coal

Sunflower Electric Power Corp. has abandoned plans to build the $2.8 billion Holcomb Expansion after its partner on the 895-MW coal-fired power plant project in Kansas, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, announced it would no longer pursue the project. Sunflower said on Jan. 15 it will allow the project’s air permit, for which it once […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its first forecast for 2021 suggests the share of renewables in the utility-scale U.S. power generation mix will surge to 22%, up from 17% last year, while coal and nuclear’s shares will be further diminished. According to the agency’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), released Jan. 14, coal’s […]

Colorado-based power cooperative Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association on Jan. 9 announced it will retire its lone New Mexico coal-fired unit by the end of this year, and cease operations of its remaining Colorado coal units, and the company’s coal mine, by 2030. Tri-State, which said the closures will impact about 600 workers, said state […]

The Arkansas Public Service Commission has approved a plan to retire the Dolet Hills power plant, a coal-fired unit in Mansfield, Louisiana that serves part of the state. The decision, reached in December and announced Jan. 8 by the Sierra Club,  came as part of a settlement agreement in a recently concluded Arkansas rate review, […]

December 27, 2019 (BARBERTON, Ohio – December 27, 2019) – Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: BW) announced today that its subsidiary, Babcock & Wilcox Construction Co., LLC (BWCC), has received a contract renewal valued at more than $4 million to provide maintenance services for Public Service Company of New Mexico’s (PNM) San Juan Generating […]

The past 10 years have been filled with trials and tribulations for both the nuclear and coal power industries. From accidents to plant closures there has been little to cheer about. Still, nuclear and coal power continue to provide reliable baseload generation to billions of customers around the globe. Here’s a look back at the […]

Hundreds of coal-fired power plants are now retired or facing retirement in the near future, and utilities face a number of decisions. Are there commercial reuse options for the plant or the site itself? Are

Engie Will Close 1 GW of Coal Generation; Adding Solar, Wind. French energy group Engie in mid-December said it will close 1 GW of coal-fired power generation assets in Peru and Chile over the next five years

The coal power industry acknowledges that to play a stable role in future power markets, it needs to modernize, and perhaps even overhaul its long-held status as a “conventional generator.” Could new

Over the past decade, there has been a significant change in the U.S. system of power generation in the lower 48 states. The major factors that resulted in these changes were the discovery of new natural gas

The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25), held in December in Madrid, Spain, showcased politicians and activists vying for the title of the world’s climate savior. In particular, youth

A divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a long-awaited order on Dec. 19 in which it directed PJM Interconnection to dramatically expand its Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) to nearly all state-subsidized capacity resources. The order will have a significant impact on PJM’s capacity market. While it was no surprise that the decision immediately […]

NorthWestern Energy said it will file an application with the Montana Public Service Commission for pre-approval to acquire Puget Sound Energy’s (PSE’s) 25% interest in Colstrip Unit 4, which is a 740-MW coal-fired boiler. The price? $1. “Securing more capacity for only a $1 investment is a unique opportunity that helps give us the time […]

Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL) on Dec. 9 announced it will close two of the four coal-fired units at its Petersburg Generating Station in southern Indiana, as the utility continues to move away from coal generation. IPL has been pressured by state political leaders and environmentalists to close the 1,700-MW Petersburg facility, the largest power […]

Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities fell in 2019, according to research published Dec. 3, though overall emissions of CO2 rose due to the increased use of natural gas and oil for power generation and other industrial processes. The new emissions figures were reported by the Global Carbon Project […]

The U.S. Senate on Dec. 2 confirmed Dan Brouillette as the new Secretary of Energy, tapping the former lobbyist for Ford Motor Company to replace Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who stepped down as Department of Energy (DOE) chief after becoming part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Perry’s tenure was marked by […]

Operating pulverized coal-fired boilers under low-load conditions presents several challenges. This article offers tips to keep units in the best possible operating condition. In today’s energy market with

Officials in China in 2017 said the country—the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases—would move away from coal-fired power generation. They promptly canceled more than 100 coal power plant construction projects. But coal remains king in China, which in the past two years has added 43 GW of coal-fired generation capacity, according to a report […]

A report from a UK-based online journal that covers climate and energy policy said that coal-fired power generation worldwide will fall by 3% this year, to about 54% of global electricity output. The report from Carbon Brief, released Nov. 25, was written by researchers from climate research groups including the Centre for Research on Energy […]

The last operating coal-fired power plant in New York state could close by mid-February. Somerset Operating Co. on Nov. 15 asked the New York State Public Service Commission to waive the state’s 180-day notice requirement to shutter the 675-MW plant, asking regulators to allow the facility to close as early as Feb. 15, 2020. Somerset […]

Solar photovoltaic (PV) could surge ahead of coal and gas and become the largest source of installed power capacity in the world in the next two decades if countries pursue stated policies and targets, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its newly released World Energy Outlook 2019 (WEO2019).  The agency’s annual publication, which it […]

Wisconsin-based Alliant Energy has announced a plan to add 1 GW of solar power generation to its portfolio by 2023. The company on Oct. 31 in its “Powering What’s Next Plan” said it would begin construction of its first “Community Solar” site in Fond du Lac County next year. David de Leon, president of Alliant […]

Polish officials have said it is “not possible” for the country to meet the European Union’s (EU’s) goal of cutting net carbon emissions to zero by 2050, and as such the government will continue to

Although wind and solar facilities receive most of the renewable power publicity, biomass offers a reliable baseload solution for power generators. State-of-the-art circulating fluidized bed boilers are a

Coal-fired See our August 2019 issue for stories covering these plants: University of Alaska-Fairbanks combined heat and power plant, Fairbanks, Alaska Tufanbeyli Thermal Power Plant, Tufanbeyli, Adana Province, Turkey Healy Unit 2, Healy, Alaska Four Corners Generating Station, Farmington, New Mexico Rheinhafen Dampfkraftwerk Block 8, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Renewables See our September 2019 issue for stories covering […]

Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned utility that produces nearly 90% of the African powerhouse’s electricity, is saddled with liabilities, unavoidable expenses, and stranded costs that exceed $113 billion, and for various reasons, it is “fundamentally insolvent, permanently impaired, and will never be a true going concern enterprise under its current legal, operational, and governance structure,” concludes […]

A new report from a group that studies the impact of climate change on financial markets recommends that European Union (EU) governments move to phase out coal-fired power generation completely by 2030 in order to avoid even-greater economic damage. Carbon Tracker, a London, UK-based group supported by foundations in Europe and the U.S., on Oct. 24 […]

Clean Coal Technologies Inc. (CCTI) has begun reassembling a test facility designed to produce a cleaner-burning and more-efficient coal. The coal beneficiation and byproducts extraction plant, first built in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for an initial test of the technology, and then moved to Gillette, Wyoming, is expected to be completely rebuilt in the next few months, […]

Research from the University of Tokyo, along with that of two other groups, shows Japan’s coal-fired power plant fleet is at economic risk as the country adds more generation from renewable energy resources such as solar and wind. The report, called “Land of the Rising Sun and Offshore Wind,” released Oct. 6 and based on […]

Xcel Energy has announced an agreement with Lightsource BP and EVRAZ North America to develop a $250-million, 240-MW solar power facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The plant will provide power to the EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel facility in Pueblo. Xcel said the plant will be the largest on-site solar facility dedicated to a single company. The […]