POWERnews
-
Renewables
Senate Votes to Restore Funding for Wind Energy Research and Development
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 […]
-
Gas
Historic and Trend-Setting Siemens Turbine Manufacturing Plant Hits Milestone
On April 27, 2016, Siemens’ century-old factory in Berlin will celebrate the shipment of its 1,000th in-house-produced gas turbine.
-
Legal & Regulatory
EPA Motions Court for Weighty Changes to Final Coal Ash Rule
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 […]
-
Gas
GE Continues Its Buying Spree
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.
Tagged in: -
Renewables
Five Takeaways From the ELECTRIC POWER Executive Roundtable
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 […]
-
Renewables
Environmental Experts Underscore Clean Power Plan Uncertainty
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 […]
-
Finance
Mergers and Acquisitions in the Power Sector Soar in 1Q 2016
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 […]
Tagged in: -
Legal & Regulatory
Senate Passes Comprehensive Energy Bill, Future Uncertain
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 […]
-
O&M
Resilience and Change in a Digital Future
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 […]
Tagged in: -
Legal & Regulatory
Supreme Court Strikes Down Maryland Power Plant Subsidies
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 […]
Tagged in: