POWERnews

The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 that cleared Congress last week and was presented to President Obama on Monday has the backing of automation organizations.  The bill was one of four cybersecurity measures passed—without much debate and by voice vote—by Congress before the 113th session came to a close on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Sen. John […]

POWER Associate Editor Aaron Larson recently interviewed LaMarr Barnes, vice president of marketing and business development for U.S. Water Services Inc. U.S. Water is a Minnesota-based integrated water treatment solutions provider that has developed a phosphorus-free cooling water treatment solution, which may be beneficial for power generation companies. Many power plants add phosphate-based treatments to […]

Electric utility spending and budgets for customer-funded energy efficiency programs have seen a 30% boost compared to 2010 levels and could double by 2025, thanks to expanding state policies, an updated report from the Institute for Electric Innovation (IEI) suggests. The report, “State Electric Efficiency Regulatory Frameworks,” outlines policy developments that support utility investments in […]

Inadequate training and a culture of complacency among many owners and operators of critical infrastructure are significantly raising the risks of highly damaging cyberattack throughout the world, according to Steve Mustard, an industrial cybersecurity subject-matter expert of the International Society of Automation (ISA). The ISA reports that Mustard, who recently delivered a presentation on industrial […]

In one of its last actions for the year, Congress passed a bill extending a variety of tax breaks, including the Production Tax Credit (PTC) through the end of 2014. The PTC, along with many other tax breaks in the bill, had expired at the end of 2013. The extension will allow them to be […]

The U.S. on Tuesday issued a new final determination affirming that some crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) products from China and Taiwan have been sold at dumping margins of between 11% and 165%. The final determination from the Department of Commerce stems from anti-dumping duty and countervailing duty investigations covering a category of cells, modules, laminates, […]

The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of Colette Honorable to join the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The confirmation, reached last night, makes Honorable, currently chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission since 2011 and former president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), the replacement for John Norris, who resigned in […]

Said to be the largest such facility in Europe, a 6-MW/10-MWh lithium-ion battery storage project in Bedfordshire northwest of London in the U.K. officially began operations on Dec. 15. The £18.7 million Smarter Network Storage project, a collaboration between S&C Electric Europe, Samsung SDI, and Younicos, is installed at an electric substation in the town […]

The omnibus continuing resolution (popularly referred to as the “CROmnibus”) passed by Congress late in the evening on Dec. 13 to keep the U.S. government running through 2015, contains a number of provisions affecting the power generation sector. DOE. Executive branch agencies received a mix of cuts and expansions. The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) $10.2 […]

PPL Corp. made the decision on Dec. 13 to take Unit 1 at its Susquehanna nuclear power plant offline due to a small water leak inside the plant’s reactor containment. The water leak is reported to be “well within” the plant’s limits for continued safe operation, but the company chose to shut down as a […]