In This Issue
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Legal & RegulatoryCoal 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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Energy StorageBalancing 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&MCritical 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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RenewablesUtility 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
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RenewablesDespite Challenges, India Banks on Renewable Energy
Energy-starved India has been diversifying increasingly into renewable energy (RE), becoming in the process one of the world’s most vibrant markets for this sector. This bodes well for a country that has
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Distributed EnergyDavid Crane and the Coming Electric Utility Apocalypse
Several years ago, Jean and Bob Galey of Catoctin Creek Farm in rural western Maryland installed solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the south-facing roof of one of their outbuildings. Since then, they’ve
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RenewablesUK Struggles to Attract Low-Carbon Investment
After years of dithering on energy policy, the UK government has nearly finalized its plans for electricity market reform. Guaranteed prices for low-carbon power, plus a carbon floor price to discourage the
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Energy StorageThe Year Energy Storage Hit Its Stride
After operating on the sidelines for years, the energy storage sector is finally poised to begin making its mark, driven by greater policy support and technological advances that have begun making new solutions economic. “Just-in-time” delivery has become an ideal for many industries looking to optimize their efficiency and responsiveness. For the power sector, though, […]
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NuclearIndia’s Nuclear Liability Law: Breakthrough for Russia, Stalemate Endures for U.S.
India and Russia on Apr. 1 said they had devised a significant deal that will allow the first import of nuclear reactors in India, despite India’s 2010-passed nuclear liability law that allows nuclear power
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RenewablesAre Large Dams Unviable?
After a lull that spanned nearly two decades, a hoard of new massive hydropower projects are being developed around the world. Some, like the 11.2-GW Belo Monte dam in Brazil, the 4.5-GW Diamer-Bhasha project
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Legal & Regulatory
POWER Digest (May 2014)
Netherlands to Ban Financing of Coal Plants Abroad. The Netherlands on Mar. 24 joined an initiative of the U.S., the UK, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden to reach a global climate change agreement
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Fuel Cells59-MW Fuel Cell Park Opening Heralds Robust Global Technology Future
The 59-MW Gyeonggi Green Energy fuel cell park (Figure 3) in South Korea’s Hwasung City—one of the world’s largest fuel cell facilities—began operation in February. The five-acre facility built by
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RenewablesHimalayan 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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CommentaryDisruptions 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