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  • Entergy Considering Sale of FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant to Exelon

    Entergy Corp. announced on July 13 that it is in discussions with Exelon Corp. concerning the potential sale of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Scriba, N.Y. The news comes following the release of the New York Department of Public Service’s proposal to subsidize zero-emissions attributes of upstate nuclear power plants, including FitzPatrick […]

  • Colstrip Units 1 and 2 Will Shut Down by 2022

    Talen Energy and Puget Sound Energy (PSE), owners of Units 1 and 2 at the Colstrip Power Plant in Montana, have reached an agreement to shut those units down no later than July 2022. The settlement came as a result of a lawsuit brought by the Montana Environmental Information Center and the Sierra Club in […]

  • Subsidies Proposed for New York’s Upstate Nuclear Power Plants

    The New York Department of Public Service has proposed subsidizing zero-emissions attributes from zero-carbon electric generating stations, namely nuclear power plants, in order to encourage the preservation of the facilities. In an 11-page document titled “Staff’s Responsive Proposal for Preserving Zero-Emissions Attributes,” a formula that starts with published estimates of the social cost of carbon […]

  • Japanese Nuclear Sector Suffers More Setbacks

    Japan’s embattled nuclear sector, struggling to restart some of its idled reactors, suffered a pair of setbacks this week as a court again ruled against the restart of Takahama Units 3 and 4 in Fukui Prefecture and an antinuclear activist won election as governor of Kagoshima Prefecture, where Japan’s only operating nuclear plant, Sendai, is […]

  • China Reportedly Poised to Ban New Coal Plants Through 2018

    China is preparing to expand nationwide a ban on new coal plant construction announced in April in an attempt to further rein in overcapacity and boost utilization of renewable energy, according to a report in Australian Financial Review. This spring, China’s National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration suspended or slowed plans for […]

  • Green Groups Challenge PJM’s Capacity Performance Rules

    The “polar vortex” storm of January 2014 blew in big changes to PJM Interconnection’s operations. But these changes are now the subject of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, alleging they discriminate against clean energy sources. The sub-zero temperatures froze coal piles and gearboxes. Natural gas plants, lacking firm contracts for fuel delivery, were unable […]

  • Red and green to grey — Why switch my HMI?

    Many operators are perfectly happy with their trusty red and green HMIs and can’t imagine why they should give them up for a dull greyscale display. When they take a closer look, they usually find out that grey is beautiful.

  • Largest Wind Turbine Contest Gets Another Entrant

    Siemens on July 5 entered the competition for the largest wind turbine in the world with an upgrade of its SWT-7.0-154 model. The new SWT-8.0-154 turbine boosts power output over the earlier model through upgraded magnet technology. Other components remain largely the same over the earlier model and the smaller SWT-6.0-154 turbine, Siemens said. The […]

  • EU Parliament Approves New Cybersecurity Rules

    The European Union (EU) parliament on July 6 approved the first community-wide rules designed to bolster cybersecurity throughout the EU. According to the official statement, the new law “lays down security and reporting obligations for ‘operators of essential services’ in sectors such as energy, transport, health, banking and drinking water supply. EU member states will […]

  • Expansion Joint Bellows Rupture Forces D.C. Cook Nuclear Plant Offline

    Indiana Michigan Power—a subsidiary of American Electric Power (AEP)—reported that Unit 2 of its Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman, Mich., was forced offline on July 6 due to an expansion joint bellows rupture on the unit’s moisture separator reheater. Although no one was in the area at the time and there were no […]