News

The stalled Yucca Mountain permanent nuclear waste repository will meet regulatory requirements when permanently closed, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has found in a long-awaited safety evaluation report (SER).  The federal regulatory body on Oct. 16 issued Volume 3 of the five-part SER on the underground geologic nuclear waste repository proposed to be built in […]

A fire broke out in one of Didcot B power station’s cooling tower modules on the evening of Oct. 19, resulting in the shutdown of one of the plant’s two units. RWE Generation said that no RWE personnel or emergency services responders were injured during the incident, and that all employees have been accounted for. […]

Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee released emails between top officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which they say demonstrate a “very close working relationship” between the two organizations. The emails are associated with the development of the EPA’s proposed carbon rule, […]

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) reports that energy efficiency is the second-largest power resource in the Pacific Northwest region, ranking only behind hydroelectricity. The NPCC—authorized through the Northwest Power Act to develop and maintain a regional power plan, and fish and wildlife program, to balance the Northwest’s environment and energy needs—bases the claim […]

A mix of lucky timing and post-Fukushima recalibration appears to be responsible for a general mood of optimism at the first biennial World Nuclear Exhibition being held just outside of Paris this week. The event, organized by the Association of French Nuclear Industry Exporters (AIFEN) has attracted 495 exhibitors and an estimated 7,000 visitors from […]

San Antonio’s CPS Energy on Monday announced a new agreement to buy power from Summit Power’s  proposed integrated combined cycle coal gasification (IGCC) plant that will include carbon capture, utilization, and storage. The municipally owned utility will buy 200 MW of power from the the Texas Clean Energy Project (TCEP), which is about half the […]

On Oct. 8, the European Commission (EC) decided that the state aid included in the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant construction proposal is compatible with European Union state aid rules. The approval allows key elements of the agreement between EDF Group and the UK government, including a guaranteed “strike price” of £92.50/MWh ($148.76/MWh) for power […]

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up industry’s challenge to a federal court ruling that upheld the Bush administration’s air quality standard for ozone.  The high court’s denial leaves intact the D.C. Circuit’s July 2013 decision upholding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) last revision of its National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) […]

American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) Ohio unit has asked the state’s Public Utilities Commission for permission to essentially charge customers for costs to operate nine unregulated coal-fired units, a move the company says will address market volatility and ensure the economic viability of Ohio’s generation.  AEP Ohio on Oct. 3 proposed an “expanded” power purchase agreement […]

The first full-scale commercial post-combustion carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project at an operating coal-fired power plant is now online in Estevan, Saskatchewan, roughly 10 miles north of the U.S. border. The heart of the $1.4 billion project at Boundary Dam Power Station is the rebuilt 110-MW Unit 3, originally commissioned in 1970. The project, […]

After more than a year of deliberation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Dominion’s proposal to construct and operate liquefaction and export facilities at its existing Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal located in Lusby, Md. The proposed export facility will be contained within the existing footprint of the 131-acre import terminal […]

The U.S. power sector has seen a number of developments on the regulatory front in recent months. Here’s where major federal rules stand today. (For a more dynamic and graphic version of this article, see http://powermag.com/long-form-stories/bw-power/ .) GHG Rules New Power Plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in September 2013 revised a 2012 proposal to […]

Dominion Virginia Power found two damaged nuclear fuel rods in Unit 2 of its North Anna Power Station located in Louisa County northwest of Richmond. The discovery was made during a regularly scheduled refueling outage that began on Sept. 7. The company believes the fuel rods were damaged as the result of “baffle jetting.” The […]

Several countries and companies at the United Nations (UN) Climate Summit 2014 in New York City pledged action to address climate change by slashing carbon emissions, mobilizing funding, or putting a price on carbon.  The one-day event on Tuesday was designed to raise political momentum and spur transformative action ahead of COP 21, the December […]

