park in Hwasung City, South Korea, commenced commercial operation on Feb. 19. The plant consists of 21 2.8-MW hydrogen fuel cells supplied by FuelCell Energy of Danbury, Conn. The 5.1-acre facility in Gyeonggi Province, along the country’s northwest coast, is owned and operated by POSCO Energy, the […]

In a surprising deal, the developer of a proposed $1 billion natural gas–fired power plant in Salem, Mass., has agreed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the new facility annually over its 40-year lifespan to meet state climate change mandates—and to permanently shutter the plant by 2050.  The settlement reached between New Jersey–based Footprint […]

3D metal printing is still an experimental process in nearly all industries, used primarily for prototypes and test products. But if Siemens and GE have their way, it will soon become a standard means of rapidly producing small numbers of industrial parts. Siemens announced in December that it would begin using 3D printing—also known as […]

Gas market regulators and observers have been warning for several years that the rapid shift toward reliance on natural gas was creating a risk of shortages in the event of unplanned demand shocks. A series of mild winters in the 2010s reduced demand for heating, freeing up supplies and pipeline capacity for power generation. Even […]

A natural gas shortage triggered by extreme cold weather in much of the U.S. and Canada has affected supplies to power plants in drought-stricken California and forced the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) on Thursday to issue a conservation alert.  CAISO said the natural gas shortage was only affecting Southern California but appealed to customers […]

Power produced by South Africa represents 40% of Africa’s total—yet that country is facing a crippling supply shortfall. Emergencies are offset with imports from its neighbors in southern Africa, some of which are electricity poor, and others that are latent supply giants. “Power Africa,” the recently announced U.S. initiative that earmarks $7 billion in public […]

Mexico’s much-awaited constitutional energy reform, passed on Dec. 12 by the federal congress and a week later by the required majority of state congresses, could spark increased private participation in

A new kind of geothermal power being developed by a team of scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the University of Minnesota, and the Ohio State University could sequester carbon

On Feb. 2, 2011, a winter storm gripped the Lone Star State, bringing freezing temperatures and heavy ice loads onto the state’s electric infrastructure. Texas experienced a series of unexpected rolling

President Obama spoke briefly about energy in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, though he declared at the outset: “The all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today, America is closer to energy independence than we’ve been in decades.” That statement rejected recently expressed concerns from 18 […]

The European Union (EU) should emit 40% less carbon dioxide than it did in 1990 and produce 27% of its energy from renewables by 2030, declares a new framework on climate and energy presented by the European Commission (EC) on Wednesday.  The communication setting out the 2030 framework is now expected to be debated by the […]

Even for the rapidly expanding gas-fired power sector, Dallas-based Panda Power Funds has been making waves. On Dec. 20, the private equity firm announced another deal: It has completed the acquisition and financing of Moxie Energy’s planned 829-MW Patriot generating station, a combined-cycle project to be located in Clinton Township, Pa. (Figure 1). Construction is […]

The European Union (EU) cannot meet its 2050 carbon emissions goals without reform of its carbon-pricing scheme, according to a report from the European Gas Forum released on Dec. 13. While progress toward the goals has been made, the report warns that the pace of decarbonization will stall in the 2020s because low carbon prices, […]

A years-long drought afflicting California could put financial pressure on a number of the state’s hydropower generators, a ratings agency warns.  Fitch Ratings on Friday said that while the financial impact could be manageable, utilities that depend on hydropower generation for the most part may be forced to use more expensive generation and purchased power […]

Increases in spot natural gas prices generally prompted wholesale electricity price hikes across the nation from in 2013, but power prices were the highest in the Pacific Northwest and New England, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday.  Average wholesale electricity prices at the Mid-Columbia trading hub were $37.53/MWh—soaring 64% in 2013 compared to […]