POWERnews

The FIFA World Cup 2010—a month-long soccer tournament that is arguably the biggest sports event on the planet—officially kicked off on Friday in South Africa. As grid operators and utilities all over the globe braced for power consumption surges, some governments went to lengths to enable fans to enjoy uninterrupted coverage of the matches.

Burning forest trees for power can result in an initial “carbon debt” because it releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per unit of energy than oil, coal, or natural gas, before it reduces carbon dioxide, sometimes over decades, according to a six-month-long study commissioned by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER).

A new rule for sulfur dioxide (SO₂) set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday sets a new one-hour health standard, changes monitoring requirements, and modifies the Air Quality Index. Full implementation of revised primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for SO₂ by 2020 could cost the electric power industry nearly $700 million a year, the agency said.

A report released last week by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identifies cyber attacks, pandemics, and electromagnetic disturbances as “high-impact, low-frequency” (HILF) risks that could significantly affect the reliability of the North American bulk power system.

The ability to detect and track the movement of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in underground geologic storage reservoirs—an important component of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology—has been successfully demonstrated at a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) New Mexico test site.

Geothermal developer AltaRock Energy and Davenport Newberry, a company specializing in the development and management of geothermal opportunities, announced plans this week to conduct a demonstration of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) technology at a site located near Bend, Ore.

The U.S. market for small wind turbines expanded by 15% in 2009 and accounted for about half of the units sold globally, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

PPL Corp.’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Luzerne County, Pa., is the nation’s largest boiling water reactor (BWR) in terms of thermal power and generating capacity, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The plant’s Unit 1, which recently completed equipment and system upgrades during a recent scheduled refueling and maintenance outage, boasts 3,952 MWth and 1,300 MWe when operating at full capacity.

Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) and the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) on Tuesday asked the Arkansas Supreme Court for a rehearing, after the high court last month overturned a 2007 permit awarded by the PSC to the utility’s 600-MW John W. Turk, Jr. power plant. SWEPCO said that it plans to continue construction of the $1.7 billion project—the nation’s first ultrasupercritical coal plant—to meet its commitments to serve the company’s customers in three states.

CMS Energy subsidiary Consumers Energy last week announced that it is deferring the development of an 830-MW coal-fired power plant planned for Hampton Township. State regulators had last year approved an air permit for the $2 billion-plus project on the condition that it use stringent emission controls and that it was ready for carbon capture and sequestration when the technology was feasible.

Mississippi Power Co. on Thursday said it would proceed with plans to build a 582-MW integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant as proposed in Kemper County after the Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) relaxed restrictions it had placed on the project.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday dismissed without rehearing, on procedural grounds, a controversial climate change “public nuisance” case in which 14 individuals had filed a class-action lawsuit against insurance, coal, and chemical companies, seeking relief for property damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina.

Depressed power demand due to a slow economic recovery will continue to be a major driver affecting bulk power system reliability during the summer months, the North American Reliability Corp. (NERC) said last week in its annual summer reliability assessment report.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on Monday said completing one of two unfinished units at the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in north Alabama would be preferred over building a new Westinghouse AP1000 reactor there, or taking no action.

New Jersey’s largest utility, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) on Tuesday filed an Early Site Permit (ESP) application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a possible nuclear power plant adjacent to the company’s Salem and Hope Creek Generating Stations in that state.

GE on Monday said it had struck a deal with the Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. (LEEDCo ) to provide direct-drive wind turbines and maintenance services for the Ohio company’s 20-MW proposed freshwater offshore wind farm in the Great Lakes.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week released action plans developed by 16 utilities describing measures the facilities are taking to make their coal ash impoundments safer.

The Virginia Court of Appeals on Tuesday unanimously approved an air emissions permit granted to Dominion Virginia Power’s 585-MW Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, a coal-fired plant that is 63% complete.

Michigan regulators on Friday denied Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative’s air quality permit for a new 600-MW power plant, fueled primarily by petroleum coke and coal, in Rogers City. The state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) decision was based on findings of the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), which said the company failed to demonstrate the plant was needed to meet future supply.

Nonprofit Ohio utility American Municipal Power (AMP) last week said it would begin shutting down the 213-MW Richard H. Gorsuch Generating Station (RHGS), a 1950’s vintage coal-fired power plant located near Marietta, Ohio, as part of a New Source Review (NSR) settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Renewables will be the fastest-growing source of energy throughout the world over the next 28 years, helping to meet a projected 49% increase in world energy use, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). But, the agency also found in its International Energy Outlook 2010 released on Tuesday that fossil fuels could meet more than three-fourths of total energy needs in 2035, if current policies remain unchanged.

The U.S. Energy Department last week offered French firm AREVA a conditional $2 billion loan guarantee to facilitate financing of a uranium enrichment facility planned for development near Idaho Falls, Idaho.

The Arkansas Supreme Court last week upheld a state appellate court decision that had previously overturned, on technical grounds, a permit authorizing construction of Southwestern Electric Power Co.’s (SWEPCO’s) 600-MW John W. Turk Jr. coal-fired power plant in Hempstead County. The decision could pose a serious setback for the project—the nation’s first ultrasupercritical plant—that is under construction and almost a third complete.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 13 finalized the so-called "Tailoring Rule," regulations that would implement certain Clean Air Act (CAA) permitting programs for electric power plants, refineries, and other major "stationary sources" that emit at least 100,000 tons per year of greenhouse gases (GHGs).

Last week brought news about new nuclear power projects from Turkey, Jordan, and Mexico.

The UK’s Liberal Democrats—a party long-opposed to nuclear power—last week said it would abstain from voting against construction of new nuclear power plants in that country, as long as they are privately funded.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the State of California on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to coordinate procedures and schedules for review of hydrokinetic energy projects off the California coast.

Dominion Virginia Power on Friday said it had selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ (MHI’s) U.S-specific version of the Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor (US-APWR) for its proposed unit at North Anna Power Station in central Virginia. The selection was the result of a competitive process launched by the utility last year.

Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission (PSC) on Tuesday said it had authorized Wisconsin Power and Light Co. (WPL) to spend $150 million to install additional emissions reduction technology at Edgewater Generating Station Unit 5.

The U.S. Energy Department on Friday announced it would grant $62 million to 13 concentrating solar power (CSP) projects. The funds are expected to support improvements in CSP systems, components, and thermal energy storage and accelerate the market-readiness of the renewable energy technology.