Supply Chains

Polish Energy Company Puts Large Coal-Fired Unit Online. Enea , the Polish state-owned energy company, in December inaugurated what it calls the largest coal-fired power generation unit in Europe. The company

Banking on natural gas as it moves away from coal, the European Union (EU) in September adopted new rules that require member states to help neighbors affected by supply disruptions.  The new rules adopted by

Comments on the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) proposed grid resiliency rule from an assortment of state agencies, trade groups, environmental organizations, and organized market entities flooded the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) docket before the tight three-week timeframe expired Oct. 23. The DOE’s “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule” proposed on Sept. 29 directs FERC—an independent regulatory […]

When it comes to running a power plant, it’s easy to take the little things for granted. Yet it’s the little things that often have the greatest impact on plant managers’ ability to deliver reliable service for their customers. Take power, for instance. Plant managers are focused on bringing power to their customers. But are […]

In recent years, coal power generators have faced increasing difficulty predicting annual fuel requirements due to more cycling and low-load operation. That presents problems for the people negotiating fuel contracts. Not all mining companies are amenable to contract changes, but some unique solutions have been developed. Remember when coal-fired power plants supplied baseload power 24/7/365 […]

Uranium oxide, the basic fuel for nuclear power plants, has recently sold at prices not seen in the past 13 years. In fact, the price is less than the cost of production in many cases. That could be a problem, because little is being done to increase the fuel supply, even though the world is […]

Many coal power stations have recently been operating at historically low capacity factors or have even undergone extended economic shutdowns. This can result in coal stockpiles that are exposed to the elements for much longer times than anticipated, resulting in a loss of usable coal energy by several mechanisms. This article explores the severity of […]

For several years, states in the northeastern U.S. have been in the midst of a major shift away from coal and nuclear power toward natural gas. As aging coal plants shut down on environmental concerns, and several of the region’s nuclear plants have been prematurely retired or faced with challenging economics, developers of natural gas–fired […]

German utility RWE warned energy markets this week that low water levels on the Rhine River may affect the delivery of hard coal to some of its plants.