Emissions

Study evaluates MISO challenges for MATS compliance

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:04:00 GMT

In a study commissioned by the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO), economists at The Brattle Group evaluated the feasibility of complying with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule.

Weekly Coal Production

Thu, 10 May 2012 17:30:00 GMT

The Weekly Coal Production shows how much coal is being produced across the U.S.

Minnesota Power announces emissions control plan for Boswell 4

Wed, 09 May 2012 14:35:00 GMT

Minnesota Power has announced plans to upgrade Boswell Energy Center Unit 4 in Cohasset, Minn. with emissions controls that will reduce its mercury emissions by 90 percent.

Indiana coal-fired power plant to close in 2015

Wed, 09 May 2012 14:30:00 GMT

Hoosier Energy plans to retire its 250 MW Ratts coal-fired power plant in Indiana in 2015.

Report evaluates EPA's new standard for greenhouse gases

Tue, 08 May 2012 20:34:00 GMT

A new report by Bloomberg Government says that gas-fired generation will likely become the dominant form of power generation over time in light of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) new standards for greenhouse gases

Wisconsin Public Service vies to be first in U.S. to use ReACT

Mon, 07 May 2012 19:30:00 GMT

Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS), a subsidiary of Integrys Energy Group, has filed for a Certificate of Authority from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to install the first U.S. commercial application of Regenerative Activated Coke Technology (ReACT) at its 321 MW Weston 3 plant.

Emissions control system to be installed at Illinois coal-fired power plant

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:56:00 GMT

Kincaid Generation LLC, a subsidiary of Dominion Resources Inc (NYSE: D), awarded the KBR Power & Industrial Group a contract to provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for a dry sorbent injection (DSI) system to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions at its 1,158 MW Kincaid coal-fired power plant in Illinois.

PMFG wins $4.7mn emissions control contracts

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:28:00 GMT

PMFG Inc. has announced that it has been awarded a contract to provide two SCR systems for nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions control and oxidation catalysts for carbon monoxide/volatile organic compounds emissions control for a new, natural-gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in the northeastern U.S.

Update: EPA releases draft program for hydraulic fracturing groundwater treatment

Fri, 04 May 2012 20:32:00 GMT

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft underground injection control (UIC) program permitting guidance for class II wells.

Interior proposes rule for chemical disclosure of hydraulic fracturing operations

Fri, 04 May 2012 18:34:00 GMT

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has announced the release of a proposed rule to require companies to publicly disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations on public and Indian lands, with appropriate protections for proprietary information.

EPA sued over Oklahoma coal-fired power plant emissions

Fri, 04 May 2012 14:51:00 GMT

The Sierra Club filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, claiming that a loophole allowed coal-fired power plants in Oklahoma to exceed emissions standards under the Clean Air Act.

Ameren seeks extension to comply with emissions standards, may close coal-fired power plants

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:40:00 GMT

Citing depressed power prices and the high cost of environmental controls, as well as other factors, Ameren Energy Resources Co. LLC (AER), filed a petition with the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) seeking flexibility in meeting certain emissions standards established by the Illinois Multi-Pollutant Standards (MPS).

Kentucky regulators OK new natural gas-fired power plant

Thu, 03 May 2012 16:17:00 GMT

The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a proposal by Kentucky Utilities Co. (KU) and Louisville Gas & Electric Co. (LG&E) to build a 640 MW natural gas-fired power plant at LG&E’s Cane Run plant and to purchase the 495 MW Bluegrass natural gas-fired plant in Oldham County.

Midwest expedites closure of coal plants

Thu, 03 May 2012 13:53:00 GMT

Midwest Generation is planning to close two coal-fired power plants in Illinois sooner than planned. In February, the company announced that it would shutter the 326 MW Fisk plant and the 542 MW Crawford plant by the end of 2014.

Coal-fired power plants to shut down in 2015

Wed, 02 May 2012 15:52:00 GMT

FirstEnergy cannot close its Ashtabula, Eastlake, Bay Shore and Lakeshore coal-fired power plants in Ohio until 2015.

