News

Marking a fresh development for the nation’s futile efforts to resolve a long-standing impasse on nuclear waste, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said it could issue a license for Holtec International’s proposed consolidated interim storage (CIS) facility for used nuclear fuel in New Mexico by July 2020 or earlier. Holtec, a Camden, New Jersey–based supplier […]

The Supreme Court for the state of New Mexico affirmed a final order by state regulators to allow Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) to replace lost generation from two shuttered units at its 1,800-MW coal-fired San Juan Regional Generation Station with coal and nuclear resources. The case stems from a petition filed by […]

The Connected Plant Game Changer Award recognizes those people who are leading the charge in implementing digital technologies in their field: either in the chemical process industries or in power generation. Nominations are open to individuals who have used tools associated with digitalization to contribute to innovation, solve a problem or make improvements, as well […]

Florida regulators on March 1 approved Florida Power & Light’s (FPL’s) plan to build a new $888 million natural gas-fired power plant, replacing an existing gas- and oil-fueled plant on the same site in Dania Beach that is being retired this year. The utility on Thursday also announced the opening of four new solar power […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed more than a dozen significant changes to the Obama administration’s final 2015 rule governing disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR) by the nation’s power generators. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on March 1 signed the first of two rules that propose to amend the 2015 rule, saying the changes […]

No evidence exists that New England local gas distribution companies engaged in practices to withhold natural gas pipeline capacity on the Algonquin system to drive up gas or power prices in the region, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) staff revealed. FERC on February 27 closed an inquiry after conducting an “extensive review” of the allegations—which […]

The recent retirement of older generating units and high peak usage owing to economic growth could tighten operating reserves in the region served by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) this summer. The grid operator said on March 1 that total resource capacity for the upcoming summer (spanning June through September 2018) is expected […]

According to Georgia Power’s Eighteenth Semi-annual Vogtle Construction Monitoring Report (VCM) released on February 28, more than 12 million man-hours have been worked without a lost-time injury at the Vogtle expansion project since Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy on March 29, 2017. Additionally, the company said productivity has improved since Southern Nuclear Operating Company assumed overall […]

Though increasingly serious cybersecurity threats loom, nearly two-thirds of U.S. industrial control system (ICS) vulnerabilities identified in 2017 could cause severe operational impact if exploited, cybersecurity firm Dragos Inc. warned in a series of reports published March 1. The reports, which cover ICS vulnerabilities, ICS threats, and reactions to existing threats, draw a dire picture […]

While 29 states and the District of Columbia currently have Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)—goals for power producers to provide a certain amount of power from renewable sources by a specific date—a growing number of states are also instituting standalone targets and mandates for energy storage procurement. Sources: Energy Storage Association, North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, Lawrence Berkeley […]