POWERnews

A day after French utility EDF released a cost update for its Flamanville EPR reactor under construction in Normandy, France, claiming increases of a stunning $2.6 billion—bringing overall estimated costs for the advanced reactor to $10.5 billion—Italian power giant Enel formally withdrew its participation from that project and five other French EPR projects.

NRG Energy has given up a $1.2 billion plan to add a 744-MW pulverized coal unit to its Limestone Electric Generating Station near Jewett, Texas, saying low natural gas prices had rendered the project uneconomic.

Regulatory uncertainty concerning the disposal of coal ash has stalled coal ash recycling in the U.S. and kept levels below those reported in 2008 for a third consecutive year, suggests a new report from the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA).

Compared to projections from last year, an Early Release Overview of the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) Annual Energy Outlook 2013 (AEO2013) released on Wednesday foresees higher gas production and, with it, a higher share of gas generation by 2040. The outlook also projects a growing share of renewable and nuclear power, but dampened future coal use.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) on Friday announced that the nation’s first competitive lease sales on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for wind energy will be held next year. The lease sales cover 277,550 acres in two wind energy areas (WEAs) over federal waters along the Atlantic Coast that have a high wind resource potential.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced an award to support a new project to design, license, and help commercialize small modular reactors (SMR) in the U.S. The project supported by the award will be led by Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bechtel.

A report released on Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) surveying the U.S. coal-fired power sector says that retirements of older units, retrofits of existing units with pollution controls, and the construction of some new coal-fueled units are expected to significantly change the coal-fueled electricity generating fleet,  but that coal will likely remain a key fuel source through 2035.

A new report from the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) challenges claims by Mississippi Power Co. (MPC) that its 582-MW Kemper Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant under construction in Kemper County, Miss., is 70% complete, and suggests that the project is over budget and behind schedule in several respects.

A post-combustion polymeric membrane system that promises to separate and capture 90% of the carbon dioxide emitted from a pulverized coal plant has been successfully demonstrated and last week received approval from  the Department of Energy (DOE) to advance to a larger-scale field test.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) on Wednesday approved a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Cape Wind and NSTAR for 27% of power generated by the Cape Wind project, the nation’s first offshore wind farm.

A decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose new pollution limits on three coal-fired power plants in Arizona on Friday drew criticism from state officials, who said that the costly measure, which overrides the state’s regional haze plan, is designed to protect visibility, not public health.

The Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii) oversees a $508 billion initiative to establish 6,500 square miles of concentrated solar power plants in the vast African and Middle Eastern deserts. Those plants are expected to furnish a fifth of Europe’s power needs by 2050, but in recent weeks the Dii has seen the exit of two of its 57 partners from 16 countries and a project held up by the Spanish government.

Despite growing concern about cybersecurity both in and outside of Washington, the Senate’s cybersecurity bill died a second time on Nov. 13. The apparent inability of Congress to pass legislation designed to protect critical U.S. infrastructure could lead to President Barack Obama implementing some of the bill’s provisions via executive order. A day after the bill failed to gain 60 votes for passage, a recently declassified report was released that finds the U.S. power grid is vulnerable to attacks that could be more destructive than natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy.

In a project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy (OFE), researchers at The Ohio State University have developed what they call a groundbreaking new hybrid membrane that combines the separation performance of inorganic membranes with the cost-effectiveness of polymer membranes. The breakthrough technology has vast commercial potential for use at coal-fired power plants with carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), a key element in national efforts to mitigate climate change.

On Monday, as First Wind announced its 69-MW Kawailoa Wind Project had gone into commercial operations on Oahu, other news underscored the difficulty the island state faces in trying to substitute renewables for expensive, imported fossil fuels.

This week’s issue of POWERnews is coming to you earlier than usual because of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. We want to take this opportunity to thank all of our readers, contributors, advertisers, and other business partners for their continued support. As our industry continues to face an increasing number of challenges, our goal is to remain your most trusted source for information.

A reconsidered proposal issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday sets out slightly weakened emission limits for mercury, particulate matter (PM), acid gases, and certain individual metals for future coal- and oil-fired power plants.

With the election over, Congress has reconvened for a seven-week lame duck session. Among the energy measures expected to be tackled is legislation that would establish a framework for coal ash regulation. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to begin releasing pending rules again, and the wind industry continues pleading to extend the expiring production tax credit (PTC).

A $1.2 billion concentrated solar thermal project in Australia has been shelved after developers failed to secure a supply agreement and forfeited $500 million in federal and state funding.

An executive order signed by New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Monday establishes a commission to investigate the response, preparation, and management of New York’s power utility companies during recent major storms that have hit the state of the past two years, including Hurricanes Sandy and Irene, and Tropical Storm Lee. The mandate seeks to reform overlapping responsibilities of the state’s regulatory bodies, state agencies and authorities, and quasi-governmental bodies, which the governor’s office alleges have “contributed to a dysfunctional utility system.”

Despite a last-minute lawsuit filed by California’s Chamber of Commerce, the state on Wednesday held its first auction of carbon emissions permits, kicking off the nation’s first state-implemented cap-and-trade program that limits the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted by power plants, oil refineries, and other entities.

General Motors and Zurich-based ABB on Tuesday unveiled what they called “the next stage in battery reuse”: repackaging five used Chevrolet Volt batteries into a modular unit that has a power generation capacity of 25 kW for two hours. The companies said the unit could extend the life of electric vehicle (EV) batteries while being used as community energy storage.

A new report from the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) offers a state-by-state look at key developments that have shaped the renewable energy landscape, including information and planned capacity, markets, economic developments, resource potential, and policy.

Between 153 and 353 coal generation units in 31 states—a total capacity of between 16.4 GW and 59 GW—are less economical to operate than natural gas plants and may be "ripe for retirement," a study from the Union of Concerned Scientists (USC) suggests.

South Korea’s government on Monday shut down two nuclear reactors at the Yeonggwang nuclear complex owned by the state-owned Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), which it said were equipped with thousands of parts allegedly linked to forged quality and safety warranties.

Several nuclear power plants in the path of Hurricane Sandy, the "superstorm" that devastated parts of the East Coast last week, endured the hurricane-force winds and storm surges without significant impact, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has said.

Dominion Virginia Power on Friday asked the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to approve construction of a 1,358-MW combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant to replace power from aging coal plants that the company has deemed are not economically or environmentally sound to continue operating.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) on Wednesday unanimously determined that imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules from China materially injured the U.S. industry, clearing the way for the Commerce Department to issue antidumping and countervailing duties on billions of dollars of products from China for the next five years. However, the ITC’s determination finds no critical circumstances were present, which means duties on Chinese solar module imports won’t apply retroactively.

FuelCell Energy Inc. on Monday announced an order from its South Korean partner, POSCO Energy, for 121.8 MW of fuel cell kits and services to be manufactured at the FuelCell Energy production facility in Torrington, Conn. The company said this represents the largest order for both its company and the fuel cell industry.

Berkeley, Calif., startup LightSail Energy, which aims to produce “the world’s cleanest and most economical energy storage systems,” has secured $37.3 million in a Series D round that included three big-name investors: Bill Gates, Vinod Khosla, and Peter Thiel.