POWERnews

Terrestrial Energy’s Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR), a 195-MWe Generation IV nuclear technology, and NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) may be the focus of the first joint technical review by U.S. and Canadian nuclear regulators in a bid to boost their regulatory effectiveness as more advanced reactors and SMRs trundle toward commercialization.  Rumina Velshi, president […]

NorthWestern Energy said it will file an application with the Montana Public Service Commission for pre-approval to acquire Puget Sound Energy’s (PSE’s) 25% interest in Colstrip Unit 4, which is a 740-MW coal-fired boiler. The price? $1. “Securing more capacity for only a $1 investment is a unique opportunity that helps give us the time […]

In a recent conversation with POWER, GE Digital CEO Pat Byrne discussed why GE made key changes to the lucrative business, streamlining it to focus on four key markets, including electric utilities and power generation.  GE has been at the forefront of the innovation in the energy sector since Thomas Edison formulated the essential requirements […]

Marking a major milestone for the U.S. nuclear power sector, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has for the first time issued license renewals that authorize nuclear reactor operation beyond 60 years and up to 80 years.  The regulatory body on Dec. 5 issued subsequent license renewals (SLRs) for Units 3 and 4 at Florida Power […]

In a new attempt to secure a concrete role for the international hydropower industry within the decarbonization movement, several utilities, equipment manufacturers, universities, research centers, and consultancies have scaffolded to demonstrate how modern hydropower plants can provide flexibility to markets that are increasingly inundated by variable generation like wind and solar. On Dec. 10, the […]

Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL) on Dec. 9 announced it will close two of the four coal-fired units at its Petersburg Generating Station in southern Indiana, as the utility continues to move away from coal generation. IPL has been pressured by state political leaders and environmentalists to close the 1,700-MW Petersburg facility, the largest power […]

A group of U.S. lawmakers has asked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reconsider that country’s proposed plan to store its nuclear waste at a site near Lake Huron, northeast of Detroit, Michigan. The site, at Huron-Konloss/South Bruce, in Bruce County, Ontario, is one of two communities chosen by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), […]

Vineyard Wind’s 804-MW Park City project was given the go-ahead by Connecticut officials on Dec. 5, with regulators saying Vineyard’s bid in an offshore wind solicitation was “lower than any other publicly announced offshore wind project in North America.” Vineyard Wind competed against other groups in the bidding, including developers backed by Ørsted and Shell. […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a change to a long-standing policy interpreting “ambient air”—a foundational concept under the Clean Air Act that applies to all types of air pollution, from ground-level ozone, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. While the agency framed the change as part of a suite of actions to reform New Source […]

Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities fell in 2019, according to research published Dec. 3, though overall emissions of CO2 rose due to the increased use of natural gas and oil for power generation and other industrial processes. The new emissions figures were reported by the Global Carbon Project […]

The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) has proposed incorporating the social cost of carbon into the wholesale price of electricity. According to an October-released study conducted by the consulting firm Analysis Group, “A carbon price in NYISO’s competitive wholesale power markets can help deliver New York’s clean-energy transition in faster, cheaper, more reliable, more […]

China has started up its first commercial nuclear cogeneration system, using two newly operational AP1000 reactors at the Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant to heat 700,000 square meters of housing.  Shandong Nuclear Power Co. (SDNPC), a subsidiary of State Power Investment Corp. (SPIC), and owner of the Haiyang plant, on Nov. 15 said the first phase […]

The U.S. Senate on Dec. 2 confirmed Dan Brouillette as the new Secretary of Energy, tapping the former lobbyist for Ford Motor Company to replace Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who stepped down as Department of Energy (DOE) chief after becoming part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Perry’s tenure was marked by […]

According to experts from Technical University of Applied Sciences (OTH) in Regensburg, Germany, who recently reviewed the world’s existing power-to-gas (P2G) hydrogen and methane projects, about 143 P2G projects have operated since 1988 in 22 countries. Only 56 hydrogen and 38 methanation projects were active in 2019. While the existing fleet mostly comprises pilot or […]

Officials in China in 2017 said the country—the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases—would move away from coal-fired power generation. They promptly canceled more than 100 coal power plant construction projects. But coal remains king in China, which in the past two years has added 43 GW of coal-fired generation capacity, according to a report […]

