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What Is Coal’s Future? [PODCAST]

October 27, 2018

The Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs—a bipartisan think tank—will host the “Jackson Hole Global Forum: Climate Solutions, Coal Communities, and Economic Diversification,” in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, November 8–9, 2018. Among the sessions on day one is a panel titled “What Is Coal’s Future?” Charles K. Ebinger, nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, will be one of the panelists.

Ebinger touched on some of the issues facing the coal industry on an episode of The POWER Podcast. He said the question—“What is coal’s future?”—really needed to be answered in two parts: one addressing challenges in the U.S. and the other taking a broader look at coal usage around the world.

Although coal faces stiff headwinds in the U.S., demand in Asia is very robust, growing 5% or more per year in some places. The fact is, hundreds of millions of people still do not have electricity in various parts of the world, and hundreds of millions of others don’t have truly reliable sources of power.…

Deadline Extended for Vote on Future of Plant Vogtle

September 26, 2018

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The drama over the fate of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia continued September 25 as the four co-owners of the project sparred over conditions that one of the co-owners, Oglethorpe Power, wants in order to secure its support for moving forward with the project.

A vote on the future of the oft-delayed, massively over budget project was delayed several times Tuesday before eventually being pushed to 5 p.m. Eastern time September 26. The plant’s co-owners on Monday agreed construction should continue on two new AP1000 reactors at the site in Waynesboro, but Oglethorpe’s support was conditional, with the electric membership cooperative saying it needs an agreement on how costs for continuing construction will be capped before casting a “yes” vote. A “no” vote from Oglethorpe could bring a cancellation of the project.

Steve Tumlin, the mayor of Marietta, Georgia, and the city’s representative on the board of the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power), said the deadline for a definitive vote on the project’s future can be extended as much as seven days.…

California PUC Will Rule Soon on Diablo Canyon’s Future

November 28, 2017

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The fate of Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E’s) Diablo Canyon Power Plant is expected to be decided by year-end, with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) set to hear final arguments about the plant’s future on November 28.

The 2.2-GW nuclear plant has operated near Avila Beach, California, since 1985. A judge in early November supported PG&E’s plan to retire the plant’s two Westinghouse-designed 4-loop pressurized-water reactors when their federal operating licenses expire in 2024 and 2025.

PG&E has said several factors entered into its decision to shutter the plant, which is the last operating nuclear facility in California. On its website, the utility says, “California’s energy landscape is changing dramatically. State policies that focus on renewables and energy efficiency, coupled with projected lower customer electricity demand in the future, will result in a significant reduction in the need for electricity produced by Diablo Canyon Power Plant past 2025.”

Proponents of keeping the plant in operation argue it was built to last a century.…

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.…