POWERnews

The operator of one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the Western U.S. will continue to run the facility, changing course about a year after a company executive said the plant was not economically viable. A spokesman for Talen Energy confirmed to POWER on August 9 that the company will continue to operate the […]

The December 2015 extension of the federal production tax credit (PTC) for wind power brought on a massive push for wind energy generation, according to the Department of Energy’s 2016 Wind Technologies Market Report. Nationwide, 8,203 MW of new capacity was added in 2016 and $13 billion was invested. “Supported by favorable tax policy and […]

Those waiting for a decision in the court case against the Clean Power Plan are going to have to wait a bit longer. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on August 8 ordered that the case, which pits a coalition of 27 states and numerous energy producers, utilities, and trade organizations […]

A federal judge on August 4 said the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) must dig up coal ash at one of its power plants and move it to a lined waste site. The order came in a suit filed by the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association (TSRA) and the Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN), who said coal […]

Given that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) isn’t going to be taking any substantial action to rewrite the Clean Power Plan anytime soon, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit should not postpone a decision in the court case against the rule, an August 4 document filed by a group of […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) again has a working quorum after the U.S. Senate confirmed Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson as new members August 3. FERC had been without a quorum since February 2017 when Commissioner Norman Bay resigned, and with only one member after Collette Honorable left the agency at the end of […]

Costs to build the two Vogtle AP1000 units under construction in Georgia could range between $18.3 billion and $19.8 billion—and for now, Southern Co. is pinning its hopes to complete the project on approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC). Southern Co. CEO Tom Fanning told investors in a second-quarter earnings call on August […]

DTE Energy has filed plans with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to build a 1,100-MW natural gas-fired power plant on about 100 acres east of the existing Belle River Power Plant, northeast of Detroit near the Canadian border. The August 1 filing confirms the proposal that DTE discussed with local officials last fall for […]

SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper have ceased construction of Units 2 and 3 at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina. The project owners said the decision, prompted by analysis of detailed schedule and cost data, would save customers nearly $7 billion. The project, which was about 64% complete, has been in limbo since […]

SCANA Corp. and state-owned utility Santee Cooper on July 27 said Toshiba has agreed to pay nearly $2.2 billion to cap its liabilities from the unfinished V.C. Summer nuclear project in South Carolina. Toshiba subsidiary Westinghouse, which was building two nuclear units at the Summer site along with the troubled Vogtle nuclear project in Georgia, […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has approved a new service agreement finalized by Westinghouse and Georgia Power for the Vogtle AP1000 units under construction in Georgia, though the agency reached a separate deal with Georgia Power on a loan guarantee agreement that will require the Southern Co. company to provide it with a solid cost […]

Wind power production continues to increase in the U.S., with a more than 40% increase in the number of wind projects under construction or in advanced development this year compared to the same time last year, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The group announced the figures during a July 27 meeting in […]

Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Report: Advanced Nuclear Tech Could Be Lifeline for Industry Advanced nuclear technology brought to fruition could produce electricity at an average levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) roughly 40% lower than conventional pressurized water reactors, according to a July 25 […]

A group representing several energy companies and ratepayers said it would appeal a federal judge’s ruling that upholds New York’s plan to subsidize nuclear power plants in the state. U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni on July 25 in Manhattan ruled that federal law does not preempt the state and its Public Service Commission (PSC) from […]

Advanced nuclear technology brought to fruition could produce electricity at an average levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) roughly 40% lower than conventional pressurized water reactors, according to a July 25 study by the Energy Innovation Reform Project and Energy Options Network (EON). “At these costs, nuclear would be effectively competitive with any other option for […]

When it comes to nuclear power, the U.S. is not living up to its potential, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told appropriators during a July 20 full committee markup of the Senate’s fiscal year 2018 (FY18) Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill. “When it comes to nuclear power, we’re just so far behind the times and […]

A Tennessee utility company on July 20 said tests on drinking water in the vicinity of a coal-fired power plant in Memphis showed no detectable evidence of arsenic, lead, and other toxins. The Sierra Club asked state officials to perform the tests after high levels of arsenic were found in monitoring wells at the Allen […]

Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Senate Subcommittee Rejects Trump’s ‘Unrealistic’ DOE Budget Request In negotiating the Senate’s fiscal year 2018 (FY18) Energy and Water (E&W) Development Appropriation’s bill, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee on energy and water development, had […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a $528 million cut to its funding under the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill reported out of committee July 18. While Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee expressed disappointment in the deep cut, it could have been worse. The Trump administration’s budget request, released in late May, proposed […]

In negotiating the Senate’s fiscal year 2018 (FY18) Energy and Water (E&W) Development Appropriation’s bill, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee on energy and water development, had no time for President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to the Department of Energy budget. “We started with an unrealistic budget proposal from the president. […]

The Trump administration wants to revitalize the coal industry, but they will not do so by imposing regulation on the natural gas industry, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry told reporters July 18 at a joint press conference with International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Would the Department of Energy (DOE) be a participant in […]

A spokesman for Dominion Energy said the company will begin working on a new plan for dealing with leaking piles of coal ash at a retired coal plant in Virginia after a federal judge ruled the company’s current remediation at the site is not acceptable. U.S. District Judge John Gibney Jr. on July 13 ordered […]

A federal judge has let stand Illinois’ zero-emission credit (ZEC) program, dismissing challenges filed by power producers who said the initiative subsidizes nuclear power at the expense of other resources. Judge Manish S. Shah of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 14 ruled in favor of motions by the […]

Dynegy this week announced it will sell three more power plants to reduce debt as it works to satisfy an agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reached after the company’s $3.3 billion purchase of French energy giant Engie’s U.S.-based assets earlier this year. Houston, Texas-based Dynegy said it has agreed to sell its […]

Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide NRG’s New Plan: Sell Assets, Change Focus, Raise Cash NRG Energy said it will sell as much as $4 billion in assets as it seeks to lower its debt and cut costs after a revolt by activist investors unhappy […]

NRG Energy said it will sell as much as $4 billion in assets as it seeks to lower its debt and cut costs after a revolt by activist investors unhappy with the company’s direction. Shares of the company jumped 29% to a two-year high on July 12 after NRG announced the moves as part of […]

House of Representatives appropriators July 12 took up their responses to President Donald Trump’s controversial fiscal year 2018 (FY18) budget requests for the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Both bills were favorably reported out of their respective markups. The House FY18 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, which funds DOE, came […]

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has announced plans to reintroduce legislation called the FUTURE Act, which would extend and expand the federal 45Q tax credit for carbon dioxide capture and sequestration. The bill has the support of both fossil fuel companies and environmental groups. At present, the 45Q provision awards $10 per metric ton […]

Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO) said it will hold off on installing wastewater pollution controls at its largest coal plant in Indiana as industry groups continue to challenge the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) ruling that led to the installation plan. NIPSCO asked Indiana regulators in November 2016 to approve a $400 million plan for […]

The U.S. currently has only one commercial offshore wind farm, the five-turbine, 30-MW Block Island Wind Farm. While the nation is off to a slow start in the offshore wind energy race, it is possible that the U.S. could eclipse the world leader in the industry, Europe, according to Ross Tyler of the Business Network […]