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Facility to Make Coal Cleaner, More Efficient, Taking Shape in Wyoming

October 14, 2019

The post Facility to Make Coal Cleaner, More Efficient, Taking Shape in Wyoming appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Clean Coal Technologies Inc. (CCTI) has begun reassembling a test facility designed to produce a cleaner-burning and more-efficient coal. The coal beneficiation and byproducts extraction plant, first built in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for an initial test of the technology, and then moved to Gillette, Wyoming, is expected to be completely rebuilt in the next few months, a company official told POWER on Oct. 9.

CCTI in 2017 touted its process, saying it had developed “the world’s first commercially viable and scalable coal dehydration technology” designed to upgrade the Btu content of lower-ranking coal “through the extraction of volatile material in liquid form,” ultimately producing a “cleaner burning, dry coal.” The process of improving coal quality is known as beneficiation, a technique in which the quality of raw coal is improved, either by reducing the extraneous matter that is extracted with mined coal, or reducing the associated ash, or both.…

Judge: Court Will Consider Rival Proposal for PG&E Reorganization

October 12, 2019

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A federal bankruptcy judge on Oct. 9 ruled that Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), California’s largest utility, does not have the sole right to determine the terms of its reorganization. Judge Dennis Montali said those who support a rival proposal, which was devised by a group of the utility’s creditors, can have their plan considered.

The decision could have major consequences for the utility’s customers. PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection in January, with the company saying it faced $ 30 billion or more in liabilities related to wildfires in California that caused massive property damage and left dozens dead.

Montali ruled that the court can look at a reorganization plan created by a group of PG&E creditors that includes prominent hedge funds. The plan also is backed by individuals who have claims against the utility for wildfire damage.

Montali’s ruling Wednesday came after a court hearing on Monday in San Francisco.…

Distress and Deals Continue to Persist in Energy Sector

October 8, 2019

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The post Distress and Deals Continue to Persist in Energy Sector appeared first on POWER Magazine.

At the end of last year, the power market began to lose steam. The credit market wasn’t as strong as it was at the start of the year and many people began speculating “doom and gloom” for the market. However, over the last few months, the power market has picked up and is beginning to show resiliency. As we explore below, there has also been a healthy amount of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, highlighting that investor confidence is returning, even if only slightly.

The second quarter (Q2) of 2019, in particular, saw strong deal value compared to Q1, according to a recent report from PwC. The report notes that although overall deal volume decreased in Q2, deal value increased by nearly 55%, making it the highest-value quarter since Q2 2018. This was influenced by the absence of mega-deals ($ 5 billion or more) for the fourth consecutive quarter.…

Small Modular Reactors Gain Momentum in Europe

October 6, 2019

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GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and NuScale Power, two leading companies in the race to build small modular reactors (SMRs) for power generation, have recently announced deals that could result to new plants being constructed in Europe.

Feasibility Studies in Estonia

GEH on Oct. 3 said it had signed an agreement with Fermi Energia OÜ, an Estonia-based company established by nuclear industry professionals to support the development of SMRs. The two companies will collaborate on potential deployment applications for GEH’s BWRX-300 SMR design. GEH said the companies will examine the economic feasibility of constructing a BWRX-300 in Estonia, review siting requirements, and assess nuclear regulatory requirements.

The BWRX-300 is a 300-MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems. According to GEH, the BWRX-300 leverages the design and licensing basis of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-certified Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR), which is a 1,520-MWe Generation III+ unit (Figure 1).…

Reports: Perry Will Resign as Head of DOE

October 4, 2019

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Several news outlets on Oct. 4 report that Energy Secretary Rick Perry could step down from that role as soon as November.

The Washington Post on Friday said Perry plans to step down by year-end and return to the private sector. The Post cited four unnamed individuals who it said had been briefed on Perry’s plans. The Politico news outlet late Thursday reported that Perry plans to leave the Department of Energy (DOE) next month.

Shaylyn Hynes, a DOE spokeswoman, in an email to media said: “While the Beltway media has breathlessly reported on rumors of Secretary Perry’s departure for months, he is still the Secretary of Energy and a proud member of President Trump’s Cabinet. One day the media will be right. Today is not that day.”

Should Perry resign, he would be the latest of about a dozen Cabinet members to leave their positions during the Trump administration.…

EIA: Renewables Will Account for Half of Global Power Generation by 2050

October 2, 2019

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The post EIA: Renewables Will Account for Half of Global Power Generation by 2050 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Solar power is expected to take a larger share of global power generation across the next 30 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), as renewable energy continues to be adopted worldwide.

The EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019), released Oct. 2, shows 28% of the world’s power came from renewables in 2018, nearly all of that from wind, solar, and hydropower. The EIA forecasts that renewables will account for almost half—49%—of global electricity output by 2050, with solar generation showing the most growth, while hydro grows more slowly.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook 2019

Solar and other renewables’ growth is not limited to utilities or government efforts to expand the sector. Several companies are using renewables to power their commercial and industrial operations. Exxon Mobil, the oil giant which recently reported $ 20.8 billion in earnings in 2018, signed a 12-year deal with Danish energy company Ørsted late last year to purchase solar and wind power in West Texas.…