Energy Jobs at EnergyNorthwest.com

Eight States Sue EPA, Arguing Ozone Transport Region Decision Is “Unlawful”

December 29, 2017

Eight northeastern states are again suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force the agency to slash emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) blowing in from power plants and other sources in nine “upwind” Midwestern and southern states.

The Ozone Transport Region, which was established by Congress under Section 184 of the Clean Air Act, currently includes 11 “downwind” states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Most of these states have rules or fall under a federal mandate to directly or indirectly require sources achieve reductions of NO_x and VOCs, which contribute to the formation of ozone. In 2014—the most recent year for which the National Emissions Inventory (NEI) is available—about 56% of NO_x emissions in the U.S. came from on-road and non-road mobile sources. Electric generating units accounted for about 13% of NO_x emissions nationwide. The bulk of VOCs emitted were from industrial processes, including solvents (48%) and mobile sources (27%).…

Bangladesh Turns to Nuclear Power

December 27, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

We were standing in Volgodonsk, Russia, on a bridge that connected the third and fourth units of the Rostov Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The fourth unit was under construction, and the deputy chief engineer of the Rostov NPP, Alexander Belyaev, told us that we were about to witness something unique.

It was December 1, 2015, and winter was officially starting in Russia. Walking into the massive fourth unit as a member of a group of journalists from Bangladesh touring the site, I quickly realized part of the construction had not yet been completed—the heating. Amid freezing cold weather, we were directed into an elevator that took us to the top floor of Unit 4.

“Now we are going to enter into the reactor room where the nuclear pressure vessel has just been installed,” said Belyaev. “It is one of those rare occasions where you can see the inside of a reactor vessel, because when the uranium fuel will be loaded then it will be confined and you will not be able to see inside.”…

Two More Japan Nuclear Units Will be Decommissioned

December 24, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) announced it will permanently close two older nuclear reactors in Japan, rather than invest nearly 100 billion yen ($ 900 million) to bring the units up to the country’s new safety regulations. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) created new standards for the country’s nuclear plants after the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011.

KEPCO on December 22 said it will decommission reactors No. 1 and No. 2 at the Oi facility in central Japan over the next year. Each unit has a generation capacity of 1,175 MW. The reactors, which came online in March 1979 and December 1979 respectively, will be the largest decommissioned in the country since the Fukushima disaster, which occurred when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake caused a massive tsunami that flooded the Fukushima plant in the northeastern part of the country. The resulting release of radiation was the largest since the Chernobyl meltdown in Russia in 1986.

Japan idled all 50 of its remaining nuclear units after the Fukushima incident.…

Alternative Materials for Alternative Energy

December 22, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

Moving toward sustainable manufacture of photovoltaics, Dr. Manuela Schiek’s research group in Oldenburg, Germany, has discovered how the latest technology in confocal laser scanning microscopy is enhancing both accuracy and efficiency of their research into organic semiconductors and transparent electrodes.

Harvesting energy directly from the sun in order to generate electricity, solar cells appear to represent the epitome of green energy. But have you ever stopped to consider the manufacturing process?

Take the case of crystalline silicon for example, a main component of conventional solar cells. First, transforming silica ore into its valuable crystallised form requires temperatures above 2,000C. Not only is this an incredibly energy-hungry process, but obtaining ultra-pure silicon also involves several hazardous chemicals and a potent greenhouse gas. Other main offenders in the modern manufacture of many inorganic thin-film solar cells include components comprising the toxic elements selenium and cadmium.

Indium is also a vital ingredient, forming indium tin oxide (ITO), but reserves of this finite resource are estimated to become unviable in the near future, which poses another set of potential challenges.…

Test Your Knowledge: Electrical Area Classification

December 20, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

Fires and explosions have caused a significant number of deaths and injuries to power plant staff over the years. To reduce hazards, protective measures must be considered during engineering, design, construction, and operation of power plants, particularly in electrical areas that are often a source of ignition. This quiz is designed to test your knowledge of electrical area classification.

Create your own user feedback survey

To learn more about electrical area classification, read “Electrical Area Classification in Coal-Fired Power Plants” and “Practical guidelines for determining electrical area classification.”

The post Test Your Knowledge: Electrical Area Classification appeared first on POWER Magazine.

POWER Magazine…

Clean Coal Test Project Set for Wyoming

December 18, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

A test plant that will be part of research into producing cleaner-burning coal for power plants is set to begin operation next year in Wyoming, with the company behind the project saying global demand for coal makes the project viable even as the U.S. reduces its reliance on coal for electricity production.

Clean Coal Technologies Inc. (CCTI) is building the test facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and plans to move it to northeast Wyoming near the end of January 2018. The New York-based company has been developing what it calls “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 facility would dry Powder River Basin (PRB) coal, making it burn hotter with lower emissions, and increasing its value on the global market, according to CCTI. The company did not immediately respond to requests from POWER for comment on the cost of building and transporting the plant, although the company in June 2017 said a group of investors was seeking $ 80 million to build a facility in the PRB.…