News

Ontario on Friday said it would not approve or accept any new offshore wind projects until more scientific research has been done on the installation of turbines in freshwater lakes.

No initial evidence had been found that the Texas power market had been manipulated when grid operator the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on Feb. 2 ordered rolling blackouts, but investigations would continue, Texas regulators told legislators on Tuesday. The blackouts were necessary as some 82 power plants—out of 550 on the grid—went down for various reasons while freezing temperatures caused a record-breaking demand spike, ERCOT said.

Jacksonville, Fla., municipal utility JEA last week signed an agreement with Duke Energy that gives it the option to buy up to 20% of the power generated by Duke Energy’s planned 2,234-MW Lee Nuclear Station when it becomes operational in 2021.

The rupture of a 6-inch steam pipe at Unit 1 of the 1,884-MW coal-fired Homer City Generating Station in Indiana County, Pa., last week tripped the unit and sent six workers to area hospitals with burns.

The power sector saw steady, modest growth of merger and acquisition activity during the last three months of 2010, recently released analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows. The largest 25 announced deals decreased 37% in value, to $19.3 billion, compared to $30.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, but financial buyers maintained investments in power deals in 2010 while corporate buyers continue to lead deal activity due to large amounts of cash to invest, PwC said.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson were questioned by panels of the House’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power this morning as part of a discussion on draft legislation that seeks to strip the EPA of its authority to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs). The legislative hearing’s witnesses also included other major players in the climate change regulatory debate, such as Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Canadian companies TransAlta Corp. and TransCanada Corp. are at odds over TransAlta’s abrupt notice on Tuesday that it will close and destroy its Sundance 1 and 2 coal-fired units near Edmonton, Alberta. TransCanada, which buys power from the units under a power purchase agreement (PPA) agreement, said today it had not received validation of TransAlta’s determination that the plants were so corroded that they could not be economically restored to service.

Four investor-owned utilities and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court in a high-profile “public nuisance” case in which states and environmental groups allege that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from four investor-owned utilities and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) have contributed to climate change.

State senators in Minnesota and Kentucky passed crucial legislation that could end longstanding bans in those states on the construction of new nuclear plants.

The UK government on Tuesday said it would push forward with legislation to create a new independent statutory body to regulate the country’s nuclear power industry. The new agency, the “Office for Nuclear Regulation” (OCR), will carry out regulatory functions performed currently by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Department for Transport.

A strategic plan to accelerate development of offshore wind energy, released by the Departments of Energy (DOE) and Interior (DOI) on Monday, focuses on overcoming the relatively high cost of offshore wind energy; the technical challenges surrounding installation, operation, and grid interconnection; and the lack of site data and experience with project permitting processes.

The Department of Energy (DOE) last week released additional details of its “SunShot Initiative,” a program that seeks to reduce the total costs of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy systems by about 75% before 2020 so that costs for PV systems can compete with other forms of energy without subsidies.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of Basin Electric Power Cooperative to receive a loan guarantee to construct more than 100 wind turbines to produce 151.5 MW of electricity. The loan guarantee will provide financing for engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning of the PrairieWinds wind farm energy project in central South Dakota.

Mississippi Power last week announced that its new integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant under construction in Kemper County, Miss., will be named in honor of David M. Ratcliffe, recently retired chairman, president, and CEO of its parent company, Southern Co.

The past week brought a flurry of news from across the nation about challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) measures to curb greenhouse gases (GHGs). Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) are spearheading separate measures to delay or block the EPA’s authority, and Arizona withdrew its support for the EPA in a massive legal challenge concerning its “endangerment finding.”

New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie (R) on Friday made effective controversial state legislation that promotes the construction of new power plants with a total capacity of up to 2,000 MW by offering developers long-term, ratepayer-subsidized energy contracts. On Monday, in response to the measure, a group of major utilities asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to protect “the integrity of competitive power markets.”

