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BP Buying $1.1 Billion Stake in U.S. Offshore Wind

September 13, 2020

The post BP Buying $ 1.1 Billion Stake in U.S. Offshore Wind appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The move by major oil and gas exploration companies into renewable energy has taken another significant step, as BP announced a $ 1.1 billion deal to buy the U.S. offshore wind power assets of Norway’s Equinor.

BP in announcing the deal on Sept. 10 said it is taking a 50% stake in Equinor’s Empire Wind project off New York, and a similar position in Equinor’s Beacon Wind development off Massachusetts (Figure 1). Equinor will continue to hold a half-interest in both projects and will remain the operator. The deal is expected to close in early 2021.

Bernard Looney, CEO of the British energy giant, in August said BP would cut its oil and gas output by 40% over the next 10 years, while spending as much as $ 5 billion annually to build its renewable energy business, as the company pivots from fossil fuel development.…

Coal-Fired Generation Down 30% in U.S., 8% Worldwide

August 14, 2020

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The post Coal-Fired Generation Down 30% in U.S., 8% Worldwide appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Analysis from a global energy organization said power generation from coal-fired units fell 8.3% in the first half of 2020, with the world’s coal fleet running at less than half its capacity. The drop for U.S. coal generation was more steep, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting the output from the nation’s coal units was 30% lower this year compared to the first six months of 2019.

The Ember group, a UK-based think tank, said the global drop was in part due to significantly lower demand for power during the coronavirus pandemic, and coal’s share of generation also was eroded by increased production of electricity from renewables such as solar and wind. Investments in renewable energy continue to increase worldwide as wind and solar power have become competitive with fossil fuel-fired generation.

Ember’s global half-year electricity analysis, released August 13, comes at the same time as the EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), published Tuesday.…

Nuclear Fuel Working Group Outlines How U.S. Could Regain Global Leadership

April 24, 2020

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The post Nuclear Fuel Working Group Outlines How U.S. Could Regain Global Leadership appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The U.S. will attempt to regain its international standing as a world leader in nuclear energy through a three-pronged strategy that will essentially seek to strengthen the full domestic nuclear fuel cycle, possibly deny imports of nuclear fuel fabricated in Russia or China, and promote advanced reactor technologies.

The strategy is outlined in the White House’s Nuclear Fuel Working Group’s (NFWG’s) long-awaited findings released on April 23 in its report, “Restoring America’s Competitive Nuclear Advantage: A Strategy to Assure U.S. National Security.” President Trump convened the group, which includes representatives from various executive branch agencies, in July 2019 after the Department of Commerce in May 2019 found that uranium imports posed a threat to national security. The NFWG was tasked with examining domestic nuclear fuel production and options to revive the entire nuclear fuel supply chain.

Strong Emphasis on the Front-End of the Nuclear Cycle

The NFWG report, which Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette described as a “roadmap” in a call with reporters on Thursday, sets out three key priorities.…

Job losses could quickly soar into the millions as coronavirus craters U.S. economy – NBCNews.com

March 20, 2020

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Job losses could quickly soar into the millions as coronavirus craters U.S. economy NBCNews.com
“job” – Google News…

Settlement Reached in Largest U.S. Coal Ash Cleanup

January 4, 2020

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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.…

Canada Plan to Store Nuclear Waste near Lake Huron Draws U.S. Ire

December 10, 2019

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The post Canada Plan to Store Nuclear Waste near Lake Huron Draws U.S. Ire appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A group of U.S. lawmakers has asked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reconsider that country’s proposed plan to store its nuclear waste at a site near Lake Huron, northeast of Detroit, Michigan.

The site, at Huron-Konloss/South Bruce, in Bruce County, Ontario, is one of two communities chosen by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), which consists of Canada’s nuclear power generating companies and includes Ontario Power Generation, New Brunswick Power Corp., and Hydro-Quebec. The NWMO was established by Canada’s parliament in 2002, and is responsible for designing and implementing the country’s plan for the long-term management of used nuclear fuel.

Bruce County is home to Ontario Power Generation’s Bruce Nuclear Generation Station, the country’s largest nuclear power plant with more than 6 GW of generation capacity. The station, known as Bruce Power, has eight reactors, the most of any operating nuclear station worldwide.…