POWERnews

  • Nuclear Projects in DOE Loan Guarantees Cut to Final Four

    The Department of Energy (DOE) has reportedly dropped Luminant’s Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant’s expansion planned in Texas from its list of new nuclear projects being considered for the first round of federal loan guarantee. Four projects now remain on the DOE shortlist. New reactors at Southern Co.’s Vogtle plant in Georgia, Scana Corp.’s Summer […]

  • IEEE Celebrates 125 Years of Engineering the Future Today

    As IEEE celebrates its 125th anniversary on May 13, it is also addressing the challenges ahead. The Center for Energy Workforce Development estimates that 45% of engineers in electric utilities will be eligible for retirement, or may leave for other reasons, in the next five years. What’s more, the educators of new engineers are also […]

  • Kansas Senate Passes Coal Plant, RPS Standard

    The Kansas Senate last week approved by a 37–2 vote an energy bill that will allow Sunflower Electric Power Corp. to build a long-delayed coal-fired power plant near Holcombe. The bill’s approval comes days after Kansas’ new governor, Mark Parkinson, and Sunflower Electric Power Corp. reached a compromise that would scale down the company’s plans […]

  • Montana Gov. Joins Forces on CCS with Saskatchewan, Signs Carbon Storage Bill

    Saskatchewan and Montana officials last week said they would partner on the development of one of the largest international carbon capture and storage demonstration projects in the world. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the construction of a “technology neutral CO2 plant at […]

  • EPA to Oversee Cleanup of TVA Kingston Coal Ash Spill

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday signed an enforceable agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to oversee the removal of coal ash at the TVA Kingston Fossil Fuel Plant in Roane County, Tenn., where more than 5 million cubic yards of coal ash spilled last December. Under the Administrative Order and Agreement […]

  • EPA Considering Rules on Coal Waste Runoff

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is committed to issuing proposed regulations for the management of coal combustion waste by utilities by the year’s end, a senior agency official told the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee Thursday. Rules could include tightened restrictions on contaminants in wet scrubber wastewater streams.

  • LS Power Pulls Plug on 750-MW Midland, Mich., Project

    LS Power has abandoned a proposed 750-MW pulverized coal power project in Midland, Mich., citing economic and regulatory uncertainties.

  • TVA Stands by Bellefonte COLA; Progress Energy Delays Levy County Nuke Units

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) last week said it would continue pushing for regulatory approval of its proposed Bellefonte nuclear plant, though the NuStart consortium had shifted priority to another project, while Progress Energy Florida delayed the commercial start of its proposed Levy County plant by almost two years while it awaits a combined construction and operation license (COL)  from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

  • Deal in Kansas Means Sunflower Will Get Coal Plant

    Kansas’ new governor, Mark Parkinson, and Sunflower Electric Power Corp. have reached a compromise that would allow that company to build an 895-MW coal plant in the western part of the state in exchange for Republican support for a state bill that encourages production of more renewable energy.

  • Bills to Spur Marine Energy Development Introduced in Congress

    Legislation introduced last week by members of the House of Representatives and the Senate could spur development of U.S. marine and hydrokinetic energy resources—a sector in which the U.S. has lagged behind other countries.