Supply Chains

Wind is no longer a niche alternative energy industry, American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) CEO Tom Kiernan told attendees at WINDPOWER 2015.  Despite policy hurdles, the wind sector has seen exponential growth and formidable cost reductions; it has the government’s endorsement for a low-carbon future; and it’s making up an ever-larger share of the nation’s […]

Taking action on climate change could reduce electricity demand between 1.1% and 4% and save the U.S. $10 billion to $34 billion in power system costs by 2050, says a new report released by the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) touting the U.S. economic, health, and environmental benefits of global climate action.  […]

At the annual Power-Gen Europe Conference held in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven called for greater leadership as Europe tackles de-carbonization, distributed energy, and market integration. She began her presentation by highlighting one of the biggest changes to Europe’s power markets: The May 20 decision to […]

Siemens AG has completed a company reorganization to respond to the “persistently difficult environment” in the global power generation market. The global technology company, which had around 357,000 employees in 2014, said it would cut 4,500 jobs worldwide as part of efforts to streamline administrative functions. Siemens announced 7,800 jobs cuts earlier this year. Along […]

The U.S. energy infrastructure needs not just substantial investment for the future but also considerable rethinking about its role and functions in order to be positioned to deal with a rapidly changing energy landscape and evolving threats from cyber attack and climate change. That was the message from William F. Hederman, Jr., Department of Energy […]

 While fuel switching may be the easiest option for hitting the 2020 and 2030 goals set by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed Clean Power Plan, it may impede reaching longer-term climate targets said experts at an April 8 symposium hosted by the Central Texas Association for Energy Economics and the Energy Institute at the […]

Sometimes, circumstances have a way of developing in such an unexpectedly serendipitous way that they practically force one to take notice. So it is with Cuba and its power sector. Coincidence It all started

Late last year, Japanese engineers and technicians accomplished a major milestone nearly four years after the most damaging light-water reactor accident in history at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station

The U.S. on Tuesday issued a new final determination affirming that some crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) products from China and Taiwan have been sold at dumping margins of between 11% and 165%. The final determination from the Department of Commerce stems from anti-dumping duty and countervailing duty investigations covering a category of cells, modules, laminates, […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed carbon rules for existing power plants amassed more than 1.6 million remarks before the public comment period ended on Monday. Here’s a snapshot of what states, regulators, industry groups, and environmental alliances told the agency about its Clean Power Plan.  States Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, […]

Events over the past year—turmoil in the oil-rich Middle East and the Russian-Ukraine gas crisis—along with uncertainty for nuclear power and pervading energy poverty worldwide show that the energy system is “under stress,” the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in its freshly released World Energy Outlook 2014 (WEO-2014). Despite technology and efficiency improvements, without actions […]

China has been battling—and losing—a “war” on air pollution for years. Stepping up its efforts, the country recently issued new policy measures, tougher even than those in the U.S. and European Union, that could have big implications for its coal power sector.  Reports that heavy smog has blanketed large swathes of China’s provinces have become […]

Despite record low temperatures and widespread generation outages during the polar vortex, bulk power system reliability was maintained, says the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) in a newly released analysis of the extreme cold weather event that engulfed most of the nation this January.  The Jan. 6–7, 2014, weather condition that resulted in temperatures […]

Bad weather, unforeseen setbacks, and even natural disasters are far from unheard of during power plant construction. But there may be no plant that experienced the sort of construction hardships that Tokyo

In the October 2013 issue of POWER, Tata Power’s 4-GW Mundra ultra-mega power plant was recognized with a Top Plant award in the coal category. This year POWER recognizes another behemoth in the region—and

Gazprom on Sept. 1 made the first weld of a 4,000-km natural gas pipeline that will run from gas production centers in Russia’s Yakutia and Irkutsk gas production fields to Russia’s Far Eastern regions

The Aug. 4–6 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit shed light on the power plights faced by sub-Saharan African countries, but it also highlighted their massive power potential and the array of solutions under consideration to resolve Africa’s energy crisis. Here are a number of key insights gleaned from discussions at the summit—the first a U.S. president has […]

Consensus is that the locus of world energy demand has shifted away from the U.S. and Europe to Asia, driven by the soaring economies of the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

France will cap its nuclear power capacity at the current 63.2 GW, forcing closures if new reactors come online, and instead boost renewable generation if a bill unveiled by its energy ministry in mid-June

Indonesia, the world’s leading exporter of thermal coal, in June again suggested it could limit coal production and further tighten its control on exports to protect supply for domestic power plants

The past week saw a flurry of Congressional hearings probing how the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed carbon pollution rules will affect grid reliability and the economy.  On Reliability  The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday summoned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) four sitting commissioners and future chair Norman Bay to testify on […]

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on Tuesday unveiled five pillars on which U.S. energy policy should be built and discussed how the nation should tackle climate risks and grid threats.  The lawmaker told attendees at the Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2014 Energy Conference that the nation’s new era […]

Fourteen members of the World Trade Organization (WTO)—including the U.S., China, the European Union (EU), and Japan—on Tuesday launched negotiations to eliminate tariffs or custom duties on wind turbines, solar products, and other environmental goods.  The first phase of negotiations between the 14 WTO members, which make up 86% of the global environmental goods trade, […]

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 266–150 to pass a bill that cuts federal red tape and accelerates liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe and other allies. The Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act (H.R. 6) authored by Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) now moves to the Senate. Experts suggest it has a […]

In-service dates for two nuclear units under construction at Plant Vogtle in Georgia have been moved out to December 2017 and December 2018, and the total project cost is now estimated at $6.76 billion—$650 million more than the certified cost—staff from Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) reported this week.  Steven Roetger and GDS Associates consultant […]

Most issues concerning resource adequacy have arisen in the context of restructured wholesale and retail electric markets, rather than from traditionally regulated electric markets, a new study from the Electric Markets Research Foundation (EMRF) suggests.  The nonprofit EMRF,  established in 2012 by “academics and other experts” to fund studies on electric market issues, notes in […]

Existing fossil fuel–fired U.S. power plants must comply with state-specific goals to lower carbon pollution by 2030 under rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today. The so-called “Clean Power Plan,” which applies to existing power plants, seeks to cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 30% from 2005 levels by 2030. It […]

After two years of work, about a dozen conferences and meetings, and multiple rounds of comments, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced on Mar. 20 that it was ready to begin the process of

There is no hotter market in power generation than gas. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. is projected to add just under 60 GW of new generating capacity between 2013 and 2017

The U.S. Department of Commerce on May 13 awarded the Distribution Wind Energy Association (DWEA) a two-year grant to develop a roadmap to identify common manufacturing gaps for distributed wind equipment. The $488,634 grant from the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) calls on DWEA to form the “Strategies for Manufacturers Advancing Research and […]