coal

A coalition of nine utility companies is suing the Trump administration over its plan to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan. New York-based Consolidated Edison said the Affordable Clean Energy, or ACE, rule undermines efforts the companies already have in place to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power generation. The companies, who call their group […]

Power generation from natural gas is expected to rise in Pennsylvania over the next few years, according to the state Public Utility Commission’s (PUC’s) annual report on generation and transmission and distribution capacity released in late August. The PUC’s “Electric Power Outlook for Pennsylvania 2018-2023” report made public last week projects gas-fired power generation will […]

German officials on Aug. 28 approved a plan to spend as much as €40 billion ($44.4 billion) over the next 20 years on projects designed to lessen the impact of the country’s complete move away from coal-fired power generation. Peter Altmaier, the country’s economy minister, said the money will become available after lawmakers pass legislation […]

Vistra Energy will shutter four coal-fired power plants—a total 2 GW—as required by Illinois’ recently revised Multi-Pollutant Standard (MPS) rule, but CEO Curtis Morgan noted the move was “inevitable” due to the changing regulatory environment and unfavorable economic conditions in the MISO market.  The company on Aug. 21 said it will close the 54-year-old 915-MW […]

COMMENTARY At this point, one thing should be abundantly clear about the Trump administration’s theme on energy policy: the president will do whatever it takes to prop up coal, even if the market and the public choose otherwise. The Trump administration’s latest pro-coal gambit is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) so-called Affordable Clean Energy rule, […]

The Farmington, New Mexico, city council on Aug. 15 unanimously approved a deal to transfer 95% of the ownership interest of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station (SJGS) to Enchant Energy, a company run by executives of a New York-based hedge fund that wants to utilize what it calls “state-of-the-art environmental technology” to capture carbon […]

A coalition of 22 states and seven local governments on Aug. 13 filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which the Trump administration finalized in June to replace the Obama administration’s legacy Clean Power Plan (CPP).  Separately, 10 public interest groups filed a petition on Aug. […]

FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) said it will close the Bruce Mansfield power plant in Pennsylvania in November, two years ahead of the previously scheduled closure for the facility’s remaining coal-fired unit. FES in a statement August 9 cited a “lack of economic viability in current market conditions” for the decision to shutter the 830-MW Unit 3, […]

German utility RWE on August 1 announced it will close its last coal-fired power plant in the UK. The closure of the Aberthaw B power station in south Wales, scheduled by the end of March 2020, means just four coal plants will be operating in the UK. The plant originally was scheduled to be shuttered […]

VW Chooses MHPS to Modernize Cogen Plant. Volkswagen AG (VW) in early July said it chose Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe (MHPS Europe) to build a gas-and-steam power plant in Wolfsburg, as part of the

Ohio’s Gov. Mike DeWine (R) on July 23 quickly signed a controversial nuclear subsidy bill that narrowly passed the state’s House of Representatives on Tuesday, making Ohio the fifth state in the nation to prop up nuclear power.  Lawmakers passed H.B. 6 with a 51–38 vote Tuesday. The bill passed the state Senate on July […]

JEA, the electric utility in Jacksonville, Florida, has been decommissioning the St. Johns River Power Park over the past year. A third implosion as part of the decommissioning occurred July 19, as a 640-foot-tall stack and two steam generating boilers were demolished. Friday’s work followed similar implosions in June 2018, when the plant’s two, 464-foot-tall […]

A federal judge in Ohio on July 18 approved American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) plan to close Unit 1 of its two-unit, 2,600-MW coal-fired Rockport Plant in Indiana. The modified consent decree approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Thursday is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute among AEP, […]

The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on July 16 threw its support behind Georgia Power’s plan to add 2,260 MW of new renewable power generation to the utility’s portfolio, on the same day the PSC signed off on the company’s effort to decommission its long-running coal-fired Plant Hammond. Georgia Power earlier this year submitted a […]