November 27, 2019 Siemens Delivers World’s First HL-Class Gas Turbine to North Carolina Site Siemens has delivered its first-ever HL-class gas turbine to Duke Energy’s Lincoln County Combustion Turbine generation station, located near Denver, North Carolina. The HL-class gas turbine was derived from proven… Read More ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition | April 14-17, 2020 […]

Falling natural gas prices tamped down annual U.S. wholesale power prices over the last decade by $7/MWh to $53/MWh—to a much higher degree compared to the impact of wind and solar growth—a new report from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) suggests.  The Nov. 20–published report, The Impact of Wind, Solar, and Other Factors on Wholesale Power […]

POWER was at the POWERGEN International exhibition and summit, which was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, Nov. 19–21, 2019. Among the experts we met with at the show were Paul Browning, CEO of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas; Chris Mieckowski, director of global solutions marketing and strategy with Siemens; Robert Yeager, president of Emerson’s Power […]

Testing continues at NET Power for a much-watched project that is demonstrating production of low-carbon natural gas power. The project is using a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) cycle, and its developer is confident that the technology will be commercially deployed in 2022. Mike McGroddy, principal at 8 Rivers Capital, the venture capitalist firm that is […]

The POWERGEN International exhibition and summit—one of the world’s largest power-industry events with more than 750 exhibitors—was held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, Nov. 19–21, 2019. POWER was there (Figure 1) to connect with leaders from the industry and report on the latest news from the show. Hot topics […]

Siemens has delivered its first-ever HL-class gas turbine to Duke Energy’s Lincoln County Combustion Turbine generation station, located near Denver, North Carolina. The HL-class gas turbine was derived from proven Siemens H-class technology in what the company calls “an evolutionary development step.” The advanced air-cooled gas turbine is a next-generation design that uses a series […]

A report from a UK-based online journal that covers climate and energy policy said that coal-fired power generation worldwide will fall by 3% this year, to about 54% of global electricity output. The report from Carbon Brief, released Nov. 25, was written by researchers from climate research groups including the Centre for Research on Energy […]

A filing by Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) staff and consultants on Nov. 22 said Georgia Power’s expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant is falling further behind schedule. The filing Friday came the same day that the utility announced the sixth and last containment ring for the two-unit expansion was set in place. The […]

November 21, 2019 Last New York Coal Plant Set to Close The last operating coal-fired power plant in New York state could close by mid-February. Somerset Operating Co. on Nov. 15 asked the New York State Public Service Commission to waive… Read More Regulators: Central Station Generation Will Stay Dominant Despite Emerging Tech A nationwide […]

A bill to amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982 and give the Department of Energy (DOE) the authority to site, build, and operate one or more interim storage sites that would consolidate spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from decommissioned nuclear reactors has passed out of committee and been reported to the full House […]

The last operating coal-fired power plant in New York state could close by mid-February. Somerset Operating Co. on Nov. 15 asked the New York State Public Service Commission to waive the state’s 180-day notice requirement to shutter the 675-MW plant, asking regulators to allow the facility to close as early as Feb. 15, 2020. Somerset […]

A nationwide survey of state utility commissions suggests regulators are increasingly grappling with issues that could “profoundly” alter energy delivery and utility business models. However, over the next decade, they expect central station generation will continue to dominate state portfolios, and utility-scale solar growth will surpass customer-owned photovoltaic (PV).  The survey to take the “regulatory […]

Exelon Generation said EDF Group—a French integrated electricity company—is exercising a put option to sell its 49.99% interest in the R.E. Ginna, Nine Mile Point, and Calvert Cliffs nuclear energy facilities. The two companies will now begin negotiations for Exelon to acquire full ownership of the plants. EDF’s involvement in the facilities was through the […]

The Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 19 released a draft tax package for clean energy projects that includes a five-year extension of the 30% solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), along with new incentives for energy storage. The legislation also supports incentives for electric vehicles (EVs), offshore and onshore […]

A project to build a 1-GW gas-fired power plant in Rhode Island has officially ended, after developer Invenergy took no action to appeal the project’s rejection by state regulators, who earlier this year voted unanimously against the plant’s construction. Invenergy had until Nov. 15 to challenge the formal denial of a construction license for the […]