Latest

  • Manager Suspended Following Drone Crash at Nuclear Plant

    A drone crash at the Koeberg nuclear power station in South Africa has led to the suspension of the site’s safety officer for breach of regulations. The Koeberg facility is a dual-unit 1,800-MW station located about 30 kilometers northwest of Cape Town. It is the only nuclear power plant in Africa. According to owner and […]

  • Kemper IGCC In-Service Date Pushed Back by a Month

    Mississippi Power has pushed back the in-service date of its much-delayed Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant by a month, to October 31, 2016. Initial production of syngas at the plant began on July 14, and testing continues of gasifier B and related lignite feed and ash systems. “The schedule extension provides for […]

  • China Warns Against Hinkley Point Cancellation

    China’s ambassador to the UK, in an opinion piece in British newspaper Financial Times, warned that Sino-British relations are “at a crucial historical juncture” and suggested that enormous recent Chinese investments in Britain are at risk should the planned Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor project be cancelled. The long-delayed and much-debated two-unit expansion at the […]

  • FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant Saved by Exelon-Entergy Deal

    Exelon Generation has agreed to acquire the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant from Entergy Corp. in a deal worth $110 million. Entergy had slated the 838-MW single-unit facility located in Scriba, N.Y., for closure by January 2017 for economic reasons, but the change in ownership will allow the plant to remain in operation. Exelon […]

  • Reliability and Cybersecurity Top List of Issues in B&V Report

    Reliability and cybersecurity ranked as the two most important issues currently confronting the electric industry, according to surveys completed by 672 qualified utility, municipal, commercial, and community stakeholders for Black & Veatch’s “2016 Strategic Directions: Electric Industry Report.” It’s not particularly surprising to see reliability rank at the top of the list. “Reliability has always […]

  • Republican Tony Clark to Leave FERC in September

    Tony Clark, the only Republican on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, announced Aug. 4 that the agency’s September meeting will be his last.

  • Despite Policy Shifts, China Faces Huge Coal-Fired Overcapacity

    China’s once-booming coal power sector is facing an existential challenge as continued breakneck expansion of new capacity is colliding with flattened growth in power demand, despite increasingly strenuous government efforts to put the brakes on new construction. According to a pair of new studies, China’s overcapacity in coal-fired generation could reach a staggering 400 GW […]

  • Massachusetts Lawmakers Approve Energy Storage, Offshore Wind Mandates

    Massachusetts’ lawmakers approved an omnibus energy bill that sets down an energy storage mandate and requires utilities to solicit contracts for 1.6 GW of offshore wind. The bill also outlines clean energy procurement targets, including for 1.2 GW from hydro, onshore wind, and other renewables from within the state, from neighboring states, or from Canada. […]

  • Ansaldo Energia Wins Arbitration Dispute Over Siemens Gas Turbine Patents [Updated]

    Italian firm Ansaldo Energia successfully defended an arbitration case brought by Siemens in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitral Tribunal regarding its right to use Siemens gas turbine technology under a license agreement, the company said on Aug. 1. The dispute stemmed from an agreement that ran from 1991 through October 2004 under which […]

  • N.Y. Approves Nuclear Subsidies and Mandates 50% Renewables by 2030

    The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) approved New York’s Clean Energy Standard on August 1, likely saving three upstate nuclear power plants, while requiring 50% of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2030. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) praised the action in a statement following the announcement. “New York has […]