COAL POWER Direct

India’s state-owned energy company NTPC said the company produced a record amount of electricity on an annual basis over the past fiscal year, with the utility’s coal-fired power stations recording a plant load factor, or capacity utilization, of 77%. NTPC, the former National Thermal Power Corp., in a statement published March 31, said it generated […]

Two German energy companies said they shut down seven coal-fired power plants over the Easter holiday weekend, taking more than 3,000 MW of generation capacity offline for decommissioning. The German government, which already has called for an end to coal-fired power generation in that country, had allowed the units to continue operating through the winter […]

A major Indiana utility said it’s preparing to switch its remaining coal-fired power plant to burn natural gas. AES Indiana on March 12 said the two coal-burning units at its Petersburg Generating Station, in Pike County in southwestern Indiana about 100 miles west of Louisville, Kentucky, would stop using coal and start using natural gas […]

Can a requirement to simply disclose information truly be a big deal? Can a requirement that only applies to big companies, or companies that do business in California, actually impact your small business or your business in another state? Can a requirement that doesn’t take effect until next year or later really require thought and […]

(Updated March 7 with responses from EPA): The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will drop requirements covering existing natural gas-fired power plants in its final Section 111 rule regulating power sector greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which is expected in April.  EPA Administrator Michael Regan on Feb. 29 said in a written statement the agency’s rule—which the […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in February issued a final rule imposing tighter restrictions on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) or soot.  The final rule, issued on Feb. 7, strengthens the nation’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by lowering the level of the primary (health-based) annual PM2.5 standard from 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter […]

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) is warning reliability challenges have grown urgent as the nation’s power system grapples with a “hyper-complex risk environment.”  The grid operator that serves 15 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba, in its updated Reliability Imperative report released on Feb. 22, flagged several critical challenges that the region […]

Data from Global Energy Monitor (GEM), a group that tracks thermal and renewable power generation projects worldwide, shows that China was responsible for construction of 96% of all new coal-fired facilities globally last year, and for almost 70% of all new coal-fueled power plants that came online. GEM, a San Francisco, California-based non-governmental research organization, […]

Poland’s top climate official said the country is preparing to set a date for a complete phase-out of coal-fired power generation, just months after the nation elected a new government that has pledged to support environmental policies of the European Union (EU). Poland, which currently receives about 70% of its electricity from burning coal, and […]

PJM has urged Talen Energy to delay its deactivation of two of four units at the 840-MW coal, oil, and gas–fired Herbert A. Wagner Generating Station in Maryland until transmission upgrades are put into service around 2028. The nation’s largest regional transmission organization (RTO) on Jan. 10 said it informed Talen that the deactivation of […]