POWERnews

Despite increased resilience actions, extreme weather events due to climate change are projected to increasingly threaten the nation’s energy infrastructure, and create fuel availability and demand imbalances, the Trump administration’s sprawling climate report released on November 23 suggests.  The Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) released by the Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is clear in […]

A research group that provides information to institutional investors said cost estimates to decommission U.S. nuclear plants fell in 2017 for the first time in a decade. The Callan Institute, headquartered in San Francisco, California, in its report said decommissioning cost estimates dropped by 2.5% last year, to $88.8 billion. Callan’s data shows costs estimates […]

In a referendum held alongside local elections, the Taiwanese electorate voted overwhelmingly to abolish a stipulation in the country’s Electricity Act that called for all nuclear energy-based power-generating facilities to completely cease operations by 2025. Many experts considered it a surprising victory for pro-nuclear activists. In January 2016, Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party garnered widespread support […]

A new study from BloombergNEF (BNEF) says developing countries lead the way on new investments in clean energy, with those nations taking advantage of lower project costs for solar and wind power as they move away from fossil fuel-powered generation. Today’s report, from a survey by BNEF’s annual Climatescope project, says “emerging market nations … […]

A series of strikes at French nuclear plants owned by power giant EDF have caused fluctuating electricity supplies, prompting concerns as the country prepares for a prolonged cold snap. Workers are reportedly protesting wage negotiations and a possible plan by the French government to restructure EDF. The energy branch of French trade union CGT on […]

November 21, 2018 Business and Leadership Shakeups Continue at GE It’s been a tumultuous couple of years for GE. The company’s stock price has been decimated by the market, decreasing more than 75% from a high of nearly $32 a… Read More Sponsored Content GE’s H-class turbines have ignited a new era in power generation […]

A newly introduced Senate bill aims to make federal loan guarantees available for new high-efficiency, low-emissions (HELE) coal power plants in the U.S. Although it spearheads considerable research and development initiatives to advance coal technology, the nation’s pipeline of coal builds remains virtually vacant, and it now lags painfully behind Asia and Europe in demonstration […]

It’s been a tumultuous couple of years for GE. The company’s stock price has been decimated by the market, decreasing more than 75% from a high of nearly $32 a share as recently as December 2016. Dow Jones removed the company from its benchmark Industrial Average in June, and GE’s Board of Directors sacked CEO […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) wants public input as it considers closing two of the utility’s historic coal-fired power plants: its Bull Run plant in Tennessee, and the last coal-fired unit at its Paradise plant in Kentucky. The Bull Run Fossil Plant, near Oak Ridge, has been the only single-generator coal plant in the TVA […]

Battelle Energy Alliance—the management and operating contractor for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL)—selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) PRISM technology to support the U.S. Department of Energy’s Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) program. The VTR program is expected to accelerate the development of fuels and materials for U.S. advanced reactors, utilizing fast neutron spectrum technology. Rather […]

Entergy Arkansas said it will close the state’s two largest coal-fired power plants, along with one gas-fired plant, by 2030 as part of a settlement with environmental groups that sued the utility in federal court for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Sierra Club and the Washington, D.C.-based National Parks Conservation Association […]

November 15, 2018 DOE Considers Subsidies Modeled on Renewables for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors State-imposed standards and financial incentives such as those used to spur widespread adoption of renewables technologies offer a promising model to address challenges to commercialize small modular reactors (SMRs), says… Read More DOE Office Will Fund R&D for ‘Coal Plant of […]

State-imposed standards and financial incentives such as those used to spur widespread adoption of renewables technologies offer a promising model to address challenges to commercialize small modular reactors (SMRs), says a report by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy. But to make a meaningful impact, nearly $10 billion in incentives will […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the use of Mitsubishi Electric Total Advanced Control (MELTAC) Nplus S digital safety system controllers in U.S. nuclear power plants. While new to the U.S. industry, Mitsubishi said the MELTAC system is already deployed in 38 nuclear power plants around the world, primarily in Japan and China. MELTAC […]

