POWERnews

For the first time in a decade, the Alberta Utilities Commission on Friday gave its final approval for building a coal-fired power plant. Maxim Power received approval to build and operate a new 500-MW coal-fired plant at the existing 150-MW H.R. Milner Generating Station in the Grande Cache area. The company had provided "credible evidence" that air emission issues have been addressed through plant design and other mitigation measures, the commission said.

Four research projects that could further carbon capture technologies—helping them achieve at least 90% carbon dioxide removal with no more than a 35% increase in power costs—were on Monday selected for further development by the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy.

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday finalized a $102 million loan guarantee to a 50.6-MW power plant and an 8-mile transmission line, right on the heels of Department of the Interior (DOI) approval for a massive 550-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) facility in California last week.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is reportedly floating legislation that could require Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) background checks for workers at all power plants and critical infrastructure plants with access to restricted areas.

The Tomari 3, a 912-MW pressurized water reactor (PWR) at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari plant in northern Japan’s Hokkaido region, has resumed full commercial operation. It is the first reactor in the country to be restarted after a periodic inspection following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Power demand for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) control area hit three consecutive records in the past week—reaching 68,294 MW on Aug. 3—forcing the grid operator to cut power to large industrial users to avoid rolling blackouts. It was the second time this year and only the fourth in more than two decades that the grid operator has been forced to implement such measures.

Eight days ahead of schedule, China on Sunday put into commercial operation Ling Ao Unit 4, the second facility of the Ling Ao Phase II nuclear power plant. Unit 4, owned by the state-owned China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co. (CGNPC), brings the number of reactors at the Ling Ao/Daya Bay Nuclear Power Base to six—making it China’s largest nuclear complex to date.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on Monday said it would delay construction at Watts Bar Unit 2 and delay commercial operation of the facility from the previously anticipated late 2012 timeframe into 2013, owing to a licensing delay, safety and environmental issues, and a transition in the leadership of its nuclear generation development and construction (NGDC) group.

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday finalized a $967 million loan guarantee for a solar photovoltaic facility in Arizona. On Tuesday, it also awarded $7 million for independent cost analyses supporting research and development for fuel cells and hydrogen storage systems.

Dynegy has restructured to create separate coal-fired and gas-fired power generation units.