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Explosion at Chinese Coal Power Plant Reportedly Kills 21

August 15, 2016

News agencies are reporting that an explosion at a coal-fired power plant in Dangyang, a city in central China, has killed at least 21 people and injured five others, three seriously.

The event is said to have occurred around 3:20 p.m. local time on August 11. The facility—designed to generate thermal power and sell slag, ash, and petroleum products—is owned by Madian Gangue Power Generation Co. Some sources suggested that the plant is in the process of being commissioned and was undergoing testing at the time of the incident.

Steam pipe explosion at central #Hubei , #China power station kills 21, injures 5
pic.twitter.com/syqbBlhKCa

— Mete Sohtaoğlu (@metesohtaoglu) August 11, 2016

It has been difficult to establish specifics about the blast. An investigation is said to still be in progress. Initial reports identified the plant as a chemical facility, but it was later determined to be the coal power plant site. Although several sources have suggested that the event was triggered when “a high-pressure steam pipe exploded,” the number of casualties, ensuing fire, and volume of black smoke shown in pictures posted on Twitter that are said to be of the event, suggest that something much more explosive initiated the incident.…

Massive Fire Forces DTE Energy’s St. Clair Power Plant Offline

August 13, 2016

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A massive fire broke out at DTE Energy’s St. Clair Power Plant in the early evening on August 11.

Firefighters reportedly received the call for assistance at around 6:30 p.m. and fought the blaze well into the following morning.

Video taken during the incident shows flames in several spots on the north end of the plant’s roof, extending well to the south. There is smoke coming out of vents throughout the entire length of the facility, which has six operational units with a total capacity of 1,547 MW.

The plant invoked emergency procedures and shut down all units onsite by 7:01 p.m. DTE Energy said employees were evacuated safely and that there were no known injuries at the plant.

Firefighters from St. Clair and Marine City were first on the scene, but as many as 30 departments, including Port Huron, which is nearly 20 miles to the north, were said to have been involved in extinguishing the fire.

In a statement released at 8:26 a.m.…

Putin and Erdogan Meeting: Implications for Gas and Nuclear Projects

August 11, 2016

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Following a failed coup attempt on July 15 in Turkey, the country’s leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, signaled that he may be willing to threaten the long-term energy stability of the European Union (EU) by reentering into a partnership with Russia to ship massive amounts of Siberian-produced gas into the West, which could foil EU plans to create greater energy diversity.

After a joint declaration on Tuesday, August 9 that called for resuming construction of the stalled Russian-backed TurkStream pipeline project, Turkish and Russian officials the following day indicated that they may also make a major change to the EU-backed $ 10 billion Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) project. Initially intended to facilitate shipments from Azerbaijan’s Shah-Deniz gas field to Europe through Turkey, it may be combined with the reauthorized TurkStream pipeline. If this happens, Russia’s state-owned Gazprom will exercise high levels of control over both projects.

Competition for Gas Sources and Delivery Routes

Muddying the waters even more, just before Erdogan met with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Russian president was in Baku, Azerbaijan, meeting with his Azeri and Iranian counterparts to discuss new ways these nations could work together to produce and ship gas supplies.…

Republican Tony Clark to Leave FERC in September

August 5, 2016

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FERC Commissioner Tony Clark announced Aug. 4 that the agency’s September meeting will be his last. Courtesy: FERC

Tony Clark. Courtesy: FERC

Tony Clark, the only Republican on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), announced Thursday (Aug. 4) on Twitter that the agency’s September meeting will be his last. Clark’s term expired June 30, but he continued to serve under federal law that allows members with expired terms to serve until Congress adjourns at the end of the year.

By law, FERC consists of five members, with three from the party of the incumbent president and two from the minority party. Republican Philip Moeller left the commission last October after nearly a decade, leaving Clark, appointed by President Obama in 2012.

With Clark’s departure, the commission would have three Democrats: Chairman Norman Bay and Commissioners Cheryl LaFleur and Colette Honorable. Honorable’s term ends in 2017, Bay’s in 2018, and LaFleur’s in 2019. Obama has not named replacements for Moeller or Clark, which are subject to Senate confirmation.

FERC has seldom been a partisan agency, although Republicans and Democrats on the commission tend to see issues in different ways.…

Exelon, America’s Leading Nuclear Generator, Keeps the Faith on Nukes

July 25, 2016

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The U.S. nuclear power business is in trouble, and Exelon has six units totaling more than 5,300 MW of dependable capacity on the chopping block. How will the Chicago electricity giant respond? Perhaps by acquiring more merchant nuclear capacity?

Chicago-based Exelon Corp., the largest nuclear power generator in the U.S., is facing what could be the greatest challenge in the company’s history. Exelon confronts the potential shutdown of six operating nuclear generating units at four stations, out of a fleet of 23 units at 14 stations across the country.

This comes after Exelon essentially abandoned coal, selling off its interests in coal-fired generation. In late 2014, the company unloaded its last minority shares in major coal generation, the Keystone (42%) and Conemaugh (32%) plants in central Pennsylvania, once a significant element in its power mix (see sidebar “Exelon’s Generating Fleet”). RTO Insider newsletter commented, “Exelon once had extensive coal-fired generation but has either sold or retired them over the years as it concentrated on new gas-fired generation and its massive nuclear fleet.”…

11 Things to Know About the Solar Sector’s Precarious Future

July 21, 2016

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Despite escalating growth over the past decade, the U.S. solar power sector faces potentially crippling issues concerning module supply, workforce deficiencies, and grid interconnection obstacles, according to industry experts attending an international solar and energy storage convention.

The country added an estimated 14.5 GW of new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in 2016, and by 2021, cumulative solar installations are slated to pass the 100 GW mark, driven by net metering, solar leasing, new power purchase agreements, the rise of solar communities, and federal and state policies and tax credits. But this rapid growth has been problematic on many levels, and the industry continues to face hurdles that could stymie future projections.

Here are 11 takes on the solar sector’s current and future standing from experts at Intersolar North America’s ninth annual event held last week in San Francisco, Calif.

Solar Is Mainstream

“Solar is no longer a niche part of the energy spectrum,” declared Jesse Grossman, CEO of Tenaska’s solar project development arm Soltage.…