News

Indiana Michigan Power—a subsidiary of American Electric Power (AEP)—reported that Unit 2 of its Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman, Mich., was forced offline on July 6 due to an expansion joint bellows rupture on the unit’s moisture separator reheater. Although no one was in the area at the time and there were no […]

Witnesses at a Congressional hearing raised concerns about the complexity, costs, legality, and feasibility of the 3,900 final rules published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the Obama administration. A large portion of those rules affect the power sector, but none are more contentious than the Clean Power Plan, regulatory and citizen interest experts […]

A large fire at the Grand River Dam Authority’s (GRDA’s) Chouteau, Okla., coal-fired power plant was triggered by a string of unfortunate events shortly after a storm passed through the region on July 1. Justin Alberty, GRDA corporate communications director, told POWER that the fire started at around 7 p.m. that night. He said GRDA […]

Following the end of William C. Ostendorff’s term on June 30, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is now down to only three active commissioners on staff. Ostendorff became a commissioner on April 1, 2010, following a distinguished career as a U.S. naval officer, engineer, lawyer, and policy advisor. His departure adds another vacancy to the […]

California’s State Lands Commission has approved a lease extension that Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) needed to operate its two Diablo Canyon Power Plant nuclear reactors until 2025. The three-member commission unanimously approved extending the lease for the power plant’s cooling water infrastructure through the end of its current federal licensing period. Without those extensions, […]

Projections that coal utilization will decline faster than previously forecast have spurred Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (B&W) to shed 200 jobs and restructure its traditional power business that serves coal-fired power generation in a bid to reduce overhead and improve efficiency. The Charlotte, N.C.–based energy and environmental technology and service company said on June 28 […]

The world’s power sector last year emitted a third of global sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, 14% of nitrogen oxides (NOx), and 5% of total particulate emissions (PM2.5), but those emission values have fallen drastically over the last decade even though coal power generation has seen a surge, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a […]

The U.S., Mexico, and Canada today announced an unprecedented goal to procure 50% of North America’s total power generation from renewables, nuclear, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and energy efficiency technologies by 2025. President Obama, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, and the President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto, announced the continental goal, part of […]

When the UK, the European Union’s (EU’s) second-largest economy, voted to leave the union on June 23, reactions were swift and sometimes unexpected, but what does the Brexit vote mean for the nuclear power industry, which is an increasingly global one? Based on comments made at this week’s World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) outside Paris, the […]

The second World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) began on June 28 in Le Bourget, just outside Paris, with the usual mixed messages about the need for and challenges of nuclear power globally. During the opening ceremony, Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), noted that the event was being held in the same […]

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, nuclear power has accounted for about 20% of electricity generated in the U.S. each year since 1990. In fact, the U.S. nuclear fleet out produced France—the country with the next highest nuclear generation—by more than two to one in 2012. Russia was a distant third, generating less than […]

Although it’s not widely publicized, a majority of the energy used to generate electricity is wasted in the form of heat discharged to the environment. For better or worse, that’s just the way a typical thermal power plant works. Fuel, such as coal, biomass, natural gas, or uranium (in the case of nuclear plants), is […]

Enrico Viale, head of global thermal generation for the Italian energy company Enel, kicked off an international power industry event yesterday with a keynote presentation describing the “needs” of utilities in the future.

The first operational rules finalized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for routine commercial use of drones could have major implications for utilities and power companies, which are increasingly using them for operations and maintenance. The new rules (Part 107 of the Federal Aviation Regulations) that apply to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)—or drones—weighing less than […]

Diablo Canyon, the two-reactor nuclear power plant on the central California coastline, will be permanently shuttered by 2025 under a renewables-boosting initiative announced today by its owner, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). The company on June 21 unveiled a “joint proposal” with labor and environmental groups that seeks to increase investment in energy efficiency, energy […]

Florida Light and Power (FPL) wants to buy and phase out another coal-fired power plant in Florida, a move it says will save its customers an estimated $129 million when new gas-fired infrastructure is built in the state. The NextEra subsidiary on June 20 filed a petition for the Florida Public Service Commission’s (PSC’s) approval […]

Guinness World Records recognized GE’s HA gas turbine for powering the world’s most efficient—up to 62.22%—combined cycle power plant. The first unit equipped with an HA turbine officially began operation on June 17 at EDF’s plant located in Bouchain, France. “Today we are making history with this power plant for the future,” said Steve Bolze, […]

Spanish wind giant Gamesa will absorb Siemens’ wind power business, including wind services, creating a new combined company—one of the world’s biggest wind turbine manufacturers—that will have its global headquarters in Spain. The companies on June 17 signed binding agreements to merge and form the new company. Siemens will hold a 59% stake and consolidate […]

  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has unveiled details of the Clean Energy Incentive Program (CEIP), a voluntary measure central to the judicially stalled Clean Power Plan that seeks to provide guidance to states and tribes that want to meet goals under the plan when it becomes effective. The final Clean Power Plan, finalized in […]

The Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) board of directors voted unanimously on June 16 to close Fort Calhoun Station, the smallest nuclear power plant in the U.S., due to economic reasons. In April, OPPD Board Chairman Mick Mines asked senior management to develop potential scenarios regarding future power resources. Tim Burke, president and CEO of […]

A Minnesota law that bans power imports from new out-of-state coal-fired power plants is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court has deemed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on June 15 upheld a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota that found that the statute’s prohibitions had the effect […]

Panels at the 2016 Edison Electric Institute convention focused on technologies and policies at what’s often called the “grid edge.”

The Edison Electric Institute has forged a new partnership with startup incubator 1776 to accelerate the pace of innovation in energy.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) listed costs and time among several reasons for its preferred method to close its coal ash impoundments in place, rather than by removal, but the move has come under fire by environmental groups. The federally owned corporation earlier this month released a final environmental impact statement (EIS) to support its […]

Georgia Power will shut down and stop receiving coal ash at all 29 of its coal ash ponds within the next three years. The announcement on June 13 is the latest in a string of similar moves from coal plant–owning utilities across the nation in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) coal ash disposal […]

EEI Convention keynote speaker Keren Elazari urged electric utilities to partner with “friendly hackers.”

2016 EEI Edison Award winners are AEP and AES

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) approved Minnesota Power Co.’s integrated resource plan (IRP) on June 9, which calls for the economic idling of the company’s Taconite Harbor Energy Center—a two-unit 150-MW facility (Unit 3 was retired in June 2015)—this fall and ceasing coal operations at the site in 2020. The MPUC also adjusted the […]

One of the witnesses testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on June 9 believes states and regulated entities will be granted additional time to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan (CPP), if the rule is ultimately found to be lawful. Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court has […]

Michigan utility DTE Energy announced on June 8 that it would retire a total of eight aging coal-fired units at three of its plants by 2023. The units slated for retirement are located at the 651-MW River Rouge plant, the 536-MW Trenton Channel plant (Figure), and the 1,547-MW St. Clair plant. All three are located in […]