A group of project managers and engineers overcame a host of challenges to help an iconic Minnesota power plant complete its switch from coal-fired power to natural gas. Converting a coal-fired power plant to

Chile, a country that relied on coal for about two-fifths of its power generation in 2016, in June announced it would mothball eight coal plants, totaling 23 GW, of its existing 28-plant coal fleet over the

Coal power, which has seen a marked decline in the U.S., is necessary for reliability and energy affordability, and sustaining it could boost pollution technology exports and “improve lives while driving down emissions worldwide,” said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler in a speech last week. Wheeler made the remarks at a 90-minute event […]

A new report from BloombergNEF (BNEF) predicts about half of the world’s power will come from renewable resources, including solar and wind, by 2050. The group’s New Energy Outlook 2019, released June 18, noted the trend will be driven by falling prices for solar, wind, and battery storage, along with trillions of dollars of investments […]

The rapid evolution of the world’s power generation landscape is creating challenges for utilities and others in the energy space, as power plant owners and operators adapt to new technologies and changing business models. Jan Vrins, managing director and segment leader for Navigant’s global Energy practice, is immersed in this change. Vrins, who joined Navigant […]

The iconic Cane Run coal-fired power plant closed in June 2015 after 61 years of operation. The plant, owned by Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E), was imploded on June 8 after months of preparation for its demolition. “Our company and our employees, who expertly manned the plant during its lifespan, celebrated many accomplishments as a […]

Talen Montana—part-owner and operator of the Colstrip Steam Electric Station—announced that Units 1 and 2 at the coal-fired power plant will be retired by year-end, well ahead of a previously announced July 2022 closure date. “The decision to retire Colstrip Units 1 and 2 comes after extensive review and exhaustive efforts over the last few […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry said coal and nuclear power must be part of the nation’s “all of the above” energy strategy, but the Department of Energy (DOE) does not have the “regulatory or statutory ability” to establish economic incentives for struggling U.S. coal and nuclear plants. Perry, who addressed the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI’s) annual […]

India is striving to conserve coal and slash its carbon emissions. The country which depended on coal for 56% of its total capacity of 356 GW as of May 2019, wants to reduce coal’s share to 45% of a planned capacity expansion to 480 GW by the end of 2022. During that period, it will […]

In China, though specific achievements are hard to pinpoint owing in part to a dearth of public or internationally available information, coal technology developments appear to be advancing more rapidly than anywhere in the world. China’s efforts to foster technology advancements are in the country’s national interest, said Mi Shuhua, executive vice president of China […]

The U.S. is investing heavily to ensure its future coal-fired power fleet will be cleaner, more efficient, and more flexible, experts said at the 9th International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies in Houston on June 4. The conference—which is taking place this week in the U.S. for the first time—is spearheaded by the IEA Clean […]

Ansaldo Leads Research Initiative for Low-NOx High-Hydrogen Retrofit Solution. The Dutch government has awarded six partners—Ansaldo Thomassen, Delft University of Technology, OPRA Turbines, Vattenfall

A German power plant experienced premature wear and excessive seal corrosion in its boiler feed circuit and flue gas desulfurization slurry pumps. By upgrading the performance of the pump seals and

A wholesale power provider in Colorado wants to supply the state’s largest electric cooperative with power from mostly renewable sources, saying it will pay Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association to retire its coal-fired plants in Colorado and New Mexico. Tri-State, at least for now, said it will not consider the offer. Denver-based Guzman Energy on May […]

Xcel Energy on May 20 announced it would close its two remaining coal plants in Minnesota over the next decade, and the utility said it also wants to operate its Monticello nuclear plant in the state until at least 2040. Xcel, which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serves electricity and natural gas customers in […]

The percentage of coal-fired generation in the U.S. electricity mix will continue to decline, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said May 9, with gas-fired generation accounting for at least 40% of the nation’s power this summer and output from renewables continuing to rise. EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) said coal-fired units will produce only […]