Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley and Sen. Richard Shelby are among those urging the Tennessee Valley Authority to sell its unfinished Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, where more than four decades of work hasn’t produced a watt of electricity.
Comments released publicly by the federal utility show that the Republican Bentley and Alabama Republican Shelby, along with local officials, one environmental group and others want the Tennessee Valley Authority to get rid of the twin-reactor facility in northeast Alabama near Hollywood. At least one potential buyer has been identified, documents show.
But five environmental groups are urging the federal utility to keep the plant and use it for renewable energy, and numerous individuals also submitted comments opposing a sale.
The final decision on whether to sell is up to the TVA board.
TVA has said it is considering whether to sell Bellefonte, where more than $4 billion has been spent since construction began in 1974. Work was put on hold in 1988 and employees now simply maintain the plant, located on the Tennessee River about 50 miles east of Huntsville.
A summation of Bentley’s position says the governor wants TVA to sell Bellefonte to a private party that will complete the plant, similar to Shelby’s stance. Shelby also would like to see the plant sold for use as a large industrial or technology complex, according to the TVA report. continued…
first published week of: 05/09/2016
According to research firm, Frost and Sullivan, this research service analyzes the global SCADA systems market for the energy and the utility industries. The study covers revenue forecasts for key global regions, revenue types, industry verticals, and distribution channels till 2021. A detailed overview of market share and competitive analysis for geographical regions and industry verticals is supplied. The study also includes an in-depth analysis of the impact of drivers and restraints on market growth.
The analysis finds that the market earned revenues of $4.55 billion in 2014 and estimates this to reach $7.34 billion in 2021.
For complimentary access to more information on this research, please visit: http://bit.ly/1WSeooL continued…
first published week of: 01/11/2016
A federal appeals court sided with North Dakota interests on Wednesday in affirming a lower court ruling that bars Minnesota from enforcing key sections of its 2007 law restricting new power generation from coal.
A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Minnesota's Next Generation Energy Act illegally regulates out-of-state utilities.
Minnesota's law was meant to reduce statewide carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector by prohibiting utilities from meeting Minnesota demand with coal power generated by big new facilities outside the state.
The state of North Dakota, three electrical cooperatives based in the Dakotas that also serve customers in Minnesota, and other entities challenged the law, saying it violated the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress power to regulate interstate commerce.
The appeals panel agreed that practical effect of the state's prohibitions would have prevented out-of-state utilities from adding coal-power capacity to the regional power grid without approval from Minnesota regulators.
Minnesota can't do that without approval from Congress, Appeals Judge James Loken wrote. continued…
first published week of: 07/11/2016
A U.S. judge ordered Barclays Plc (BARC.L) to face a proposed class-action lawsuit in which a California water utility accused the British bank of illegally manipulating electricity prices in the western United States, causing purchasers to overpay.
U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan on Monday said the Merced Irrigation District can pursue two claims that Barclays violated federal antitrust law, and one claim that the bank violated a California unfair competition law.
In July 2013, Barclays was fined $435 million by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for allegedly manipulating electricity prices in California and other western U.S. states from November 2006 to December 2008.
Merced alleged similar violations, and Marrero said the allegations "plainly suggest Barclays's conduct was intended to artificially inflate or deflate market prices and constrain the market for other buyers and sellers of electricity."
The judge dismissed two other claims raised by Merced. continued…
first published week of: 03/07/2016
Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said subsidized wind and solar power in the U.S. may erode the economics of electric utilities that care little for efficiency.
“The joke in the industry was that a utility was the only business that would automatically earn more money by redecorating the boss’s office,” Buffett wrote Saturday in his annual letter to shareholders. “Some utilities ran things accordingly. That’s all changing.”
Utilities across the country have been grappling with how to integrate wind farms and solar plants into their systems and business models. Cheap power from large-scale renewables has undercut the profitability of conventional electricity generation from coal and nuclear sources. In addition, rooftop solar panels have sapped sales for power distribution companies. continued…
first published week of: 02/29/2016
China has become the world leader in wind power production after constructing nearly half of all the new turbines built around the globe in 2015.