EPA regional administrator Armendariz resigns

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:06:00 GMT

The EPA senior administrator for the South Central Administration (Region 6) has resigned after receiving an onslaught of criticism from comments he made two years ago.

Coal-fired power plant to be upgraded by B&W

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:03:00 GMT

The Babcock & Wilcox Co. said that its subsidiary Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. (B&W PGG) was awarded a $150 million contract to design, supply and build emissions control equipment for Wisconsin Power & Light’s Columbia coal-fired power plant in Wisconsin.

Report: Energy efficiency investments exceeded $1bn in 2010

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:45:00 GMT

Funding from public and private sources for improving energy efficiency in the US industrial sector topped $1 billion in 2010, with states and utilities providing most of the money.

UPDATED: Carbon capture and storage project in Canada shuttered

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:12:00 GMT

TransAlta Corp. said it has abandoned plans to build the $1.4 billion Project Pioneer carbon capture and storage facility at an Alberta coal-fired power plant.

PacifiCorp: Coal-fired power fleet upgrades may cost $1bn

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:00:00 GMT

PacifiCorp, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway's MidAmerican Energy Holdings, said upgrading its coal fleet in order to comply with future federal and state environmental requirements may cost $1 billion.

AEP unit, EPA sign agreement for coal-fired retirements

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:08:00 GMT

Public Service Co. of Oklahoma (PSO), a unit of American Electric Power, has entered into an agreement in principle with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the state of Oklahoma and the Sierra Club that establishes a framework for PSO to comply with EPA regulations affecting the company’s two coal-fired units at its Northeastern Station in Oologah, Okla.

PPL Montana sues EPA over information regarding coal-fired upgrades

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:20:00 GMT

PPL Montana sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on April 23 to prevent the agency from releasing data to two environmental groups about upgrades made to PPL’s 2,000 MW Colstrip coal-fired power plant.

Covanta introduces gasification system for energy-from-waste project

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:03:00 GMT

Covanta Energy Corp., a global owner and operator of energy-from-waste projects, has announced the completion of commercial demonstration testing of a gasification technology.

Carbon capture and storage system operating in Australia

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:16:00 GMT

Air Liquide was chosen to supply and build a carbon capture and storage (CCS) system at a 700 MW coal-fired power plant in Queensland, Australia.

US, UK sign floating offshore wind agreement

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:30:00 GMT

The U.S. and the United Kingdom will jointly develop floating offshore wind turbines that do not require anchoring to the seabed.

Researchers find method of identifying sources of NOx emissions

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:39:00 GMT

A team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has developed a method that could identify the sources of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

EPA finalizes hydraulic fracturing emissions standards

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:44:00 GMT

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will delay the requirement for capturing emissions from natural gas hydraulic fracturing processes until 2015.

Groups file lawsuit against Mercury and Air Toxics Standard

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:20:00 GMT

Colorado’s Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency challenging EPA’s new mercury and air toxics standards (MATS) for coal-fired power plants.

EPA publishes national greenhouse gas inventory

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:47:00 GMT

Greenhouse gas emissions increased by 3.2 percent from 2009 to 2010, according to the 17th annual U.S. greenhouse gas inventory.

B&W wins environmental controls contract for Alabama manufacturing plant

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:51:00 GMT

The Babcock & Wilcox Co. said its subsidiary, Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. (B&W PGG), has been awarded a contract to engineer, procure and construct (EPC) environmental control systems for three units at Ascend Performance Materials' Decatur, Ala. manufacturing plant.

Alstom wins $95mn emissions control equipment contract

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:47:00 GMT

Alstom has announced the award of a $95 million contract to supply its NID Dry Flue Gas Desulphurization (DFGD) Systems for two 660 MW coal-fired units at the Homer City Generating Station in Indiana County, Penn.

Clean coal technology installed at coal-fired power plants

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:24:00 GMT

Helmkamp Construction Co. has completed the installation of 14 CyClean Refined Coal Facilities for Clean Coal Solutions at power plants in 10 states.

