In This Issue
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Legal & Regulatory
Coal and Nuclear Nearly Invisible at Platts Global Power Markets
Gas, wind, and solar are it for any new generation in North America for the next five to 10 years (with a few one-offs), speakers at this year’s Platts Global Power Markets conference agreed. The annual event for those involved in power project development, financing, and litigation was held in Las Vegas Apr. 7 to […]
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Energy Storage
Energy Storage Technologies Primer
Though often lumped together under the term “energy storage,” the field is in fact a wide range of technologies ranging from well established to speculative, each with different functions, advantages, and drawbacks. The discussion below focuses on existing grid-scale (greater than 1 MW rated power) projects and is generally ordered by level of deployment. Pumped […]
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Renewables
Himalayan Run-of-River Project Depends on New Component Types
The Himalayan Mountains tower over some of the most rugged terrain and harshest climate conditions on the planet. Melting snows from Mount Everest, K2, and hundreds of other snow-capped peaks carve out more
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Commentary
What to Watch for in EPA Carbon Regulations for Existing Plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to propose first-of-a-kind greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits for existing power plants by June 2014. The EPA will do so under a rarely used
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Water
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Are Not Our Only Problem
Marilu Hastings With all the recent scientific studies, media coverage, and policy decisions about reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, one might think that the emissions issue is the only challenge that
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Commentary
Disruptions vs. Status Quo
There’s been a lot of talk in the past couple of years about “disruption” to the long-established status quo in the electric utility and power generation sector. But I would argue that both terms in this
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Energy Storage
Balancing Renewables with Li-ion Energy Storage
The inherently unpredictable and variable nature of wind power can present significant integration challenges when increasing the penetration of wind turbines within already highly stressed medium-voltage (MV)
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O&M
Critical Path: Getting Your Outage Ducks in a Row
It’s no secret that equipment requires maintenance. Just as your personal vehicle needs an oil change periodically, a power plant needs to shut down regularly for a tune-up to take care of all those little
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Coal
Fuel-Flexible CFBs Add Flexibility to Resource Plans
The downward trend in solid fuel quality has negatively affected many power generators that rely on imported fuels. For others, this represents a market opportunity. A quick survey of recent installations found that fuel-flexible circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers addressed owners’ fuel source concerns by efficiently burning low-quality, high-moisture coals, even when mixed with biomass and […]
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Renewables
Utility Biomass Use: Turning Over a New Leaf?
If there is one truth to the power industry, it is that environmental regulations will only proceed down one path—that of stricter limits. Although legislatures and courts may argue over the issue for years