According to statistics released by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) on Wednesday, China installed 30,500 megawatts of new wind power last year, compared to the world total of 63,000 MW. China now has 145,100 MW of wind power, out of the global total of 432,400 MW.
Over all, there is now enough wind power installed around the world to generate electricity for about 100 million homes.
China is by far the largest producer of wind power, and now has more wind capacity installed than the European Union, the traditional leader in the sector.
China’s dramatic increase is partly due to its drive to cut smog and deal with climate change, the GWEC said. continued…
first published week of: 02/15/2016
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill supporting a proposed windmill farm off the coast of Atlantic City.
Christie on Monday rejected the bill that would permit, but not require, the state Board of Public Utilities to approve the wind farm off the coast, to be built by Fishermen’'s Energy.
He says the legislation would “usurp” the board's authority by compelling it to receive applications. continued…
first published week of: 05/16/2016
The city of Hudson will spend an estimated $222,000 to create digital mapping for its storm sewer, sanitary sewer and water utilities.
The city expects to receive grant money from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to offset a share of the expense.
The City Council on Dec. 21 approved a letter of engagement with the Short Elliot Hendrickson engineering firm to do the field inventory of utility mains and other structures, and then create the GIS (geographic information systems) database mapping of the systems.
City Engineer Tom Syfko explained that the city needs updated mapping of its storm sewers to meet the requirements for a MS4 permit to operate the storm water system.
Hudson’s storm water system became more highly regulated by the DNR after the city surpassed 10,000 in population. The city’s 2015 population was estimated at 13,400 by the Wisconsin Department of Administration. continued…
first published week of: 01/04/2016
Kentucky’s coal industry continued to hemorrhage jobs in the first three months of 2016, hitting the lowest total in 118 years, according to a report released Monday.
The number of jobs dropped by a little more than 1,500 during the quarter, or 17.9 percent, leaving estimated employment in the industry of 6,900 as of April 1, according to the report by the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet.
The last time the state had so few coal jobs was 1898, when coal employment averaged 6,399, the report said.
Eastern Kentucky lost 21.6 percent of its coal jobs during the quarter, while the drop in the state’s western coalfield was 12.2 percent.
Eastern Kentucky lost 21.6 percent of its coal jobs during the quarter, while the drop in the state's western coalfield was 12.2 percent.
More than half the coal jobs in Eastern Kentucky have disappeared in recent years. The plunge has decimated an industry that historically underpinned the regional economy, spreading the effects of the downturn.
"Businesses are suffering. People just ain't got the money to spend like they used to," said Michael Preston of Floyd County, who lost his job as a driller at a surface mine in August 2014 after 16 years in the industry.
Preston, 38, returned to school at Big Sandy Community & Technical College with the help of job-training programs through the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program. continued…
first published week of: 05/09/2016
Getting the most cost-effective use out of a battery storage system isn’t just a matter of plug-and-play. Where and how you site a battery can make a big difference in how well it does its job. Several battery experts who spoke to POWER explain what you need to think about.
So you want to buy a battery? Like real estate, one big concern is location. Where you put it, and where it is in relation to other assets, matters a lot.
Non–hydro energy storage has passed out of the experimental phase and is no longer the province of visionaries imagining a grid that operates in more than one direction (see this month’s “THE BIG PICTURE: Leading the Charge”). Battery storage is big business—and getting bigger. A utility–scale battery storage system (BSS) can easily be a seven figure (and larger) commitment.
Naturally, a lot depends on what the battery will be doing. Location issues for a BSS that is intended to smooth output from a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant or wind farm are not the same as for one designed to provide frequency regulation. Still, the location affects the battery’’s performance no matter what its job is. continued…
first published week of: 05/02/2016