coal

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is conducting a formal investigation concerning costs and delays plaguing Mississippi Power’s Kemper integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant. Southern Co., Mississippi Power’s parent company, revealed the investigation in a recent 10-Q financial filing. The company said that while it is fully cooperating with the SEC, it believes the […]

Dynegy Inc. announced on May 3 that it plans to shut down multiple Illinois coal-fueled units due mainly to the failure of the plants to recover basic operating costs in recent Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) capacity auctions. According to the company, the generation that will be lost is 2,800 MW—about 30% of the total […]

Malaysia, a country that has historically depended on oil and natural gas for energy, put online a $1.67 billion ultrasupercritical coal-fired power plant this March. Malaysian firm Malakoff Corp.’s giant 1-GW Tanjung Bin Energy Power Plant (T4) entered commercial operation this March, on schedule, four years after construction began (Figure 6). 6. The face of […]

China’s National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration on April 25 suspended or slowed plans for more than 100 GW of coal-fired capacity across the country in a bid to rein in overcapacity in the generation sector and bolster efforts to improve air quality. The order affects around 200 plants currently in development […]

The average capacity factor for U.S. natural gas–fired combined cycle power plants (CCPPs) exceeded that for coal-fired plants in 2015 for the first time since the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has been keeping records, the agency noted on April 4. Gas generation exceeded coal generation for most of 2015, though coal ended slightly ahead for […]

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have combined two proven technologies to create a new hybrid system that could produce electricity, using coal as a fuel source, at nearly double the efficiency of conventional coal-fired power plants. The concept—proposed by MIT doctoral student Katherine Ong and Ronald C. Crane (1972) Professor Ahmed Ghoniem—combines […]

Vietnam, which has long been a coal exporter, is considering a hiatus in licensing new coal-fired power plants because it says domestic coal reserves won’t be enough to feed generators starting in 2020

As it promised last May, Michigan-based Consumers Energy is shuttering seven of its oldest coal-fired plants, which make up more than two-thirds of its coal fleet. Consumers Energy made the decision last year in response to changing environmental regulations and market conditions that made it uneconomic to continue operating the plants. The seven units, all […]

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its March 8 Short-Term Energy Outlook that natural gas would supply the largest share of U.S. electricity in 2016, continuing its rise against coal. EIA data from 2015 showed that gas and coal pulled into a near-tie on the year, with coal generating 1,356 TWh, for a 33.2% […]

The Oregon Senate passed a bill on March 2 that will require electric companies in the state to eliminate coal-fired resources from their electrical supplies by January 1, 2030. The bill—which passed in the senate by a 17–12 vote—had already been passed by the Oregon House of Representatives (38–20). It now heads to Gov. Kate […]

Tremors in China’s economy rattled its power sector last year. For the first time since the Cultural Revolution in 1968, the country’s power generation dropped from the previous year—modestly, by 0.2%

Battered by stubbornly low natural gas prices and regulatory headwinds, coal-fired generation fell into a near-tie with natural gas in 2015, according to data released on Feb. 26 by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). For all of 2015, coal generated 1,356 TWh, while gas-fired generation produced 1,335 TWh, giving coal a slight 33.2% to 32.7% […]

New reports released this week see big growth in renewables from the recently extended federal tax credits, but big uncertainty due to the possible end of the Clean Power Plan (CPP). New York-based consulting firm Rhodium Group says investment plans in the power sector will be radically different if the Clean Power Plan doesn’t happen. […]

The identification and containment of coal ash has risen to the top of the priority list for plant managers across the U.S. after inadvertent releases of coal ash into unintended areas resulted in adverse

Silicon Valley Power (SVP)—Santa Clara, Calif.’s municipal electric utility—has decided to stop importing out-of-state electricity from the San Juan Generating Station, completely eliminating coal from its power supply. San Juan is a 1,646-MW four-unit coal-fired power plant located in Waterflow, N.M., and operated by PNM. SVP owns an interest in San Juan through its participation […]

China Makes Nuclear Export Gains in Argentina, Romania. As it boosts its domestic nuclear power capacity, China is also snapping up lucrative contracts to build new reactors abroad. This November, China

A slowing of the Chinese economy and the diversification of its power sector, combined with a worldwide trend toward policies that favor renewable energy and the retirement of older, less-efficient coal-fired facilities, trumped growth in India and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, resulting in a decline in coal consumption in 2014, which […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan (CPP) is likely to be complicated at least as much by political and legal opposition as by technological challenges in reducing carbon emissions, several speakers at POWER magazine’s inaugural conference on legal issues in the generation industry noted on Dec. 7 in Las Vegas. “Navigating Legal Implications of […]

Germany’s largest power generator RWE, following in the footsteps of its competitor E.ON, plans to split its company to bank on renewable energy and grid operations, which it says is the future for utility companies. If approved by RWE’s supervisory board, the Essen-headquartered company that produces more than 40% of its power from hard coal […]

Florida’s Seminole Electric Cooperative faces what may be the most difficult generation transition in the nation as a result of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. One of the nation’s largest generation and transmission rural electric cooperatives, Seminole owes its origins and its current position primarily to a single coal-fired plant. When electric utility veteran […]

Certain types of coal-fired power plants are capable of meeting the 636 kg CO2/MWh emissions limit in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) new source performance standards for new plants without relying on carbon capture and storage (CCS), but doing so will require leveraging cutting-edge technologies to improve efficiency, according to a new study from the Electric […]

Levelized Cost of Electricity

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) wants GE to plan and propose a large-scale pilot test of a carbon dioxide capture solution that uses a class of amino silicone compounds used to soften hair or clothing. The

India, the world’s most coal-dependent nation, has over the last few months very publicly shifted its stance on coal power. In October, the country announced its commitment for the upcoming COP21 global

Coal has been the dominant source of electricity in the U.S. power mix for more than a century, but that may be coming to an end sooner than expected. For only the second time ever, but also the second time this year, gas generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. According to statistics from […]

Owner/operator: NTPC Ltd. One of NTPC’s first coal-fired facilities, the 2.6-GW Ramagundam plant, is aging well, delivering noteworthy performance metrics that distinguish it from other plants in the state-owned generator’s big coal fleet. For nearly four decades, the 2.6-GW Ramagundam Super Thermal Power Station’s vermillion-banded stacks have towered over the green teak forests of what […]

Owner/operator: Shenergy Company Ltd. In a nation seeing breakneck growth in its power sector and a drive toward cleaner, more efficient generation, coal remains the backbone. That means hard work is ahead for China in power sector innovation, and a plant in Shanghai is leading the way. There is no country on earth that has […]

Owner/operator: Great River Energy Recent news has focused on the decline of the coal-fired power industry, but this highly efficient combined heat and power plant offers one template for keeping coal generation viable. Although electricity markets remain challenging, partnering with steam customers can help stabilize revenue. Combined heat and power (CHP), also known as cogeneration, […]

Owner/operator: Interstate Power & Light Co. (a subsidiary of Alliant Energy) and MidAmerican Energy Co. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy) / Alliant Energy Alliant Energy recently completed a major renovation of the Ottumwa Generating Station to improve air quality, plant reliability, and efficiency. By doing so it also reduced its carbon footprint by ~5.6%.  […]