Power4Georgians cancels plans for new coal-fired power plant

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Power4Georgians has decided to cancel the proposed Ben Hill coal-fired power plant in Ben Hill County, Ga.

Air pollution control system orders awarded in China

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:59:00 GMT

Fuel Tech Inc., a supplier of engineering solutions for combustion and emissions control systems, received $2 million in orders to supply air pollution control systems in China.

Coal-fired power plant scrubber reduces emissions in six months

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:55:00 GMT

Public Service of New Hampshire said in a report that the installation of a wet flue gas desulfurization (wet FGD), or scrubber, at the Merrimack coal-fired power plant has reduced mercury and sulfur dioxide emissions by up to 98 percent.

Emissions control system set for coal-fired power plant

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:46:00 GMT

Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. was awarded a $30 million contract to design and supply a selective catalytic reduction system for Xcel Energy’s Pawnee coal-fired power plant in Colorado.

Consent decree set for deadlines on regional haze plans

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:58:00 GMT

A federal court has approved a consent decree setting deadlines for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action on state or federal plans to reduce regional haze in 37 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Coal-fired power plant to test advanced ultrasupercritical boilers

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:10:00 GMT

Southern Co. began testing technology to support development of advanced ultrasupercritical boilers.

Dry scrubber technology to be supplied by Hitachi unit

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:29:00 GMT

Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi America Ltd., signed a license agreement with Solios Environment Inc. to design and supply Enhanced All-Dry (EAD) Scrubber technology.

Black & Veatch to design, build air quality controls at Columbia Energy Center

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:51:00 GMT

Black & Veatch has been selected to engineer, procure and construct air quality control retrofits to the Columbia Energy Center, co-owned and operated by Wisconsin Power and Light Co.

EPA postpones hydraulic fracturing emissions rules

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:39:00 GMT

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has postponed its first set of rules aimed at reducing air pollution from hydraulic drilling sites at natural gas wells after oil and natural gas companies said they wanted to weigh in on the new standards.

Coal-fired power plant's emissions controls project approved

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:52:00 GMT

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection approved the installation of emissions controls at Edison Mission Energy’s 1,884 MW Homer City coal-fired power plant.

Buyers Beware

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:15:00 GMT

The U.S. power sector is on the verge of a massive transformation driven by unprecedented changes in policy, pricing and technology.

Dominion, VCU partner on micro-grid project

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:20:00 GMT

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and Dominion on March 29 said they will partner to use the VCU School of Engineering's West Hall as a five-year test site for energy efficient technologies and research as a micro-grid project.

Commission to discuss coal-fired power plant project in Mississippi

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:38:00 GMT

The Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) will meet on March 30, 2012, to discuss and possibly take action on Mississippi Power Co.’s request for a temporary certificate to continue work on the 582 MW Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project.

Coal-fired power plant to be upgraded by URS

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:30:00 GMT

URS Corp. has been awarded a contract to engineer and furnish SBS Injection technology for Hoosier Energy’s Merom Generating Station.

Update: EPA proposes first carbon standard for future power plants

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:00:00 GMT

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed the first Clean Air Act standard for carbon pollution from new power plants.

AEP informs organizations of planned coal-fired power plant retirements

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:22:00 GMT

American Electric Power on March 22 said it made official notifications to regional reliability organizations PJM Interconnection and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) of the company’s plan to retire more than 4,600 MW of coal-fired power generation, primarily to comply with a series of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.

Coal-fired power plants in Chile to be upgraded by Andritz

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:20:00 GMT

Andritz said it has received an order from the Chilean electricity generation company AES Gener S.A. and its subsidiary Norgener S.A. to supply two turnkey flue gas desulphurization (FGD) plants, including two fabric filters, for the 280 MW Tocopilla coal-fired power plant.

Plan to close oil-, coal-fired capacity approved in Georgia

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:25:00 GMT

The Georgia Public Service Commission on March 20 approved a plan from Georgia Power to shut down two coal-fired power plants at Plant Branch and an oil-fired unit at Plant Mitchell by 2019.