POWERnews

The Scottish government has approved an application to operate a 4-MW wave energy project that would harness power from the Atlantic Ocean in Siadar Bay—one of the first marine renewable energy projects to be approved in the UK.

The $825 billion economic stimulus bill rolled out last week by House Democrats includes $19.96 billion of tax incentives for wind and solar energy, $53.75 billion for direct spending on energy technology programs largely focused on energy efficiency and on the national grid, and $18.27 billion for water and environmental spending.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week announced it would loan up to $300 million to Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s demonstration project to capture carbon dioxide at its Antelope Valley Station near Beulah, N.D.

GE-Hitachi is reportedly expecting to get orders for six to eight nuclear power reactors in India while Larsen & Tourbo (L&T) and Westinghouse Electric Co. announced Friday they would jointly build Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurized water reactors and seek orders in the country.

Mississippi Power last week filed for a certificate of public convenience and necessity at the Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) to build a 582-MW integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant in Kemper County. The plant represents the first advanced gasification generating facility with carbon capture capabilities in Mississippi, and one of the first in the country.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), an oil-rich region that is preparing to accommodate a 9% annual growth in power consumption, last week signed separate agreements with the U.S. and Japan for the potential development of nuclear power.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) last week unanimously granted approval for 345-kV transmission lines sought for the proposed $1.6 billion Big Stone II coal-fired plant in South Dakota.

Electricité de France (EDF) last week mobilized all its nuclear, hydraulic, and thermal energy generation resources in order to meet France’s climbing electricity consumption, which resulted from an exceptional bout of cold weather.

Weeks after a containment pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant ruptured and caused a massive coal ash flood, the federal utility is now also working to repair a gypsum pond at its Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Alabama, after gypsum slurry overflowed into the creek Friday.

Investment research firm Morningstar Inc. named Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. as its 2008 CEO of the Year, citing key investments in energy companies such as General Electric and Constellation Energy as reasons that cemented the award.

Almost a week after Russia’s state-run gas export monopoly Gazprom cut nearly its entire capacity of natural gas exports to Europe over a pricing dispute with neighboring Ukraine, the countries hard hit by the halt in supply are looking for ways to wean themselves from Russian gas.

Entergy Nuclear on Friday temporarily suspended reviews of two new nuclear license applications specific to GE-Hitachi’s Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR), while Dominion said it will explore alternative nuclear power options for its proposed North Anna Unit 3 in Virginia.

Illinois on Monday effected legislation that creates a framework for developing coal gasification projects with carbon dioxide capture and storage, and which requires emissions from these electric generation facilities to be as clean as those from natural gas generators.

As the Florida Public Service Commission reportedly considered implementing a “clean” standard, not just a “renewable” standard, last week FPL Energy changed its name to better reflect its green credentials.

In a major economic stimulus speech at Virginia’s George Mason University on Thursday, President-elect Barack Obama pledged to boost production of alternative energy and improve energy efficiency. He also urged the nation to begin building a smart grid.

Dynegy Inc. and LS Power Associates last week said they had dissolved a 2006 joint development venture that planned to expand Dynegy power plants and build new ones in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, and Nevada, partly because of credit and regulatory uncertainties.

Progress Energy Florida (PEF) on Monday signed a contract with Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC and The Shaw Group Inc.’s Power Group for the engineering, procurement, and construction of two nuclear units for a proposed nuclear power plant in Levy County, Fla.

A mission including representatives from more than 30 of the world’s leading commercial nuclear companies is scheduled to visit India over the next week, reported The Times of India.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is reviewing proposed transmission projects for the next five years totaling $3 billion, the state’s main grid operator said in a report filed with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

Japan, the island nation with nearly a tenth of the world’s active volcanoes, may soon see a resurgence in geothermal power. For the first time in 20 years, several Japanese companies have announced plans to build new geothermal power plants, Reuters reported on Monday.

Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. last week asked a district court for additional time to decide whether to install expensive pollution controls or close two coal-fired units at its R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside.

Joseph Kelliher, head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), announced Wednesday that he will step down as chairman effective Jan. 20. Kelliher said that although his term as commissioner would not end until 2012, he would immediately recuse himself from FERC business and explore other career opportunities.

French nuclear reactor builder AREVA and machinery giant Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) announced early last week they would join forces with others to design, develop, fabricate, and supply nuclear fuel to Japanese customers, while confirming their intent to jointly invest in a dedicated U.S. nuclear fuel fabrication facility.

South Korea will reportedly invest 37 trillion won ($28.5 billion) over the next 13 years in several new nuclear, coal, and natural gas power plants to improve fuel efficiency and cut emissions.

Nearly a 100 projects around the world—with more than 80 of them in the U.S.—are assessing various aspects of carbon capture and storage (CCS), a database released last week by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) shows.

Demand response and advanced metering programs have made significant progress in serving more consumers across the country, says a new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) report that charts the expansion of these energy-saving programs since 2006.

Power plants in Pennsylvania must be prepared to meet the ozone and fine particulate emissions standards established by the newly reinstated Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) as of Jan. 1, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PDEP) said Monday.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has vowed to clean up the 5.4 million cubic yards of wet coal ash—enough to flood more than 3,000 acres one foot deep—that spilled last week when the earthen retaining wall of an ash pond at the Kingston Fossil Plant, about 40 miles west of Knoxville, failed.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week admitted it would not finalize two air pollution rules that would have eased restrictions on coal power plants before the incoming administration takes office on Jan. 20.

Steven Chu, the 1997 Nobel physics laureate who now directs the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, will be President-elect Barack Obama’s energy secretary. Lisa Jackson, chief of staff for New Jersey’s governor, will head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Nancy Sutley, deputy mayor of Los Angeles, will lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality.