POWERnews

Southern Co. in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 1 said the COVID-19 pandemic “could disrupt or delay construction, testing, supervisory and support activities” at the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion project in Georgia. The company in the filing said, “It is too early to determine what impact, if any, the […]

It’s well-known that many of the workers and leaders in the energy sector are approaching retirement age, with 25% eligible in the next 5 years and 50% eligible in the next 10 years. With fewer and fewer people filling the talent bench and an industry that’s fighting a negative public perception, the situation is only […]

Constructing a utility-scale solar project requires more than simply buying PV panels and mounting them in a field. It can take years to find the right location, conduct feasibility studies, obtain permits, and align the proverbial stars. A couple of experts, who have managed multiple projects through the process, were guests on The POWER Podcast. […]

Drive one hour south of Birmingham and you will find the not-so-small town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, county population of more than 207,000. Known as the home of the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa is rich in history, arts, young professionals, rooted families, and famous Southern hospitality. At the heart of this college town is a culture […]

The European Commission in December 2019 announced its new European Green Deal, a set of major policy and legislative proposals that position the EU as the global leader on environmental and climate issues. Since then, the Commission has published a draft EU climate law and is seeking stakeholder input on potential revisions to the Energy […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on March 28 told industry that it is prepared to grant requests from individual nuclear generators for exemptions from work-hour controls specified in its rules to help provide more flexibility to the sector as it grapples with workforce issues related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The objective of the […]

The two-unit expansion of the Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia reached another milestone March 27, with the placement of the Unit 4 containment vessel top head. Friday’s work comes about one year after the Unit 3 containment vessel top was lifted into place. “Placement of the Unit 4 top head is a culmination […]

The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), one of the nation’s nine regional transmission organizations (RTOs) that operate the power grid, now has some of its staff living at two of its control  centers in suburban Albany, New York. The move comes as other RTOs and utilities consider having staff shelter-in-place at their respective operations […]

A study published by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) shows peak demand and energy use decreased as much as 21% in some areas as a result of actions taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The report—COVID-19 Bulk System Impacts: Demand Impacts and Operational and Control Center Practices—was released on March 27. It reviews […]

Adopting a new temporary policy that gives it more “enforcement discretion,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said March 26 it does not expect to seek penalties for civil violations of the agency’s rules that result from the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy adopted Thursday addresses concerns that regulated facilities are facing potential worker shortages, travel restrictions, […]

Two agencies aligned with the power generation industry, including the group representing state public service commissioners who regulate utility services, including energy, telecommunications, and water, are asking state regulators to designate utility company workers as essential to the nation’s critical infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the National Association […]

Challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. nuclear industry has asked the Trump administration to ensure nuclear workers, suppliers, and vendors will have access to nuclear plants and personal protective equipment (PPE) during the 2020 spring and fall refueling outage seasons and beyond. All but two of the nation’s nuclear sites had scheduled planned outages  […]

March 26, 2020 Utilities Plan to Keep Key Staff Housed at Power Plants U.S. electric utilities and other energy companies are preparing to have key personnel remain at power plants and operations centers to ensure the facilities remain online during the coronavirus pandemic.… Read More PG&E Pleads Guilty to 84 Involuntary Manslaughter Counts in 2018 […]

Honeywell International’s uranium conversion plant in Metropolis, Illinois, has received the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) approval to run for 40 more years. The approval for the nation’s sole conversion facility is key to ensure it can continue supplying  uranium hexafluoride (UF6), a basic component of enriched nuclear fuel used in commercial nuclear power reactors. The […]

The $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill passed by the U.S. Senate on March 25 should provide some economic relief to the nation’s households and businesses, but the renewable energy industry is disappointed the bill does not extend investment tax credits and other incentives to keep wind, solar, and other projects moving forward. Clean-energy industry groups […]

The coronavirus pandemic is expected to slow the growth of renewable energy in 2020, owing to supply chain disruptions and an economic recession. It could make hitting targets for clean energy adoption more difficult, particularly in the short term. Will government officials look to adjust their goals for renewable energy? Perhaps, but with most of […]

The agency that regulates nuclear power in the U.S. is preparing to allow reactor operators to work longer shifts, and could also issue new rules that would let facilities put off some maintenance and plant inspections. The actions are in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Comments during a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conference call on […]

Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of unlawfully causing a fire after it was blamed for the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, the deadliest wildfire in state history. The utility reached the agreement with the Butte County District Attorney’s office on March […]

U.S. electric utilities and other energy companies are preparing to have key personnel remain at power plants and operations centers to ensure the facilities remain online during the coronavirus pandemic. The federal government considers power plants part of the nation’s critical infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for working with power […]

Energy groups continue to assess the industry disruption caused by the coronavirus, with the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) on March 19 saying the global pandemic is putting  $43 billion of wind industry investments and payments at risk. Utilities, grid operators, and other have been altering their routines as state and local governments call for […]

The power industry and technology worlds are filled with acronyms. It’s often hard to know what they all mean. Mark Reisig, director of Product Marketing at Aras, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. He explained how digital technology is being utilized to bring products to market and track assets throughout their lifecycle. The process […]

Oklo, developer of the 1.5-MW Aurora micro-reactor, has submitted the first-ever combined license application (COLA) for an advanced non-light water reactor (LWR) to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The move formalizes the start of a new era for nuclear regulation in the U.S. The Silicon Valley company, which last year received a first-of-its-kind site use […]

March 19, 2020 Power Industry Weighs Impacts of Coronavirus Utilities and power generators worldwide are altering their business practices and developing strategies for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. It's particularly critical for the power industry, as a reliable supply… Read More Oklo Submits First Non-LWR Combined and Operation License to NRC Oklo, developer of the […]

Utilities and power generators worldwide are altering their business practices and developing strategies for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s particularly critical for the power industry, as a reliable supply of electricity is essential to prevent even more economic disruption. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lists utilities among the 16 industries that the […]

A new report from a half-dozen environmental groups says global banks financed $2.7 trillion of fossil fuel projects from December 2015, when the Paris Agreement on climate was reached, through year-end 2019. The report said funding for such projects has increased in each of the past four years. “Banking on Climate Change 2020,” published March […]

The president of the Solar Energy Industries Association on March 17 said the solar industry is seeing “a pretty significant crisis” along with the overall economy due to the global coronavirus pandemic, as the situation likely will limit growth in the solar sector this year. Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the SEIA, told […]

Silicon Valley-based SunPower on March 16 said it has secured grid capacity for about 11 MW of power after a winning bid in ISO New England’s 14th Forward Capacity Auction (FCA), in which companies predict the cost of making power in 2023. The auction, which closed in February, saw a record low price of $2 […]

Energy Harbor Corp., the new name for the former FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) after FES’s bankruptcy, on March 13 said its Beaver Valley nuclear plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, will remain open. FES in March 2018 had told state regulators it would close the plant in 2021 because it was no longer economic to operate. Energy Harbor […]

Power management company Eaton and its partner electrical contractors and distributors recently completed a construction project to build two new field hospitals in Wuhan, China. The project delivered an additional 2,500 hospital beds to the region, which has been considered ground zero for the COVID-19 global pandemic. Eaton’s energy solutions are helping provide electricity to […]

Earlier this year, MITRE—a not-for-profit organization that works in the public interest across federal, state, and local governments, as well as with industry and academia—officially released the long-awaited industrial control systems (ICS) version of its popular ATT&CK knowledge base. ICS ATT&CK is the group’s response to the unique attack surface that industrial networks are trying […]