News

California’s Air Resources Board (ARB) in late November issued the nation’s first blueprint for a broad-based cap-and-trade program to control greenhouse gases (GHG). If they take effect in 2012 as proposed, the regulations in ARB’s preliminary draft will apply to 605 of the state’s largest stationary GHG emitters, including power plants and industries, as well as electricity imports. Starting in 2015, the regulations will also apply to fuel suppliers and smaller stationary GHG emitters such as homes and commercial businesses.

The way our lungs separate and capture carbon dioxide from blood could be key to isolating emissions of the greenhouse gas in order to store them safely underground.

Scientists from Germany and India say they have developed a new polymer that reduces the amount of radioactive waste produced during routine operation of nuclear reactors. The approach uses small beads of the material to "fish" out radioactivity from water pumped through the reactor’s core.

The new EZ Grout Hog Crusher Job Site Material Recycler from Multiquip is easily attached to a skid steer loader or forklift and can recycle most materials — brick, block, stone, rock, asphalt, non-reinforced concrete, and more — on the job site. The Hog Crusher is able to scoop up and pulverize recyclable material in […]

Seiffert Industrial’s new laser pulley alignment tool, Pulley PRO, uses a green laser beam for maximum angular resolution and for reliable and accurate readings. The lightweight and compact units magnetically attach to the inside or outside face of any pulley or sprocket and have no small parts or targets that can get lost. A laser […]

One of the world’s first osmotic power plants started operation at Tofte on the Oslo fjord in Norway last November, producing 2 kW to 4 kW after more than a decade of collaborative research and development by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Norwegian state-owned utility Statkraft (Figure 1).

Sherwin-Williams introduced the Tile-Clad High Solids Mildew Resistant epoxy, an industrial coating that protects against mildew growth on exterior surfaces where dampness and humidity are of concern. The epoxy is well-suited for areas where mildew growth must be guarded against in order to maintain operations, such as water tank exteriors, structural and support steel, power […]

Congress snubbed the biomass power industry in 2004 when open-loop biomass power plants were given only half the production tax credits (PTCs) received by other renewable sources, such as wind, solar, and geothermal. It further dissed open-loop biomass plants by authorizing the credit for only five years (it expired December 31, 2009) rather than the 10 years given to other renewables. Why is the biomass power industry not getting the policy respect and equity with other renewable technologies that it deserves?

Acknowledging that ANSI centrifugal pumps often need to be installed in areas where space is at a premium, Griswold Pump Co. has developed the 811CC (Close Coupled) ANSI centrifugal pump. This pump offers the features and flexibility of standard Griswold 811 ANSI pumps but with a smaller electrical motor encased in a compact package. Despite […]

CHLOR*RID International launched the Chlor*Ion Meter, a handheld digital testing device that electronically measures chloride on surfaces with an internal ion-specific electrode. Most surface chloride testing devices offer an external electrode on a cord, but these could be damaged in the field, CHLOR*RID says. Because it digitally measures chloride on surfaces, the Chlor*Ion Meter’s ion […]

A technical study released by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) last week shows that shifting 20% or more of the Eastern Interconnection’s electrical load to wind energy by 2024 is technically feasible, but it would require significant expansion of the transmission system and system operational changes.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last week said it would take a fresh look at regulatory policies to integrate variable renewable energy resources such as wind, solar, or non-storage hydro generating plants into the nation’s power grid while maintaining power system reliability.

Westar Energy has agreed to spend approximately $500 million to significantly reduce air pollution from a Kansas power plant and pay a $3 million civil penalty under a Clean Air Act settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Justice Department. The company has also agreed to spend $6 million on environmental mitigation projects.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday set the new one-hour standard for nitrogen dioxide (NO2)—formed from vehicle and power plant and other industrial emissions—at a level of 100 parts per billion (ppb). The agency said it would also retain the existing annual standard of 53 ppb.

The Supreme Court last week refused to review a February 2009 ruling by a federal court that blocked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from asserting its power to override transmission decisions made by states.

A letter posted on the California Energy Commission’s web site last week reveals that the state had urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to slow down implementation of rules governing greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources because it would create a “huge administrative burden.”

CPS Energy has reportedly dropped Toshiba from a $32 billion lawsuit stemming from now-defunct plans for the expansion of the South Texas Project (STP) nuclear plant in Matagorda County, Texas. The move was allegedly made to keep the case from being shifted to federal court.

A Texas district judge has reversed an order from the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to award billions of dollars in transmission projects relating to Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ), ruling that the regulatory agency should suspend the process until the PUC adequately weighs the costs and benefits to electric customers.

French oil company Total last week inaugurated what it is calling Europe’s first end-to-end carbon capture, transportation, and storage demonstration facility in Lacq, southwestern France. The €60 million project uses oxycombustion carbon capture technology developed by Air Liquide.

Europe added a total of eight new wind farms consisting of 199 offshore wind turbines—and a combined nameplate capacity of 577 MW—to the grid last year, according to a newly released report from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

A decision by the Florida Public Service Commission to reject a request by Florida Power & Light (FPL) to raise rates by $1.3 billion last week has prompted the company to suspend activities on several major projects in the state’s energy infrastructure—including a new nuclear plant. The company said the state’s denial of its request was “further evidence of a deteriorating regulatory and business environment.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday proposed to lower ground-level ozone standards from those set in March 2008. The tighter so-called “smog” regulations would require power plants to cut their emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other volatile organic compounds.

The UK government’s Crown Estate on Friday parceled out rights to develop 32-GW worth of offshore wind energy in nine coastal zones. The announcement was part of the government’s ambitious plans to develop a £75 billion offshore wind industry by 2020.

Georgia Power will delay the conversion of its coal-fired 155-MW Plant Mitchell in Albany, Ga., to run on wood waste until the Environmental Protection Agency better defines rules governing industrial boiler emissions in April 2010.

NV Energy has dropped plans to build a transmission line through Nevada, announcing on Monday that it had instead signed an agreement with an LS Power affiliate, Great Basin Transmission, to jointly own a 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line running 250 miles from north of Las Vegas to near Ely, Nev.

Three Chinese engineers hired by Shandong Electric Power Construction Corp. have been arrested in connection with the collapse last year of a 330-foot chimney under construction at a 1,200-MW coal-fired power plant in India’s eastern state of Chhattisgarh, killing 41.

Last week, Ameren Corp. and Dominion Virginia Power separately issued statements claiming the utilities had spent billions on improvements to existing power plants.

President Barack Obama will honor 22 mentors and 80 educators across the country for their efforts to mentor minorities studying science and engineering at a White House reception today. Ben Flores, PhD, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), will be a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (STEM).

San Antonio’s CPS Energy said on Monday it had received the contractually mandated cost estimate for the proposed South Texas Project Units 3 and 4 from contractor Toshiba—but it stressed it would make no decisions on the project until “rigorous analysis” of price and methodology was completed.

The National Park Service ruled Monday that Nantucket Sound—the Massachusetts site proposed for Cape Wind, the nation’s first offshore wind farm—is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The decision deals a new hurdle for the long-disputed proposal because it requires consideration of archaeological, historic, and cultural values in the review of the project by the Minerals Management Service (MMS).