Exelon

Exelon’s Quad Cities nuclear plant in Illinois will not be economically viable despite changes in the PJM capacity market, and the company has to make a decision on closing it before the Illinois legislature can act on possible measures to save it, CEO Chris Crane said in Exelon’s second-quarter earnings call on July 29. Along […]

In a report released this week, M.J. Bradley & Associates found that in 2013 power plant SO2 emissions were 80% lower and NOx emissions were down 74% compared to releases in 1990—the year Congress passed major amendments to the Clean Air Act. The report, Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in […]

When many older plants were built, steel and cast iron piping were common materials used underground. Although these materials have proven to have long, useful lives, improvements in plastics offer additional alternatives today. An understanding of best practices for inspecting and servicing buried piping will help you keep systems operating as designed.  Most, if not […]

If there was one thing that the panelists at Wednesday’s Executive Roundtable at the ELECTRIC POWER 2015 Convention and Exhibition in Rosemont, Ill., agreed on, it was that change—spurred by new regulations, cheap gas, and the spread of distributed generation—is coming to the power sector. Beyond that, the executives of five highly influential power companies—Dynegy, […]

Here are selected thought-provoking (and even unexpected) comments made by presenters at the 10th annual MIT Energy Conference on Feb. 27 and 28 in Cambridge, Mass. Comments are summarized and paraphrased unless presented in quotes. For more on the event, see “Exelon: The Utility of the Future Views Change as Enabling, Not Disruptive” and the […]

Integrating more variable generation and storage, but no new nuclear units, are among the characteristics Exelon sees in the utility of the future, as outlined by Chief Strategy Officer William A. Von Hoene Jr. at the MIT Energy Conference, held Feb. 27–28. He began his Saturday address by saying that innovation is “absolutely indispensible.” Old, […]

A couple of recently released reports offer some hope for the future of nuclear power plants operating on the fringe of profitability. Moody’s Investors Service suggests that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan “could increase the value of nuclear power as a non-carbon emitting generation source.” In its report, “Environmental Mandates and […]

A mix of lucky timing and post-Fukushima recalibration appears to be responsible for a general mood of optimism at the first biennial World Nuclear Exhibition being held just outside of Paris this week. The event, organized by the Association of French Nuclear Industry Exporters (AIFEN) has attracted 495 exhibitors and an estimated 7,000 visitors from […]

American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) Ohio unit has asked the state’s Public Utilities Commission for permission to essentially charge customers for costs to operate nine unregulated coal-fired units, a move the company says will address market volatility and ensure the economic viability of Ohio’s generation.  AEP Ohio on Oct. 3 proposed an “expanded” power purchase agreement […]

Calpine Corp. has its hands in two deals with large power companies—selling a plant to Duke Energy in Florida while buying a plant from Exelon Corp. in Massachusetts. On Aug. 25, Calpine announced that it has agreed to buy Exelon’s 809-MW Fore River Generating Station, which is located about 12 miles southeast of Boston, for […]

Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG)—a joint venture between Exelon Corp. and EDF Group—filed a petition on July 11 with the New York State Public Service Commission (NYPSC) in an effort to keep the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in Ontario, N.Y., operating. Ginna—a 581-MW single-unit pressurized water reactor located along the south shore of Lake […]

The 30-year anniversary of the Three Mile Island accident passed with little fanfare because our nuclear plant fleet today operates with high reliability and struts an excellent safety record. That wasn’t always the case.