POWERnews

  • Duke Energy Settlement with Consumer Advocates Affects Nuclear, Coal Plants

    A revised settlement agreement reached between Duke Energy Florida, the Office of Public Counsel, and other consumer advocates addresses cost recovery issues related to a retired nuclear reactor, a proposed nuclear project, and two coal units. Under the settlement agreement, Duke Energy will address cost recovery issues for the retired Crystal River 3 plant and […]

  • DOE: Wind Leads New U.S. Generation Additions in 2012

    Wind power installations in 2012 represented a 43% majority of all new power capacity additions in the U.S. and accounted for $25 billion in U.S. investment, two new reports from the Department of Energy show. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) released the “2012 Wind Technologies Market Report,” which details the latest trends in the […]

  • House Passes Bills to Require Congressional Approval Before Final Agency Rules Take Effect

    The U.S. House last week passed two bills that seek to reform the nation’s regulatory process by limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) rule-making authority and requiring congressional approval before any “major” rules issued by a federal agency can take effect. The House on Friday voted 232-183 to pass the Executive in Need of Scrutiny […]

  • Report Warns of Narrowing Window for LNG Exports

    A report circulated by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, warns the U.S. could miss its window to become a major player in global natural gas trade. The white paper titled “The Narrowing Window: America’s Opportunity to Join the Global Gas Trade,” part of the senator’s […]

  • DOE Authorizes Third LNG Export Facility

    The Department of Energy (DOE) on Wednesday conditionally authorized Lake Charles Exports to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the U.S. The firm can now export LNG from its Lake Charles Terminal in Lake Charles, La. Lake Charles previously received approval to […]

  • Coal Plant Owners, Beneficiaries, Enviros Propose “Better-than-BART” Alternative to EPA

    Stakeholders of the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station on Friday proposed to shut down a 750-MW unit at the plant by 2020 as an alternative to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that requires the owners to install costly Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology on all three units by 2018.

  • Industry-Backed Bipartisan Cybersecurity Bill Passes Senate Committee

    The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Tuesday unanimously approved a bipartisan bill that bolsters efforts by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to craft a cybersecurity framework.

  • Coal Ash Bill Clears House with 265–155 Vote, Heads to Senate

    Coal ash legislation that would protect the recycling of coal ash and gives states the authority to set their own standards for the disposal of fly ash with oversight from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week cleared the House by a vote of 265–155.

  • EU Strikes Deal with China in Solar Spat as China Imposes Solar Duties on U.S., S. Korea

    The European Union (EU) Trade Commission reached a "targeted and innovative" settlement in its high-profile solar spat with Beijing, just as China imposed lofty duties on U.S. and South Korean manufacturers of solar-grade polysilicon.

  • USEC Secures $29.9M in Federal Funding to Advance Centrifuge Demonstration

    An amendment signed by USEC subsidiary American Centrifuge Demonstration to a June 2012 research, development and demonstration (RD&D) cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy gives the uranium enrichment technology firm an additional $29.9 million in government cost-shared funding, enough to fund the American Centrifuge program through September.