The U.S. should ensure that Canada does not build a permanent nuclear waste repository in the Great Lakes Basin as proposed, a U.S. Senate resolution introduced last week proclaims.  The resolution introduced by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and co-sponsored by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) on Sept. 18 calls […]

On Sept. 23, Duke Energy told the Public Service Commission of South Carolina that it intends to excavate a portion of coal ash at the W.S. Lee Steam Station located in Anderson County. The company has been dealing with a coal ash release from its Dan River Steam Station that occurred on Feb. 2, and […]

Though unsigned by its governor, North Carolina has enacted the nation’s first comprehensive coal ash management law.  The statute, which took effect on Sept. 20, applies to all unlined dry and wet coal ash ponds owned by public utilities, including ponds that are covered or no longer in use. Beginning Oct. 1, 2014, no new […]

While meeting in Vienna on Sept. 22 for the 58th International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference, representatives from the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and the Russian Federation signed an Intergovernmental Agreement on Strategic Partnership and Cooperation in Nuclear Energy and Industry. “South Africa today, as never before, is interested in [the] massive development of […]

Affirmative defense provisions can no longer insulate generators from monetary penalties for Clean Air Act violations that result from facility startup, shutdown, and equipment malfunction, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed.  In a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPR) published on Sept. 17 in the Federal Register, the agency proposes to revise its February […]

With Units 6 and 7 back in operation, Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) has restored 80% of the generation capacity at its Martin Drake Power Plant located in downtown Colorado Springs. The plant was taken offline after sustaining significant damage during a May 5 fire. Most of the damage occurred in the area surrounding Unit 5, […]

Consumers Energy—Michigan’s largest utility—reached an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice that will result in more than $2 billion being spent on upgrades at its power plants and the closure of seven coal-fired units, according to the company. The settlement resolves claims that Consumers Energy violated the […]

Power companies will retire more coal-fired generating capacity and retrofit much fewer units with environmental controls than estimated just two years ago, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals in a new report. The report released on Tuesday finds that in response to shifting market conditions and four Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules (not including the […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the public comment period for its proposed rule to limit carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants by 45 days. Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, today told reporters in a press call that the EPA’s comment period for its Clean […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) will designate $8 million for seven microgrid projects to help cities and towns better prepare for extreme weather events and other power disruptions. The funding will help develop advanced microgrid controllers and system designs for microgrids of less than 10 MW. Each projects includes a company cost-share, ranging from 20% […]

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has approved Kyushu Electric Power’s application to make changes to its Sendai reactors, putting them a step closer to resuming operations.  The regulatory agency this July said in a 400-page draft report that Kyushu’s No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at its Sendai plant in southern Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture passed […]

Regulators from six states shared starkly different views on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed carbon rules for existing power plants at a House hearing on Tuesday. Some state-level officials said the EPA’s overall emission targets and suggested means to achieve them are based on unworkable and unrealistic assumptions about how state and regional power […]

They call themselves “Fractivists.” Environmental and community activists fearful of relatively new natural gas and oil drilling technologies that have transformed the U.S. energy economy have launched a high-profile, highly hyped campaign to shut down new natural gas production. But their prospects of success look dodgy. Ground Zero in the debate over fracking—shorthand for the […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday granted the nation’s first four Class VI underground injection permits for carbon sequestration to the federally backed FutureGen 2.0 carbon-capture-and-storage (CCS) project.  The Department of Energy formally committed $1 billion to the $1.68 billion project being developed by the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, a coalition of coal producers, users, […]

The European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) under construction in Finland may not start operating until late 2018—putting the project nearly 10 years behind its initial schedule.  Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) said in a statement on Sept. 1 that the AREVA-Siemens consortium building Olkiluoto 3 had updated its schedule. The schedule review, which “has been going […]

Revised national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone that are expected from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this December will likely be stricter.  Agency staff from the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards in a 597-page final policy assessment released on Aug. 29 recommend revising the standard to within a range of 60 […]