Taking another steep hit from its beleaguered nuclear business, Toshiba Corp. said it will withdraw from construction of the proposed 3.8-GW Moorside nuclear plant in the UK, a project expected to comprise three AP1000 reactors.   The Tokyo-based conglomerate said on November 8 that it had also taken steps to “wind up” NuGeneration Ltd. (NuGen), […]

A wireless charging breakthrough demonstrated by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) marks a leap toward allowing electric vehicles (EVs) to conveniently recharge within the same period that it typically takes to fill-up at a gas station. Researchers at the national laboratory at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in October said they […]

The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) this week said it will fund research and development (R&D) efforts “that will advance first-of-a-kind coal generation technologies.” The FE on November 13 said its Coal FIRST (Flexible, Innovative, Resilient, Small, Transformative) program “will develop the coal plant of the future needed […]

A Tennessee businessman now has until the end of November to finalize a two-year-old purchase agreement for the unfinished Bellefonte nuclear power plant in Alabama. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which began building the plant in 1974 but ended construction in 1988 amid a downturn in the nuclear power industry, on November 9 said it […]

November 8, 2018 Midterms a Mixed Bag for State Energy Ballot Measures The midterm elections yielded mixed results for power-related matters across the U.S. Voters in Arizona shot down a measure that would have expanded the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to… Read More Sponsored Content GE's H-class turbines power the world on less fuel […]

The midterm elections yielded mixed results for power-related matters across the U.S. Voters in Arizona shot down a measure that would have expanded the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 50% by 2030, but voters in Nevada overwhelmingly backed a similar measure, adding it to a growing list of states that have sought 50% RPS […]

Residents of Texas living downwind of coal-fired power plants would be far better off today if regulators had focused on cutting particle-forming SO2 emissions rather than concentrating so keenly on ozone-causing emissions, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Rice University in Houston, Texas. The head of the study, environmental engineer Daniel Cohan, […]

Xcel Energy said it will buy a natural gas-fired power plant in Minnesota from Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co. The $650 million deal for the Mankato Energy Center puts Xcel in charge of a facility from which it has purchased power since the plant’s first unit came online in 2006. A second unit […]

FuelCell Energy has entered into a $37 million deal to acquire Dominion Energy’s 14.9-MW fuel cell project in Bridgeport, Connecticut, a project it developed and built, and has operated since it began operations in December 2013.  The project, one of the largest of its kind in the world, is powered by five Direct FuelCell stationary […]

Entergy Louisiana, Cleco Power, and Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) have secured a power sales agreement (PSA) to buy power generated by the 80-MW Toledo Bend hydroelectric plant—but only for five years.  The Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) on October 26 approved the PSA, providing new life, albeit briefly, for the 1963-licensed Toledo Bend project, […]

Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO) last week told state regulators it plans to retire four coal-fired units at its Wheatfield plant by 2023, a coal-fired unit in Michigan City by 2028, and increase its generation from renewables as part of its “Your Energy, Your Future” initiative. The company’s latest Integrated Resource Plan filed on October […]

November 1, 2018 PJM: Fuel Supply Resilience Is Sound Fuel delivery systems in PJM Interconnection’s vast footprint can generally withstand an extended period of stress and remain reliable, though extreme scenarios could impact the grid, the nation’s largest system… Read More Sponsored Content GE helps get power flowing again faster after storms GE's Energy Management […]

Fuel delivery systems in PJM Interconnection’s vast footprint can generally withstand an extended period of stress and remain reliable, though extreme scenarios could impact the grid, the nation’s largest system operator concluded in a high-profile study.  PJM, whose system covers 13 states and 65 million people, launched the study this May as the federal government, […]

Duke Energy has brought the first power block of its new $1.5 billion combined cycle gas plant in Citrus County, Florida, online. Duke said the facility located north of Crystal River—an area long known as home to the now-closed Crystal River Nuclear Plant—is among the largest combined cycle projects in the country, and it is […]

A study from a London-based group focused on financial aspects of the energy industry said up to $60 billion of coal-fired power generation assets may be stranded in Southeast Asia in the next 10 years. The study released this week by Carbon Tracker said renewable energy resources and more-stringent environmental policies make investments in new […]

After Hurricane Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida, as a category 4 storm on October 10, it moved across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and southeastern Virginia on October 11, and finally out into the Atlantic on October 12. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration office, the storm […]