In This Issue
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Legal & RegulatoryA Mixed Bag of Nuclear Developments in UAE, S. Korea, Switzerland and S. Africa
The world’s nuclear sector saw a flurry of activity during April and May, though most of it wasn’t good news. First Unit at Barakah Built, but Regulatory Delays Prevail. Initial construction activities
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RenewablesPOWER Digest (July 2017)
India to Sell Only Electric Vehicles by 2030. India’s power minister Piyush Goyal said at a Confederation of Indian Industry session in April that the government plans to make all its cars electric by 2030
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RenewablesResearchers Develop Hybrid Salinity Gradient Power Technology
A hybrid technology created by researchers at Penn State University could be the breakthrough needed to advance efforts to produce power based on the salt concentrations between two water sources. Researchers
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SafetyPersonal Protective Equipment Vending Simplifies Employee Safety
By many indicators, working in the power sector today is safer than it’s ever been. In 2014, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that utilities had a lower fatal work injury
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InfographicsAdvanced Turbine Dynamics Monitoring System Proven Effective
Grid behavior in today’s power generation environment is a stochastic system that is more variable than in the past. One common issue is the response to economic dispatch, in which formerly baseload thermal
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Commentary
FERC Civil Penalty Order Underscores Need for Companies to Invest in Compliance Training
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a settlement with GDF SUEZ Energy Marketing NA Inc. (GSEMNA) in February 2017, in which GSEMNA agreed to pay civil penalties of $41 million and disgorge
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CoalImproved Maintenance Strategy and Excellent Planning Turns Coal Plant into a Top Performer
Southern Co.’s Plant Scherer was chosen as the 2017 Powder River Basin Coal Users’ Group Plant of the Year based on a rigorous selection criteria, including safety, fire protection, and risk reduction
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CoalRetrofitting Electrostatic Precipitators to Meet Current Emission Limits
Electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) offer a tried-and-true technology for particulate matter control. However, existing ESPs can be challenged to meet the latest regulatory requirements. Retrofitting power
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InfographicsHumboldt Bay Generating Station: A Case Study in Emissions Control Troubleshooting
It can be a challenge to keep emissions in check while operating dual-fuel reciprocating engine technology during low-load conditions. However, doing so is especially important under California’s strict
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InfographicsNew Capture Technology Holds Key to Reaching Carbon Emissions Targets
Some naysayers have argued that developing carbon capture technology for use on fossil-fueled power plants is pure folly. But research and pilot tests have continued nonetheless, and various solutions have
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Legal & RegulatoryParticle Sizing in Emissions Samples by Scanning Electron Microscopy
With low particulate loading common in stack emissions these days, particulate matter measurement can be difficult using traditional techniques. Microscopical measurement of particle-size distributions offers
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InfographicsTechnological Advancements in Cooling Water Treatment
Regulatory agencies are becoming more and more critical of phosphorus-based water treatment chemicals because they can have a negative impact on lakes and waterways. In the past, treating cooling water with
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CommentaryThe Future Looks Bright for Natural Gas-Fired Power Generation but Price Volatility Is a Wild Card
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) earlier this year reported that the power sector was poised to add 11.2 GW of new natural gas–fired capacity in 2017. If that forecast proves accurate, it
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RenewablesMISO: Avoiding the Mess Facing Other Wholesale Competitive Electric Markets
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO’s) geographic footprint extends down the middle of the U.S. Because of the structure of its market, MISO has artfully avoided some nasty policy and
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RenewablesEuropean Pumped Storage Plants Are in Crisis
A number of baseload generators across Europe have decried the fall in average European wholesale power prices, which some peg to additions of subsidized low-marginal-cost renewable generation to an already
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InfographicsHow China Is on the Leading Edge of Environmental Technologies
Coal proponents and climate skeptics often cite China’s current and future reliance on coal power to bolster talking points. What is little discussed is the recent, massive transformation of China’s vast
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Legal & RegulatoryFoggy Resolution for Russia-Ukraine Gas Spat from Arbitration Court
Beyond the bitter disputes that have recently cropped up between Ukraine and Russia concerning Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the subsequent separatist violence in Ukraine’s Donbass region
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RenewablesThe Latest in Thermal Energy Storage
As renewables gain a greater foothold in the energy system, the importance of energy storage is going to increase in kind. With the ongoing gradual shift away from traditional baseload energy sources, the
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CoalResearchers: Power Plant Carbon-Capturing Calcium Carbonate Looping Technology Almost Market-Ready
A novel demonstration underway at Technische Universität Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt), a research university in Darmstadt, Germany, has shown a calcium carbonate looping (CCL) technology retrofitted at existing
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CommentaryCoal: The Next Chapter
The new administration in Washington, D.C., has a sharply different vision for the development and use of our nation’s abundant energy resources, including coal. These riches are seen as a strength, not
