POWERnews

JEA, the electric utility in Jacksonville, Florida, has been decommissioning the St. Johns River Power Park over the past year. A third implosion as part of the decommissioning occurred July 19, as a 640-foot-tall stack and two steam generating boilers were demolished. Friday’s work followed similar implosions in June 2018, when the plant’s two, 464-foot-tall […]

New York on July 18 enacted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA),  law that requires the state to produce 100% of its power from renewables and nuclear by 2040. The legislation includes agreements to build two offshore wind projects worth a combined 1.7 GW by 2025, the single largest renewable energy procurement in […]

A federal judge in Ohio on July 18 approved American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) plan to close Unit 1 of its two-unit, 2,600-MW coal-fired Rockport Plant in Indiana. The modified consent decree approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Thursday is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute among AEP, […]

In a bid to enhance the reactor oversight process (ROP), staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recommended the commission change qualitative descriptions for some color labels that signify risk, scale back on the time and scope of some annual inspections at the nation’s nuclear power fleet, as well as increase intervals between inspections.  […]

According to the Energy Impact Center, a Washington, D.C.-based research institute focused on deep decarbonization, CO2 emissions “must go net-negative by 2040, globally across all energy sectors” to begin countering climate change. The only way it sees to accomplish this is to “produce energy inexpensive enough to make carbon negative fuels that compete with fossil […]

The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on July 16 threw its support behind Georgia Power’s plan to add 2,260 MW of new renewable power generation to the utility’s portfolio, on the same day the PSC signed off on the company’s effort to decommission its long-running coal-fired Plant Hammond. Georgia Power earlier this year submitted a […]

Investments in clean energy projects have hummed along in the past few years, with the growth of renewables worldwide continuing to increase levels of solar, wind, and other resources in the global energy mix. Thomas Byrne has been in the middle of this energy transformation. Byrne, co-founder and CEO of CleanCapital and a graduate of […]

New York City-based LS Power on July 15 said it would end a project to expand its natural gas-fired Troy power plant in Ohio if state lawmakers pass legislation to subsidize the state’s two nuclear power plants. LS Power in a news release Monday said, “Handouts to nuclear plants jeopardize the economics of the other […]

July 11, 2019 A Brief History of GE Gas Turbines July marks two important milestones that set gas-fired generation on its course to becoming a dominant form of power generation: commercial operation of the world’s first industrial gas turbine in… Read More Sponsored Content Timken Power Systems: The Complete Drivetrain Solution What happens when six […]

A fully digital nuclear reactor instrumentation and control system (I&C)—the first of its kind in the U.S.—at a Purdue University research reactor in West Lafayette, Indiana, has been licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).  Upgrades to digitalize Purdue University Reactor Number 1 (PUR 1)—a pool-type12-kWt reactor (that runs at 1 kW) originally built in […]

In a recent interview, Raul Pereda, president and CEO of PW Power Systems (PWPS), talked to POWER about the company’s long legacy as a gas turbine manufacturer, advancements in technology it has achieved over the past 60 years, and new applications for its turbines within a transitioning energy system.  No one can read a history […]

Investments in renewable energy projects slowed in the first half of 2019, primarily due to a 39% year-over-year drop in China, the world’s largest renewables market, according to data published July 10 by BloombergNEF (BNEF). BNEF said investments in China dropped to $28.8 billion, the lowest figure for any six-month period since 2013. China is […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and members of Congress are looking at legislation concerning research and regulation of energy storage. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources committee, on July 9 said there is bipartisan interest in combining a handful of bills on energy storage, dealing with research and development […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is behind on its proposed revisions to the Obama administration’s effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) for steam electric power plants.  In an e-mail to POWER on July 9, the EPA confirmed that the agency was still “working expeditiously” to complete the proposed rule, and it has yet to submit it to […]

The Czech government on July 8 gave preliminary approval for Elektrárna Dukovany II, a subsidiary of utility ČEZ, to build at least one new nuclear power unit in the country, along with as many as three more at existing nuclear power plants at Dukovany and Temelín. The country’s Ministry of Industry and Trade made the […]