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) last week voted 2-0 to approve an air permit for the 1,300-MW Las Brisas Energy Center. The approval for the $3.2 billion petroleum coke–fired project planned for Corpus Christi, Texas, comes despite objections from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and recommendations by two administrative law judges against the permit’s issuance.

A California Superior Court judge in San Francisco has provisionally ruled that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) did not adequately comply with requirements from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The tentative decision could prevent implementation of a statewide cap-and-trade program due to start next year until CARB addresses those requirements.

Canada’s Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) last week completed the third and final phase of the pre-project design review for the Advanced CANDU Reactor (ACR-1000), making it the first third-generation reactor in the world to have passed that milestone in Canada. The CNSC’s findings mean there are no fundamental barriers to licensing the reactor design from the crown-owned Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a company whose future ownership is ambiguous.

A massive winter storm on Wednesday that blustered over more than 30 U.S. states, from New Mexico to Maine, shut off the lights for millions around the country. Regional grid operator the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) instituted an energy emergency and instructed utilities to begin rotating blackouts throughout Texas to compensate for 7,000 MW of power plants that were shut down as a result of the cold snap.

Rittal’s newly developed TopTherm fan-and-filter units use diagonal technology—an intelligent synthesis of radial and axial ventilation. When installed, it ensures far better air throughput for improved ventilation in enclosures and housings. The new fan technology is characterized by the fact that the air outlet direction is not, as it was previously, in the fan’s axial […]

KROHNE Inc. has added the OPTISOUND VU3X Series continuous ultrasonic level transmitter to its extensive measurement product line to meet the specific level or open channel flow measurement needs of the North American industrial and municipal markets. The OPTISOUND VU30 ultrasonic transmitter provides a reliable, repeatable, and highly accurate (0.15%) continuous level measurement of liquids. […]

Wheelift Systems introduced its self-propelled trailers (SPT) in capacities up to 100 tons. They were developed for in-plant operation in congested, confined areas and in narrow intersecting aisles. Highly maneuverable, the Wheelift SPTs feature computerized independent steering, on-center rotating front axles, remote control operation, low-profile design, and on-board power generation. Each SPT has two on-center […]

HD Electric Co.’s new PRX-500 Proximity Voltage Detector is an addition to its voltage detector product line. With nine selectable voltage ranges from 120 V to 500 kV, the PRX Proximity Voltage Detector features an easy-to-use electronic touch pad with large buttons. The PRX provides an audible and visual indication of voltage detected from elbow […]

John Deere Power Systems (JDPS) introduced extended generator drive emergency stationary power ratings for its PowerTech E 6.8L diesel engine—the first John Deere engine to carry both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tier 3 Emergency Stationary and European Union Stage III A certification, with dual frequency ratings of 1,800 and 1,500 rpm. The 212-kW rating at […]

Spirax Sarco launched the TD120M Thermo-dynamic Steam Trap, a product engineered for pressure ratings of up to 3,190 psig that is ideal for draining saturated and superheated steam mains. The steam trap has a maintainable disc and seat, which means it can be serviced in-line—a considerable benefit to customers with welded installations. The trap has […]

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, President Barack Obama set a new goal for the nation: To obtain 80% of its electricity from “clean energy” by 2035. But his definition of “clean energy” included “nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas” as well as “wind and solar.”

A federal district court judge on Thursday sided with environmental groups in a suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and gave the Obama administration only 30 extra days to issue Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rules for large and small boilers, and solid waste and sewage sludge incinerators—not a year, as the agency had sought.

The New Mexico Supreme Court today ruled unanimously that freshly elected Republican Gov. Susana Martinez violated the state constitution when she halted publication of cap-and-trade rules that were adopted by the state’s Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) last year.

The European Union (EU) on Tuesday said it was waiting for member countries to confirm that minimum-security requirements had been installed in their emissions registries before reactivating its emissions trading scheme (ETS). The European Commission halted spot carbon trading last week for at least seven days after hackers stole emission permits from accounts in the Czech Republic and Austria.