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Hydrogen from Nuclear Power Test Set at Idaho Lab

May 18, 2021

The post Hydrogen from Nuclear Power Test Set at Idaho Lab appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A California company that introduced a new electrolyzer technology last year has announced an agreement with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to test how nuclear energy can create clean hydrogen using the product.

San Jose-based Bloom Energy on May 18 said INL will use the company’s solid oxide, high-temperature electrolyzer to produce carbon-free hydrogen through electrolysis, powered by nuclear generation. Bloom on Tuesday said the electricity generated by nuclear facilities could produce “cost-effective hydrogen,” including during periods when the power grid has an ample supply of electricity. Rather than ramping down to prevent an oversupply of power, the plant can use its electricity to produce hydrogen.

INL, based in Idaho Falls, Idaho, is a nuclear science and technology lab. The facility’s team leads research, development, and demonstration projects to support and expand the use of nuclear energy. The group, like those in other countries, is involved with supporting the growth of a hydrogen economy, a sector with a rapidly growing market as governments and industries worldwide seek to decarbonize their operations.…

Coal Shipments to Power Sector at Lowest Level in 14 Years

May 16, 2021

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The post Coal Shipments to Power Sector at Lowest Level in 14 Years appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Shipments of coal to U.S. power plants in 2020 fell 22% year-over-year, according to data released May 13 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency said the U.S. power sector received 428 million short tons (MMst) of coal last year, the lowest amount since the EIA began publishing shipment data in 2007.

The EIA said the COVID-19 pandemic was partly to blame for the drop, as demand for electricity fell nationwide. The agency in April reported that U.S. energy consumption in 2020 fell 7% year-over-year, which it said “marked the largest annual decrease in U.S. energy consumption in both percentage and absolute terms in our consumption data series that dates back to 1949.”

Thursday’s report also pointed to the ongoing decline of U.S. coal-fired power generation; federal data shows about 9.5 GW of coal-fired generation was shuttered nationwide last year, the fourth-highest total since 2009.…

More Coal Cuts—AEP, Mississippi Power Detail Closures

April 24, 2021

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The post More Coal Cuts—AEP, Mississippi Power Detail Closures appeared first on POWER Magazine.

American Electric Power (AEP), which in 2019 reached an agreement to close Unit 1 of the two-unit, 2.6-GW coal-fired Rockport power plant in Indiana, has now announced a plan to close Unit 2 of the facility.

Both units at Rockport are now expected to be shuttered by year-end 2028. AEP, the parent of Indiana Michigan Power, which operates the plant, on April 22 announced it would purchase Unit 2 of the plant from Wilmington Trust Co., a financial services firm. The deal was made to ensure the retirement of both units.

Thursday’s announcement came as AEP announced its first-quarter 2021 earnings, which were $ 575 million, compared to $ 495 million for the same period in 2020. AEP, like many power generating companies, is retiring older power plants and replacing that generation with renewable energy resources. AEP has said its goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% from its 2000 baseline by 2030.…

Compact Advanced Tokomak Concept Takes Fusion Power One Step Closer to Commercial Reality

April 4, 2021

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The post Compact Advanced Tokomak Concept Takes Fusion Power One Step Closer to Commercial Reality appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Scientists at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility have released a new design for a compact fusion reactor that can generate electricity and help define the technology necessary for commercial fusion power.

General Atomics, which operates the DIII-D facility in San Diego, California, for the U.S. Department of Energy, says the approach is based on the “Advanced Tokamak” concept pioneered by the DIII-D program. The design is said to enable a higher-performance, self-sustaining configuration that holds energy more efficiently than in typical pulsed configurations, allowing it to be built at a reduced scale and cost.

“The key to our approach is to raise the pressure inside the tokamak,” Dr. Richard Buttery, director of experimental science for the DIII-D facility and leader of the project, said in a statement issued to POWER. “This makes more fusion occur, allowing us to reduce the current, which in turn makes the plasma easier to sustain and more stable.…

Power Infrastructure Prominent in Biden’s $2.25 Trillion Blueprint

April 2, 2021

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A major chunk of President Joe Biden’s $ 2.25 trillion transformational plan to overhaul the nation’s infrastructure is dedicated to re-energizing America’s power infrastructure. The initiatives garnered the industry’s approval—with notable exceptions.

The “American Jobs Plan,” released on March 31, strives to jumpstart the U.S. economy, which drooped under burdens posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. But according to senior administration officials, forward-looking initiatives unveiled on Wednesday are also “about focusing on how can we make a historic capital investment in America to improve our competitiveness, create millions of jobs, rebuild our infrastructure, and position our economy to face the crises and the threats we will face in the future, and finally address the climate crisis as a nation.”

Along with initiatives to fix highways, rebuild bridges, upgrade ports, airports, transit systems, drinking water systems, digital infrastructure, and public institutional infrastructure, the plan seeks to revitalize manufacturing, secure U.S.…

Key Pre-Demolition Considerations for Fossil Fuel Power Plants

March 31, 2021

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The post Key Pre-Demolition Considerations for Fossil Fuel Power Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

As the existing electric generation infrastructure matures, electric generation system owners are looking to the future for newer and greener technologies to meet the demands of electric consumption. An important part of this future perspective may include the demolition and removal of older generation plants and facilities to free up land resources for new development.

Prior to the physical work of demolition, there are a number of key considerations that need to be addressed to enable the closeout of one chapter to facilitate the emergence of a new chapter.

It can be safely assumed that all fossil-fueled plants maintained a requisite host of permits, licenses, and regulatory requirements that need to be properly closed out prior to filing for a demolition permit and initiation of physical work. All of these have a variety of lead times that may precede the actual demolition permit or are coincident with it.…