Groundwater

Duke Energy to Build Fully Lined Coal Ash Landfills at Dan River And Sutton Plants

Submitted by aburr on Sun, 2015-05-03 20:26

Duke Energy plans to submit permits to construct fully lined on-site landfills at the Dan River Steam Station in Eden, N.C., and the Sutton Plant in Wilmington, N.C. The landfills will be located on plant property and will provide a permanent storage solution for more than 6 million tons of coal ash at the two sites. The projects will also have contingency capacity for additional excavation at the sites, if needed. The proposed landfills are in addition to off-site solutions that Landfills at each site will feature multiple layers of synthetic and natural barriers.

Splitting the Difference on Coal Ash

Industry wins exemption for ‘beneficial use’ but faces tighter rules on impoundments and landfills.

The EPA only has limited authority to implement and enforce a Subtitle D nonhazardous waste rule, like the coal combustion residuals rule. As a result, EPA had to promulgate the standards as “minimum federal criteria” that states are encouraged to adopt as part of their Subtitle D programs (but EPA cannot actually require states to adopt or implement these requirements.) Nonetheless, the new minimum criteria do indeed serve as legal standards that an owner or operator of a coal combustion residuals disposal unit must meet.
Byline: 

Kenneth Kastner

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From Coal to Gas

Regulatory and environmental challenges for power plant conversions under the EPA’s Clean Power Plan.

Converting a power plant from coal to natural gas triggers a host of environmental challenges and regulatory issues. Operators could be trading one set of regulatory obligations, liabilities, and costs for another, equally problematic, set of liabilities and costs.
Byline: 

Stephen E. Luttrell, Paul R. McIntyre, and Stephen C. Jones

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Energy Efficiency's False Hope

Only behavioral change will reduce energy consumption.

Standards and technology don't reduce energy consumption, despite the claims of efficiency zealots. Real energy savings only come through behavioral change.

Byline: 

Andrew Rudin

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PV vs. Solar Thermal

Distributed solar modules are gaining ground on concentrated solar thermal plants.

Photovoltaic technologies are beginning to appear more attractive than concentrated solar thermal plants. PV’s competitiveness is improving from technical and operational advancements, as well as significant commitments made by such utilities as Southern California Edison. In the long run, distributed central PV plants likely will gain a strong market position.

Byline: 

Jonathan Lesser and Nicolas Puga

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News Digest

State PUCs

T+D Investment Risk. The Maine PUC appeared to take a pro-consumer stance in setting principles it will use to set a revenue requirement for transmission and distribution (T&D) services provided by Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. after the company becomes a wires-only utility on March 1. The PUC downplayed the risk of wires operations, adopting a return on equity of 11 percent and disallowing about $3.5 million of some $71 million in claimed T&D costs.

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