Archives

PUR Guide 2012 Fully Updated Version

Available NOW!

This comprehensive self-study certification course is designed to teach the novice or pro everything they need to understand and succeed in every phase of the public utilities business.

Order Now

NRC

Federal Feud

When Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led an attack on the federal Springfield Armory in January 1787—the spark that ignited the federalist movement—he scarcely could’ve guessed that now, 225 years later, his spiritual descendants would still be fighting that very same battle.

Author Bio: 

Bruce W. Radford (radford@pur.com) is Fortnightly’s publisher, and Michael T. Burr (burr@pur.com) is the editor-in-chief.

The jurisdictional battle rages on, with FERC and EPA squaring off against the states.

Vendor Neutral

Constellation completes 16.1 MW PV project in Maryland; Ikea commissions 31st solar project, reaching 38 MW installed; IPL and MidAmerican install $545 million scrubber in Iowa; DTE partners with Enbridge and Spectra on pipeline for Utica shale gas; plus contracts and announcements from Dominion, Sempra, Southern Company, AEP, EPRI, Itron, Landis+Gyr, Opower and others.

Image: 
Spent fuel at AEP’s Cook nuclear plant will move to a recently completed on-site dry-cask storage facility.
IKEA’s Bloomington, Minn., rooftop photovoltaic array—its 31st U.S. solar project.
Suntech says its new utility-scale solar module, the Ve-Series, is certified to withstand extreme winds and snowfalls.
The C.P Crane coal-fired generating plant, one of three Maryland power plants that Exelon will sell to Raven Power Holdings.
Exelon sold its stake in five  Constellation power plants in California, including the Chinese Station biomass facility.
Category: 
Vendor Neutral

Vendor Neutral

Panda Energy awards turnkey $300 million turnkey contract to Siemens and Bechtel; Dominion starts up 585-MW CFB plant; Ocean Power Technologies and Lockheed Martin partner on wave power project; Infigen awards wind turbine service contract to Mitsubishi; ITC commissions 345-kV line in Oklahoma; ABB tests world’s biggest DC transformer; Xcel gets green light for Tres Amigas-area transmission upgrades; plus contracts and announcements from Elster, Sensus, Enertech, and others.
Image: 
Dominion Virginia Power started up the 585-MW Virginia City circulating fluidized bed power plant in July.
The latest inspection report from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission indicates steam generator tube wear at the San Onofre nuclear plant was caused by excessive vibration under certain circumstances.
ITC Great Plains commissioned the Hugo-Valliant HVDC transmission line and substation project in Oklahoma.
The first three wireless EV charging systems were installed on Nissan LEAFs as part of the Plugless Power program. The systems use electromagnetic induction to charge EV batteries without driver interaction.
Category: 
Vendor Neutral

Letters to the Editor (July 2012)

(July 2012) Thanks for your enlightening editorial about the problems of feed-in tariffs for photovoltaic installations and the distortions they are causing in cost responsibilities among electric utility customers. While these issues are an immediate and growing concern, an entirely different set of problems will emerge over the next decade as the share of renewables in total generation approaches the high levels being dictated by most regulatory authorities.

Category: 
Letters to the Editor

Gas Demand Response

As more natural gas is used for power generation, more volatility can be expected in gas markets. Demand response might provide a tool for managing that volatility, but is it technically feasible? And will gas customers accept it?