News

Four years after the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami heavily damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, cleanup efforts continue amid new challenges, while Japan has made little progress on the policy front. The Ongoing Crisis at Daiichi By the fourth anniversary of the devastating events at Fukushima, the situation onsite has improved markedly, […]

While developers in the U.S. celebrated financial closing for the 15-MW Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island—the would-be first offshore wind farm in the U.S.—Germany said this month that it expects to commission about 2 GW of new capacity in 2015, adding to its total of 1,048 MW at the end of 2014. Though […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released 2015 scheduled capacity additions and retirements on Mar. 10, and the news was not good for the coal industry. As has been the trend for several years, coal-fired generation accounts for the majority of expected retirements (12.9 GW of the nearly 16 GW total). However, most of the […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) may further reduce its coal-fired capacity and scrap its unfinished Bellefonte nuclear power plant, the utility’s long-awaited draft power generation strategy unveiled on March 9 shows. 
 The federally owned corporation has been developing its 2015 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), essentially a power planning roadmap to 2033, since fall 2013. The […]

Florida Power and Light (FPL) wants to buy a 250-MW coal-fired facility in Florida to shut it down. The Juno Beach, Fla.–based company filed a petition with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) on Friday requesting approval to acquire the Cedar Bay Generating Plant for $520.5 million. FPL has had a long-term power purchase agreement […]

French nuclear firm AREVA’s dismal financial results for 2014 are indicative of the continuing stagnation of nuclear operations, a lack of competitiveness, and the company’s difficulties in managing the risks inherent in large projects, CEO Philippe Knoche said today. The company reported a loss of €4.9 billion ($5.6 billion) for 2014 in line with a […]

Rooftop solar company SolarCity on Mar. 2 filed suit in federal court in Arizona seeking to overturn a new rate structure approved by the Salt River Project (SRP) that levies additional charges on customers with rooftop solar panels. On Feb. 26, the SRP board voted to approve a change in how it bills customers who […]

Plans for a massive coal mine in New South Wales, Australia, which is being developed by Chinese coal mining giant Shenhua Group, were thrown into doubt as the federal environmental minister opted to delay a decision on its final approval. The Watermark mine, which could cost $1.2 billion and produce more than 250 million metric […]

A bipartisan group of Illinois legislators have introduced bills that propose a market-based solution to curb carbon emissions and ensure continued operation of the state’s nuclear power plants. The bills SB 1585 and HB 3293 introduced in the state Senate and House would enact the Illinois Low Carbon Portfolio Standard. That measure, like a renewable […]

Here are selected thought-provoking (and even unexpected) comments made by presenters at the 10th annual MIT Energy Conference on Feb. 27 and 28 in Cambridge, Mass. Comments are summarized and paraphrased unless presented in quotes. For more on the event, see “Exelon: The Utility of the Future Views Change as Enabling, Not Disruptive” and the […]

Integrating more variable generation and storage, but no new nuclear units, are among the characteristics Exelon sees in the utility of the future, as outlined by Chief Strategy Officer William A. Von Hoene Jr. at the MIT Energy Conference, held Feb. 27–28. He began his Saturday address by saying that innovation is “absolutely indispensible.” Old, […]

Sometimes, circumstances have a way of developing in such an unexpectedly serendipitous way that they practically force one to take notice. So it is with Cuba and its power sector. Coincidence It all started

Cheryl A. LaFleur One of the most controversial issues facing the energy world today is how our electric sector will respond to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed Clean Power Plan

The South African power system is severely constrained and will remain tight until at least the end of April, according to Eskom. The company generates approximately 95% of the electricity used in South Africa

Entergy Louisiana’s two-unit, 560-MW combined cycle plant in Westwego, La., just outside New Orleans, completed construction on Dec. 26, both under budget and several months ahead of its original schedule

The 338-MW Russey Chrum Krom hydropower plant in southwestern Koh Kong province, Cambodia, was inaugurated on Jan. 12. The Chinese-built project is the largest hydropower station located in the Southeast Asian

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approved an electric security plan (ESP) for AEP Ohio—a unit of American Electric Power—on Feb. 25, but declined to adopt the company’s proposed power purchase agreement (PPA) as it relates to the Ohio Valley Electric Corp. (OVEC). The PPA rider was a point of contention with several groups […]

Google and rooftop solar company SolarCity announced on Feb. 26 that Google is contributing $300 million to an investment fund that is expected to finance $750 million in rooftop solar installations, the two companies said in a statement. The investment is structured as a tax equity deal that will allow Google to reduce its tax […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Monday began a special inspection of damage to the containment vessel at Unit 2 of SCANA’s Summer nuclear plant, which is under construction in South Carolina.   The inadvertent damage stems from an incident during the week of Feb. 9, the NRC said. “Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I) workers […]

France will look at all options in an attempt to overhaul its state-run nuclear industry, French Energy Minister Ségolène Royal told reporters on Monday, after AREVA reported a $5.6 billion loss for 2014.  The nuclear giant announced in a Feb. 23 statement that it expects a hefty €4.9 billion loss ($5.6 billion) for 2014. The […]

It’s no surprise that the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station led the nation in electrical generation in 2014—it has done that for 23 consecutive years—but with a total output of 32.3 million MWh, it even bested its own previous record set in 2012. The Palo Verde plant is located about 45 miles west of Phoenix, […]

Duke Energy has been charged by federal authorities with nine misdemeanor counts of violating the Clean Water Act and other federal regulations stemming from improper disposal of coal ash at multiple sites in North Carolina. Duke said in a statement on Feb. 20 that it had entered a plea agreement with federal prosecutors to settle […]

Speaking to a sparsely filled room as the last of four presenters during the keynote plenary session at the Energy, Utility & Environment Conference in San Diego, Calif., Feb. 16, Len Hering, executive director of the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE), made it clear that he doesn’t think natural gas is the answer to […]

Although there has been plenty of discussion in the U.S. power industry about the challenges posed by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP), Missouri-based Ameren Corp. is the first generating company to go public with a specific set of proposed revisions. On Feb. 11, Ameren released a white paper that proposed […]

On Monday, the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) approved the siting certificate for Moundsville Power LLC to construct a 549-MW combined cycle natural gas power plant in Marshall County. It will be the first to also burn ethane. The company is also touting the project’s role in helping to offset the effect of area […]

The first class of Marine trainees at Camp Pendleton graduated from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) solar job training pilot program last Friday. The program is aimed at preparing service members for careers in the solar industry such as solar photovoltaic system installers, sales representatives, and system inspectors. Camp Pendleton is one of three military […]

In yet another black eye for the long-delayed and hugely over-budget Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle plant (IGCC), the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 12 that the Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) erred in granting plant owner Mississippi Power rate increases in 2013 and 2014, and ordered that the increases be refunded to […]

PPL Montana, a subsidiary of PPL Corp., announced on Feb. 10 that it will permanently shut down its J.E. Corette coal-fired power plant located near Billings. The 153-MW plant began operation in 1968. In 2012, the company decided to mothball the plant, retaining the option to restart it if wholesale power market conditions in the […]

Pennsylvania seems poised to levy a severance tax on natural gas extraction after new Governor Tom Wolf proposed a change in the state’s treatment of gas production that could produce as much as $1 billion a year in revenue. The proposal would levy a 5% tax on the value of the gas at the wellhead, […]

The sixth annual ARPA-E Summit wrapped up on Wednesday, and though there were too many sessions to cover in depth, here is a mini-summary by way of selected interesting comments. Speaker photos (where available) follow the comment. “Any disruptive technology will not fit an existing market.” —Brian Janous, Director of Energy Strategy, Microsoft “[The energy […]