POWERnews

  A newly established U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) office dedicated to cybersecurity, energy security, and emergency response may be a signal that it is elevating its focus on emerging grid threats. The Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) will use $96 million in funding included in President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget […]

A business group geared toward sustainable energy says renewable sources of energy for the first time are generating nearly as much power as the entire fleet of U.S. nuclear reactors. The Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), along with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, on February 15 released the sixth edition of its Sustainable Energy in […]

The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2019 budget request released February 12 asks for more money to support fossil fuel-based power systems, but seeks funding below current levels for other energy initiatives, including renewable energy and energy efficiency. The energy funding is part of a $4.4 trillion budget that features large increases in military spending, along […]

The budget bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in the early hours of February 9 extends a host of tax credits for energy technologies, including provisions to help the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia as well as U.S. carbon-capture projects. The legislation also provides support for renewable energy, including for small wind […]

February 8, 2018 AEP, American Power Giant, Sets Goal to Slash Carbon Emissions 80% by 2050 American Electric Power (AEP), one of the nation’s largest power generators, will pursue a strategy to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 60% from 2000 levels by 2030, and… Read More NRG Sells Renewables Assets, 3.6 GW of […]

The number of gas turbines operating around the world is growing steadily. In this environment, the number of power sector workers new to gas turbines is also expanding, and a review of what can go wrong with this equipment is useful. Although gas turbines vary, all have a common set of operational challenges. Knowing what […]

Microgrid deployment is rapidly taking hold worldwide, a new report from Navigant Research suggests. As of the fourth quarter of 2017, the research group’s Microgrid Deployment Tracker had identified 1,869 projects—representing a total capacity of 20.7 GW—operating, under development, or proposed across 123 countries worldwide. That compares to 18 GW of microgrid capacity identified in […]

After decades of lethargic power demand—and negative growth in 2017—U.S. electricity use is expected to grow steadily through 2050, driven by a healthy economy and increasing efficiency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects in its Annual Electricity Outlook 2018 (AEO2018). However, during that period, direct-use generation will outpace growth in retail sales as more […]

NRG Energy, in a bid to shed $7 billion in consolidated debt, is selling the bulk of its renewable assets and development platforms along with several coal and natural gas power plants worth 3.6 GW tied to its South Central Generating business. The independent power producer, which recently relinquished bankrupt wholesale generator GenOn Energy to […]

Shareholders of Mississippi Power will have to absorb the majority of outstanding costs resulting from the scuttled Kemper County coal gasification project, as the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) on February 6 approved a settlement for the remaining liabilities associated with the much-touted “clean coal” plant. Mississippi Power in a statement said it “is pleased […]

Virginia lawmakers are weighing legislation that would give the state more control over utilities, with some of the measures developed in concert with power companies. State legislators are discussing the proposals, some of which are designed to lift a freeze on utility rates, which could bring refunds for ratepayers—although others warn it could cause rates […]

American Electric Power (AEP), one of the nation’s largest power generators, will pursue a strategy to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 60% from 2000 levels by 2030, and 80% from 2000 levels by 2050. AEP expects to achieve carbon reductions through a variety of actions, including investments in renewable generation and advanced technologies […]

Exelon Generation will shutter its Oyster Creek Generating Station in October 2018—more than a year before it is required to close the single-unit reactor as part of an agreement with the state of New Jersey. Exelon agreed in 2010 to close the unit by December 2019—10 years before its license to operate expires—after it decided […]

February 1, 2018 20th Annual ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition Join us as we celebrate 20 years of providing the education, training, products and services necessary for power generation facilities to stay productive, profitable, efficient and safe.  Read More What is the future of energy in the digital age? The energy landscape is rapidly changing. […]

Two more U.S. nuclear power plants are facing early retirement, joining a string of generators whose fate was determined by market conditions, political pressure, or financial stresses assailing the sector. Several others may be poised to join them. The 647-MW Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Palo, Iowa, will likely close in 2025 after a current […]

