A Decade of Turmoil: How Nuclear and Coal Have Struggled to Survive
The post A Decade of Turmoil: How Nuclear and Coal Have Struggled to Survive appeared first on POWER Magazine.
The past 10 years have been filled with trials and tribulations for both the nuclear and coal power industries. From accidents to plant closures there has been little to cheer about. Still, nuclear and coal power continue to provide reliable baseload generation to billions of customers around the globe. Here’s a look back at the decade that was.
Nuclear Power: Promises and Pitfalls
The 2010s began with the power industry in the midst of a “nuclear renaissance.” Nuclear power had emerged from a long slumber in the U.S. Ground had been broken on the Vogtle expansion in August 2009, which was the first new nuclear power project to commence construction in the U.S. since the Shearon Harris plant received its permit in 1978.
But the renaissance was short lived. On March 11, 2011, the Great Tōhoku Earthquake—a magnitude 9.0 temblor called “Japan’s most forceful quake” in recorded history—generated a series of tsunami waves that reached run-up heights as high as 39 meters (128 feet), setting off the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.…
Working Strategies: A 12-month job plan for both tortoise and hare – St. Paul Pioneer Press
Working Strategies: A 12-month job plan for both tortoise and hare St. Paul Pioneer Press
“job” – Google News…
Settlement Reached in Largest U.S. Coal Ash Cleanup
The post Settlement Reached in Largest U.S. Coal Ash Cleanup appeared first on POWER Magazine.
Duke Energy will save about $ 1.5 billion in coal ash cleanup costs under a settlement between the utility and environmental and other groups announced Jan. 2 by North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
The DEQ said Duke Energy will need to excavate about 80 million tons of coal ash currently stored in basins at six of the utility’s power generation sites. The ash will be moved to lined landfills. The DEQ said it will be the largest cleanup of coal ash in U.S. history. The utility will be allowed to leave coal ash in place at some of its locations.
Duke Energy already is in the process of closing all its coal ash basins at plants in several states, including 31 in North Carolina. Utilities across the U.S. are spending billions of dollars cleaning up coal ash stored near power plants nationwide.…