POWERnews

A federal court has denied the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) petition for the full court’s review of a November 2013 decision suspending payments into the Nuclear Waste Fund.  The decision culminates a legal dispute initiated by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the industry group, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), in 2010. The […]

Germany’s biggest utility E.ON will shutter nearly 13 GW of capacity—more than a quarter of its conventional fleet in Europe—to offset the “negative effects of a difficult economic and regulatory environment” in the European Union (EU), CEO Johannes Teyssen said on Wednesday.  The company released gloomy financial year results for 2013, reporting a 14% drop […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Friday directed the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to develop reliability standards requiring owners and operators of the bulk power system to address risks due to physical security threats and vulnerabilities.  The standards will require owners and operators of the bulk power system to take at least […]

Janet McCabe, a top air regulation official at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defended the agency’s carbon rule for new power plants at a House hearing on Wednesday, even as industry witnesses countered that technology does not yet exist to meet the regulatory requirements. The EPA’s acting assistant administrator for air and radiation reiterated the […]

When California’s solar power production peaked at 4,093 MW on Mar. 8, it set a new record, supplying nearly 18% of the state’s electricity demand at the time. California is the largest producer of solar power in the nation with 5,231 MW of installed capacity. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, 2,621 MW of […]

March 11 marked the third anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck the east coast of Japan. Within days of that event, with no backup power, cooling systems failed at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (TEPCO’s) Fukushima Daiichi plant, leading to meltdowns and hydrogen explosions at Units 1, 2, and 3.  But […]

A federal bankruptcy judge in New York gave final approval to Edison Mission Energy’s (EME’s) Chapter 11 reorganization plan on Mar. 11, one that involves the sale of all assets and subsidiaries to NRG Energy for $2.6 billion. The deal—involving 42 plants and 8.9 GW of net generation nationwide—makes NRG the largest merchant plant owner […]

U.S. energy infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to acute weather events and long-term changes in the climate, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a new report. Options to help reduce those risks include measures to improve its durability and resiliency. The Mar. 4–released report titled “Energy Infrastructure Risks and Adaption Efforts,” cites data from the National Research […]

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy underscored the agency’s collaboration with the energy sector as it develops environmental rules in her keynote address at IHS CERAweek in Houston on Thursday. While her focus was centered on the proposed New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, POWERnews asked about the status of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued its annual assessment of the nation’s 100 operating commercial nuclear power plants on Mar. 6. The results—for performance through 2013—showed that 80 plants were meeting all safety and security standards, while nine more were doing well enough to warrant only slight additional oversight due to one or two items […]

At a keynote address at CERAweek 2014 in Houston, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz reiterated the Obama administration’s support for all U.S. fuel sources while pursuing a low-carbon future but rarely mentioned nuclear power. Prompted by POWERnews, Moniz later outlined the administration’s actions to address spent nuclear waste.  Following the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in November 2013 […]

In its preliminary Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) for the summer of 2014, the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said that more than 2 GW of new combined cycle plants coming online this summer will “significantly reduce the likelihood of scarcity conditions.” The region has struggled with its reserve margins for years, and […]

Maryland-based United States Enrichment Corp. (USEC) formally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Mar. 5. The action has been expected since last December. USEC’s finances have been hammered by persistently low prices and weak demand for low-enriched uranium (LEU), as well by difficulties with a long-delayed project to develop a new centrifuge enrichment technology in […]

Cleanup of the Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill is one step closer to completion. On Mar. 3, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced that a retaining wall surrounding a 240-acre ash containment cell was completed nearly a month ahead of schedule. Kingston was the site of the worst coal ash release in U.S. history […]

President Obama submitted his fiscal year 2015 budget proposal on Mar. 4. In it, tax subsidies for fossil fuel companies were under the knife, as was the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) piece of the pie. In the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) overview, it was noted that clean energy technologies are expected to spur future economic […]

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The aftermath of two spills from a coal ash storage pond at Duke Energy’s Dan River Steam Station in North Carolina this month, which saw about 35,000 tons of ash flood into the Dan River, may lead to a crackdown by North Carolina state regulators and will likely affect the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) decision-making […]

Federal judge Walter S. Smith, Jr. ruled on Feb. 26 that Luminant had not violated the Clean Air Act (CAA) at its Big Brown Power Plant in Freestone County, Tex., as had been claimed in a Sierra Club lawsuit. Filed in May 2012, the lawsuit alleged that from July 2007 to the present certain emissions […]

The Gyeonggi Green Energy facility, a 59-MW fuel cell park in Hwasung City, South Korea, commenced commercial operation on Feb. 19. The plant consists of 21 2.8-MW hydrogen fuel cells supplied by FuelCell Energy of Danbury, Conn. The 5.1-acre facility in Gyeonggi Province, along the country’s northwest coast, is owned and operated by POSCO Energy, the […]

On Feb. 24, President Obama approved a proposed agreement with Vietnam, which would allow for cooperation between the two countries concerning peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The agreement has been in the works for some time and will now undergo a 90-day Congressional review period. Secretary of State John Kerry originally signed the deal with […]

In a surprising deal, the developer of a proposed $1 billion natural gas–fired power plant in Salem, Mass., has agreed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the new facility annually over its 40-year lifespan to meet state climate change mandates—and to permanently shutter the plant by 2050.  The settlement reached between New Jersey–based Footprint […]

A plan developed by Oklahoma to address regional haze that was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week will force Public Service Co. of Oklahoma (PSO) to shutter two coal units by 2026. The agency on Feb. 10 approved Oklahoma’s state implementation plan (SIP) to control regional haze from two coal units owned […]

On Feb. 17, Babcock & Wilcox Co. (B&W) and TerraPower announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support the development of the traveling wave reactor (TWR). The TWR is a Generation IV commercial reactor design that uses depleted uranium as fuel. The 1,150-MW liquid sodium-cooled fast reactor is different from typical light […]

It has been a long time coming, but U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz will travel to Waynesboro, Ga., Feb. 20, to mark the issuance of approximately $6.5 billion in loan guarantees for the construction of two new nuclear reactors at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant. A conditional loan guarantee was offered for […]

Duke Energy announced on Feb. 17 that it was preparing to sell its interests in 13 power plants in the Midwestern U.S. and exit the commercial generation market in that region. “Our merchant power plants have delivered volatile returns in the challenging competitive market in the Midwest,” said Lynn Good, president, CEO, and vice chairman […]

California leads the nation in installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, with almost 150,000 systems large and small in operation and more than 2 GW of total capacity. Worldwide, California would rank 7th in installed solar capacity (PV and thermal) were it a separate country. All that activity is leading to some major changes in the […]

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Station, the world’s largest concentrating solar power (CSP) facility, was dedicated Thursday afternoon at a ceremony keynoted by U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. In his remarks, Moniz hailed the Obama administration’s leadership on supporting renewable energy projects. “President Obama and the Department of Energy [DOE] are committed to ensuring […]

The first generation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies could increase wholesale power prices by 70% to 80%, but second generation technologies could halve those costs, an Energy Department official told lawmakers at a House hearing on Tuesday. “I continue to believe that coal is actually a required part of a vibrant American economy—part […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking comment on its interpretation of provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005), which it claims do not alter the agency’s determination that the best system to reduce carbon emissions for new coal and gas-fired power plants is partial carbon capture and storage (CCS).  The issue […]

Scientists at the  U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have achieved a significant milestone in the development of fusion energy: achieving fuel gains greater than 1 for the first time ever at any facility. Ignition—when the energy released is equal to or greater than the energy required to confine the fuel—remains the […]