February 1, 2018 Report: Trump Wants Deep Cuts in Clean Energy Programs Documents obtained by The Washington Post show the Trump administration is prepared to ask Congress to cut the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) renewable energy and energy efficiency programs by as… Read More What is the future of energy in the digital age? The […]

China’s State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission reorganized and transferred China Nuclear Engineering & Construction Corp. (CNEC) to China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) on January 31, forming a new giant in the nuclear power industry. The combined company is estimated to have nearly $100 billion in combined assets and almost 150,000 employees, according to data […]

Documents obtained by The Washington Post show the Trump administration is prepared to ask Congress to cut the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) renewable energy and energy efficiency programs by as much as 72% in fiscal year 2019. The newspaper in a January 31 report says Congress likely would not support many of the cuts, but […]

U.S. utilities continue to send workers to Puerto Rico to help restore that country’s electricity and rebuild its power infrastructure, a task that continues more than four months after back-to-back hurricanes left nearly all of the island in the dark. The Puerto Rican government this week said 83% of the island’s generation capacity has been […]

Overwhelmed by low wholesale power prices and changing customer needs in the Pacific Northwest, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) on January 30 unveiled a lifeline it hopes will allow it to remain commercially afloat. While the nonprofit federal power marketer headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is part of the Department of Energy, it is self-funding and […]

The future of advanced reactors in the U.S. will remain murky unless the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) takes four key steps to support innovation and commercialization of new technology, three key industry groups have warned. U.S. leadership of nuclear technology is “at risk,” and if changes aren’t made it will lose its standing as a […]

The nuclear power industry is struggling in the U.S. Several reactors are at risk of early closure due to difficulty competing in the wholesale power markets. New units being built in South Carolina have been abandoned, while the only other nuclear construction project in the U.S.—the Plant Vogtle expansion in Georgia—is behind schedule and over […]

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) President and CEO Ralph Izzo gave NRG Energy a tongue-lashing for its pointed opposition of subsidies for PSEG’s two New Jersey nuclear power plants. The tense moment at a January 25 legislative hearing that sought to revive the measure is illustrative of a growing chasm within the power sector about the […]

Can you remember the first car or motorbike you owned? The irresistible look and feel of its solid steel construction, and your proud feeling during the first drive through your brightly lit city. What about your last hard day at work? Pouring cup after cup of coffee from a glass pot into your ceramic mug, trying […]

January 25, 2018 Experts: Innovative Financial Models Bolstering Rapid Growth of DERs The rapid growth of distributed energy resources (DERs) is spawning new financing models that could send growth for the fledgling sector soaring, upending the power sector at an even more… Read More SCANA Sale in Doubt as Questions Swirl Several possible suitors for […]

Cybersecurity is a topic covered frequently in the pages of POWER magazine, and one that all power plants need to take seriously. A recent simulation proved that the consequences of a hack can be grave. The drill took place in Sweden, but could have been conducted anywhere in the world. The attack used plant control […]

The rapid growth of distributed energy resources (DERs) is spawning new financing models that could send growth for the fledgling sector soaring, upending the power sector at an even more breakneck pace. Industry executives at Distributech 2018 in San Antonio, Texas, this week noted that several trends are driving the growth of DERs, which are […]

A lawsuit challenging subsidies for New York’s nuclear plants will head to trial after the state’s  Supreme Court rejected motions to dismiss it. The measure deals a small setback for Exelon Corp., whose subsidiaries own the R.E Ginna and Nine Mile Point nuclear plants in upstate New York. Defendants in the lawsuit also include Entergy […]

Several possible suitors for SCANA Corp. emerged last fall when it became evident the South Carolina utility needed a lifeline, after SCANA subsidiary South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. (SCE&G) and state-owned Santee Cooper pulled the plug on the V.C. Summer nuclear project (Figure 1). Now the question is whether those who lost out to […]

The global solar industry on January 23 reacted to President Trump’s announcement on Monday that the U.S. will enact a 30% tariff this year on imports of solar cells and modules, a levy that could begin as soon as next month. Some groups said they will take a “wait and see” approach to the charge, […]