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A discussion draft of a preliminary cybersecurity framework posted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) last week outlines several functions to protect industrial control systems, but it acknowledges that the power sector already engages in several cybersecurity practices and recommends that utilities opting to use the framework should leverage these rather than […]

The state of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E) on Tuesday asked the full 10-judge panel at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to review their challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) implementation of a regional haze rule to limit emissions from power plants in the state. The move follows a decision by […]

Duke Energy will retire four coal units and possibly two oil-fired units under terms of a settlement reached between the company and four citizen and environmental groups over outstanding air permits for the company’s Edwardsport Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) project. The agreement resolves a long-standing dispute over air permits for the now-operational IGCC plant […]

If you’ve been paying attention to energy issues in the media lately, you may have encountered a curious narrative that’s starting to gain traction among supporters of renewable energy. Namely, that the core problem with wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) generation, which is matching moment-to-moment demand with the intermittency wind and sunlight, isn’t really a […]

  If you’ve seen U.S. coal industry executives casting wistful glances across the Atlantic recently, there’s a reason. In the U.S., natural gas is enjoying a boom unseen in decades, perhaps ever. New production from shale should make the country a net exporter within a decade. New gas-fired plants are starting up almost as fast […]

  As environmental regulations continue their forward march and gas prices remain low compared to historic rates due to increased domestic supply, the number of power plants changing their primary fuel source to natural gas has increased dramatically. In 2011 and 2012, just more than 5.5 GW of power plant capacity switched to burning primarily […]

Despite frail demand for natural gas in Europe and difficulties in upstream production growth in the Middle East and Africa, the “Golden Age” of natural gas will remain in full swing until at least 2018, recent projections from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show. A medium-term outlook released by the Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization in […]

A common talking point among critics of hydraulic fracturing is that they somehow “own the science” on shale development. The industry is merely raising doubt about scientific studies, they claim—just enough to confuse the public and make them think there’s a legitimate debate. As the Washington Post recently characterized Gasland Part II director Josh Fox’s opinion: Fox frets […]

  Lubricating oil is the lifeblood of virtually all rotating equipment found in a power plant. Keep it clean and the lube system is relatively low maintenance. However, cycling operation and restarts after a temporary or long-term shutdown can reveal a whole new class of perhaps unfamiliar problems. The fundamental question is determining when a […]

One lesson learned from the U.S. military’s far-flung operations during the 2010s was the critical importance of fuel supply lines. At the peak of the conflict in Afghanistan, getting each gallon of gasoline or diesel into remote operating bases could cost upwards of $1,000 when all transportation and security costs were factored in. With U.S. […]