July marks two important milestones that set gas-fired generation on its course to becoming a dominant form of power generation: commercial operation of the world’s first industrial gas turbine in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in 1939, and commercial operation of the first gas turbine in the U.S. used to generate electric power—a 3.5-MW General Electric (GE) unit […]

July 3, 2019 A Fine Couple They Are (Wind and Solar Power) The pairing of wind and solar is emerging as a smart strategy to implement renewable energy sources with better economic feasibility. The pairing of wind and solar power is an… Read More Sponsored Content How Utilities Can Lead The Energy Revolution As industry […]

Adding carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to two Xcel coal units in Colorado that are slated to be retired by 2025 would push up the cost of power if compared with replacement with wind/storage hybrids. But CCUS, which generates revenues, would still work out to be cheaper than other alternatives mandated under the company’s […]

The price of lithium-ion batteries has plummeted over the past decade. Battery pack prices averaged $1,160 per kWh in 2010, according to BloombergNEF, but they dropped to $176 per kWh last year, and experts suggest they could be less than $100 by 2024. Tony Cooper, general manager of Green Cubes Technology’s Motive division, was a […]

Coal power, which has seen a marked decline in the U.S., is necessary for reliability and energy affordability, and sustaining it could boost pollution technology exports and “improve lives while driving down emissions worldwide,” said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler in a speech last week. Wheeler made the remarks at a 90-minute event […]

June 27, 2019 As Renewables Surge Ahead of Coal, Lawmakers Introduce National Renewable Standard  A bill introduced by Senate Democrats on June 26 establishes a national electricity standard that would require large retail suppliers to source at least 1.5% of their power from renewables… Read More Sponsored Content Piping Solutions Using Non-Welded Connections For hydropower […]

Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO), owner of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR (European Pressurized Water Reactor) nuclear unit that is under construction in Finland, has said fuel will not be loaded in the reactor before the end of August, while it awaits completion of a schedule review being conducted by the construction consortium. Meanwhile, EDF, which is […]

A bill introduced by Senate Democrats on June 26 establishes a national electricity standard that would require large retail suppliers to source at least 1.5% of their power from renewables by 2020 and gradually grow that share through 2035.  The measure comes a day after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed monthly generation from renewable […]

Power plants are capturing operational data in ever-increasing amounts. However, analyzing all the data can be challenging. A number of tools are available that can help. In this episode of The POWER Podcast, two experts from one technology provider explain how big data can be analyzed to identify trends and create actionable information to solve […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 24 proposed to partially approve Georgia’s permit program for the disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR). As it did so, it gave other states some advice: Follow Georgia’s lead and assume oversight of coal ash that power plants dispose within your borders. The preliminary approval marks another important […]

Danish renewables firm Ørsted’s 1.1-GW Ocean Wind project is the winner of New Jersey’s first award for offshore wind, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) said on June 21.  Ørsted, with support from Public Service Enterprise Group’s (PSEG’s) non-utility affiliate, vied for the award with two other offshore wind developers that submitted bids […]

A proposed 900-MW gas-fired power plant was rejected by Rhode Island regulators on June 20, leaving project developer Invenergy pondering its options for the planned facility in Burrillville. Rhode Island’s Energy Facility Siting Board, after a daylong hearing in Warwick, said the plant is not needed. Chicago, Illinois–based Invenergy can appeal the decision to the […]

Federal courts have been pretty kind to energy infrastructure in recent weeks, particularly in cases involving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). For starters, this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit removed one of the hurdles to construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The court decided that a new presidential permit—issued […]

More than 2 million new solar PV installations were installed in the U.S. in the first three months of 2019—a new record for the first quarter of the year—according to the Wood Mackenzie/Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) U.S. Solar Market Insight report, which was released this week. Utilities led the way, installing 1.6 GWdc of […]

June 20, 2019 EPA Finalizes ACE Rule, Replaces Clean Power Plan The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule to formally replace the Obama administration’s controversial Clean Power Plan (CPP).  Like the CPP, the June 19–issued… Read More Siemens Will Cut Another 2,700 Jobs; GE Announces Cuts in Switzerland Siemens […]