News

Entergy Corp. can continue operating Unit 2 at its two-reactor Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y., until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) decides whether to renew the unit’s operating license—even after it expires on Sept. 28. The federal regulator notified Entergy on Monday that it is “clear” the NRC will not issue a […]

A recently published standard has been adopted globally to address risks arising from the use of business information technology (IT) cybersecurity solutions to address industrial automation and control systems (IACS) cybersecurity in complex and dangerous manufacturing and processing applications. The ISA-62443 series of standards, being developed by the ISA99 committee of the International Society of […]

The state of Vermont cannot force Entergy to shutter the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on Tuesday. The federal appeals court partially upheld a prior lower court decision stemming from a lawsuit filed by Entergy Corp., the owner of Vermont’s only reactor. In his January […]

The first ever lease application received to test ocean current energy equipment in the U.S. has been greenlighted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The Department of the Interior agency that oversees energy activities on the Outer Continental Shelf on Monday announced availability of a revised environmental assessment (EA) and its finding of […]

President Obama on Friday signed into law two bills that are designed to boost hydropower production in the U.S. H.R. 267, the “Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013,” modifies the Federal Power Act and the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act to promote and facilitate the development of hydroelectric power capacity. The law directs the Federal […]

Installed prices for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the U.S. in 2012 fell for the third straight year by a range of roughly 6% to 14% compared to the prior year. In its latest edition of “Tracking the Sun,” the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) reports installed prices for PV systems fell […]

Europe’s third-largest power provider on Tuesday announced it would take offline 3.1 GW of natural gas and coal power plants in Germany and the Netherlands, citing a “continuing boom in solar energy.” Echoing several European utilities, Germany-based RWE has underscored the declining profitability of fossil fuel–fired plants that it says is pegged to fundamental changes […]

In an apparent legal victory for the states of Washington and South Carolina, a divided federal court on Tuesday directed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to continue its legally obligated review of a license application to build the proposed permanent nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain, Nev. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. […]

A report released by the White House and Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday that assesses how to best protect the nation’s electric grid from power outages that occur during natural disasters calls for increased cross-sector grid investment and identifies strategies for modernizing the grid. The report, “Economic Benefits of Increasing Electric Grid Resilience to […]

Coal ash legislation that would protect the recycling of coal ash and gives states the authority to set their own standards for the disposal of fly ash with oversight from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week cleared the House by a vote of 265–155.

The European Union (EU) Trade Commission reached a "targeted and innovative" settlement in its high-profile solar spat with Beijing, just as China imposed lofty duties on U.S. and South Korean manufacturers of solar-grade polysilicon.

An amendment signed by USEC subsidiary American Centrifuge Demonstration to a June 2012 research, development and demonstration (RD&D) cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy gives the uranium enrichment technology firm an additional $29.9 million in government cost-shared funding, enough to fund the American Centrifuge program through September.

Électricité de France (EDF), the world’s largest nuclear generator, began its withdrawal from U.S. nuclear on Tuesday, citing market changes spurred by cheap natural gas.

Gravity Power LLC—a startup based in Santa Barbara, California—has developed a low-cost, quick-start, and fast dynamic response energy storage technology that competes with classical pumped storage hydro and gas turbines for peaking and intermediate duty power generation. The system is simple, yet its potential is profound.

A divided panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week ruled that Texas, Wyoming, and industry groups lacked standing to challenge rules by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) related to state greenhouse gas (GHG) permitting requirements.

240-W LED High-Bay Light for Hazardous Areas Larson Electronics released the the HAL-HB-240W-LED 240-W LED light for high-bay and floodlight applications in Class 1 Division 2 areas. Available with 19-, 25-, 40- and 125-degree optic configuration, this high-powered LED light comes closer to replicating 1,000-W metal halide illumination. At 240 W, the HAL-HB-240W-LED Class 1 […]

President Obama’s recent comments on climate change and the need for additional federal regulation of greenhouse gases carelessly handled the science he quotes.

Stakeholders of the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station on Friday proposed to shut down a 750-MW unit at the plant by 2020 as an alternative to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that requires the owners to install costly Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology on all three units by 2018.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Tuesday unanimously approved a bipartisan bill that bolsters efforts by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to craft a cybersecurity framework.

The Senate last week confirmed Gina McCarthy as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a bipartisan vote of 59–40.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold its second competitive lease sale for renewable energy on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Virginia this September.

A final rule issued last week by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to foster competition and transparency in ancillary services markets creates new opportunities for energy storage technologies to help transmission customers self-supply their own Regulation and Frequency Response service requirements while opening up certain ancillary services markets to all generators selling at market-based rates.

California and Texas equally show the most progress in modernizing their electric systems with smart grid technologies compared to other U.S. states, a new evaluation of the nation’s grid modernization efforts shows.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released July 24 makes several “observations” about management challenges at the Department of Energy (DOE). Though most concern weapons program issues, one problem area touches the nuclear power industry.

An updated energy flow chart released by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) that visually depicts the relative size of primary energy resources and end uses in the U.S., with fuels compared on a common energy unit basis, shows the nation consumed more natural gas and renewables but less coal in 2012.

Twelve attorneys general last week filed a lawsuit in federal court requesting for access to documents related to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) so-called "sue and settle" practice with advocacy groups.

A divided three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected Oklahoma State’s challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) implementation of a regional haze rule to limit emissions from power plants in the state.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) International Energy Outlook 2013 (IEO2013) released today projects that renewable energy and nuclear power will each increase 2.5% per year through 2040, but fossil fuels will continue to supply almost 80% of world energy use by 2040.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week gave Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) six more months to decide on the future of its 2-GW coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant near Farmington, N.M., recognizing "uncertainties" posed by Arizona’s recent move to consider deregulation of the state’s electric sector.

A bill approved by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday could prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing new rules that cost more than $1 billion if the Energy Department determines they will hurt the economy.