POWERnews

Hands down, 2015 was a record year for global investment in renewable energy. Excluding large hydroelectric projects, the amount of money committed to renewables rose 5%, to $285.9 billion, exceeding the previous record of $278.5 billion reached in 2011.

Uncertainty concerning a number of environmental rules is clouding planning measures, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said on May 3. Citing its latest Capacity, Demand, and Reserves (CDR) report—a snapshot of existing and planned resources and load forecasts for the next 10 years—the grid entity that manages about 90% of Texas’ electric load […]

France’s nuclear sector was rocked to its core on May 4 when the country’s Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) announced that state-owned nuclear manufacturer Areva had confessed to “irregularities in the manufacturing checks” on about 400 parts produced since 1965, about 50 of which are still in service in France. ASN said in a statement that […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) internally recognizes that a power grid failure resulting from an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or a solar storm can pose great risk to the security of the nation, but it hasn’t prepared adequately, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a newly released report. The GAO’s 68-page report, “Federal Agencies […]

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) anticipates extending Salem Nuclear Generating Station’s Unit 1 refueling outage, which began on April 14, so it can inspect, repair, and replace damaged baffle bolts within the plant’s reactor vessel, according to information presented in the company’s first quarter earnings announcement. A PSEG spokesperson told POWER that visual inspections at […]

Duke Energy’s request to increase the generating capacity of Unit 1 at its Catawba Nuclear Station by 1.7% by more precisely measuring feedwater flow has been approved by federal regulators. Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) found on May 4 that Duke Energy could safely increase the reactor’s output “primarily through more accurate means […]

Dynegy Inc. announced on May 3 that it plans to shut down multiple Illinois coal-fueled units due mainly to the failure of the plants to recover basic operating costs in recent Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) capacity auctions. According to the company, the generation that will be lost is 2,800 MW—about 30% of the total […]

Development of a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) took a significant step forward this week with a license application submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on April 28 by Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS), with support from AREVA, for a CISF in Andrews County, Texas.

Seven workers have reportedly died from an April 20 incident at Adani Power’s coal-fired 4.6-GW Mundra power plant in Gujarat, India, that involved a pipeline hot water release. The accident occurred at about 11:15 a.m. on April 20 as Unit 4, one of the ultra mega power plant’s nine 660-MW units, was being restarted after […]

Throwing yet another twist into a long-running saga, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on April 27 blocked a pair of power purchase agreements (PPAs) that would have supported continued operation of FirstEnergy’s Davis-Besse nuclear plant and several aging coal-fired plants belonging to FirstEnergy and AEP. The Pubic Utilities Commission of Ohio approved the PPAs […]

China’s National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration on April 25 suspended or slowed plans for more than 100 GW of coal-fired capacity across the country in a bid to rein in overcapacity in the generation sector and bolster efforts to improve air quality. The order affects around 200 plants currently in development […]

Operators at RWE’s Gundremmingen plant northwest of Munich moved to shut down the reactor this week after malware was discovered in the plant fuel handling network. The utility said the shutdown was a precaution and the plant was not believed to be in danger. Unlike previous malware attacks on power plants this year, the infection […]

The U.S. Senate passed an amendment on April 26 that would restore funding for wind energy research and development (R&D) in fiscal year 2017 to $96.4 million—the same amount funded this fiscal year. The amendment passed by a vote of 54–42 as part of Senate consideration of the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies […]

On April 27, 2016, Siemens’ century-old factory in Berlin will celebrate the shipment of its 1,000th in-house-produced gas turbine.

  A recent motion filed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking a federal court to remand parts of its final coal combustion residuals (CCR) rule could have major new consequences for the power sector if upheld, an expert has said. In its 16-page motion filed on April 18, the agency asked the U.S. Court of Appeals […]

GE is doubling down on industrial markets, as its efforts to acquire the drilling unit of Halliburton and its two acquisitions in the power space this month demonstrate.

Executives from power companies operating in different markets revealed how their firms are being affected by low natural gas prices, pressures to achieve fuel diversity, distributed energy generation, and lax demand growth, among a number of topics. The annual executive roundtable panel at the ELECTRIC POWER Conference and Exhibition on April 19 was moderated by […]

  Even if the Clean Power Plan (CPP) doesn’t overcome legal challenges, it is likely that many states will implement carbon-curbing measures set down by the rule, some panelists said at the Environmental Mega Session at the ELECTRIC POWER 2016 conference in New Orleans on April 19. The Rule’s Shaky Legal Standing The rule is […]

The volume and value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the first quarter of this year have soared, according to the accounting and financial consulting firm PwC. According to PwC’s quarterly snapshot, American Power & Utilities Deals: Q1 2016, “The first quarter was the most active for power and utilities in recent history, with 22 […]

By an 85-12 vote, the U.S. Senate passed the first comprehensive energy bill in nearly a decade, bringing a successful conclusion to months of legislative effort and overcoming a series of roadblocks in the full Senate related to the water quality crisis in Flint, Mich. The product of more than a year of bipartisan work […]

Two senior power sector executives opened the 2016 ELECTRIC POWER Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans April 19 with a message that generators need to “think big” and embrace possibilities of disruptive technologies—or risk being run over on the road to the future. Leo Denault, chairman and CEO of Entergy Corp., delivered the opening keynote […]

In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision that a program Maryland initiated in 2012 to subsidize power plant construction impermissibly invaded the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) authority over interstate power markets. The case, Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing, grew out of a decision by the Maryland Public Service […]

Public benefits offered by the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) far outweigh the costs, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said as it released a review of the 2012-finalized rule’s cost implications. The final cost consideration—released just days before power plants that received a one-year extension must come into compliance with the rule—was prompted by […]

Subcommittees of the U.S House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate separately advanced appropriations bills that lay out funding priorities for the Department of Energy (DOE) and other energy-related measures for 2017. The House Energy and Water Subcommittee, a panel of the Appropriations Committee, passed a $37.4 billion bill to fund the DOE as well […]

Financially bruised Peabody Energy Corp.—the world’s largest privately owned coal mining firm—is seeking bankruptcy protection. The St. Louis–headquartered company filed for voluntary Chapter 11 protection in a desperate attempt to strengthen liquidity and reduce debt amid what it says has been an “unprecedented industry downturn.” It filed petitions for most of its U.S. entities in […]

S. Alam Group has suspended work at the site of a proposed 1,224-MW coal-fired power station in Chittagong, Bangladesh, due to safety concerns following a rally that ended with four protesters dead on April 4. According to multiple sources, groups opposing construction of the plant agreed on April 10 to halt their activities for 15 […]

In April’s editorial, “When Technology Tails Wag Power Dogs,” Editor Gail Reitenbach mused about whether the use of captured carbon dioxide (CO2) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) represents a viable way forward for carbon capture, use, and sequestration (CCUS). This is a subject both of us have covered in various ways over the past few […]

After 64 years as a landmark in Wilmington, N.C., one of three boiler units at Duke Energy’s retired coal-fired L.V. Sutton Plant crumpled in a dusty heap of contorted steel and splintered glass on April 10. The implosion is the first of three similar events to take place at the Sutton Plant. The next is […]

A plan to restructure $9 billion in Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) debt—an eighth of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s staggering $72 billion in debt—surfaced at the U.S. territory’s energy regulator, the Puerto Rico Energy Commission last week on April 7.

Power News Don't miss these POWER magazine resources: Post Jobs | View Jobs | Buyers' Guide Aliso Canyon Gas Leak May Imperil Summer Reliability, CAISO Says In a joint report issued April 5, a group of California agencies and utilities said that if the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility north of Los Angeles cannot […]