Latest
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Renewables
Solar PV Capacity Factors a Mix of Insolation and Design
Utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) generation has exploded over the past few years. From nearly nothing in the late 2000s, the U.S. now has more than 10 GW of utility-scale solar PV in operation according to the Energy Information Administration. That figure should continue to grow strongly because of the recent extension of the investment tax […]
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Legal & Regulatory
A Brief History of U.S. Coal Ash Since the Kingston Spill
The disposal of coal ash, a combustion byproduct from coal-fired power plants, was propelled into the national conversation on December 22, 2008, when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston power plant suffered one of the largest coal ash spills in history. Calls for regulatory action shifted pitch again after the Duke Energy Dan River spill […]
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History
Notable Coal Ash Spills [Slideshow]
The coal ash spill in December 2008 at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s coal-fired Kingston power plant may have triggered regulatory action, but it wasn’t the first or the most devastating disaster in the coal industry’s history. Coal Ash Spills at Power Facilities [gss name=”example1″ link=”none” ids=”85886,85788,85786,85790,85778,85888,85794,85784,85776″] Other Notable Coal Ash Spills [gss name=”example2″ link=”none” ids=”85772,85780,85782″] —Sonal […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Germany’s Energiewende at a New Turning Point
Germany’s Energiewende (energy transition) was adopted as policy beginning in September 2010, some six months before the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, and full legislative support was
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Legal & Regulatory
Zero-Discharge Pozzolanic Brine Solidification: Another Option for Treating FGD Wastewater
In late 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published new regulations governing wastewater discharge from steam electric power plants. These new regulations, or effluent limitation guidelines
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O&M
Monitoring and Treatment of Closed-Loop Cooling Water Systems
There may be multiple closed-loop cooling systems at your power plant. Chances are good that they cool or control temperature on some very critical components. The two that are most likely to exist are the
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Renewables
Xcel Energy: Committed to Renewables, but Going Its Own Way
Utility holding company Xcel Energy, headquartered in Minneapolis and with large electric and gas operations in eight states in the upper Midwest, the Rocky Mountain West, and Texas, has ambitions to be the
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Technology
Beyond the Firewall: Best Practices for Cybersecurity Risk Management
Generating companies wondering if concerns about cybersecurity are overblown got some rude wake-up calls this winter. The first call came when Ukrainian media reported that a December 23 blackout that left
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Gas
New Metering Solution Controls Condensate in HRSG Systems
Many combined cycle and cogeneration plants with heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) were originally intended as baseload power sources or steam producers. In recent years, however, some have been