Panel Rejects Pollution Control Waiver The state Pollution Control Board rejected a request by Ameren Corp. to transfer permission to delay pollution controls at five coal-fired plants to Dynegy Inc., which is seeking to acquire the plants. The board said Dynegy could submit a new petition for a waiver, requiring...

Coal Plants’ Fate Hinges on Waiver Ameren Corp. and Dynegy Inc. will face off with environmental groups next week in a hearing that could decide the future of some of Illinois’ largest coal-fired power plants. The companies are seeking a waiver from the Illinois Pollution Control Board that would provide...

ComEd Not to Blame for  Smart Meter Fires Commonwealth Edison’s smart meters are not to blame for overheating and fires that occurred in a pilot program. State regulators said the problem was loose connections and corrosion in customer-owned casings. Three smart meters caught fire during a 2010 pilot program, in...

VA’s Wind Energy Area (Source: BOEM) Dominion Virginia Power last week won the rights to develop Virginia’s “Wind Energy Area,” nearly 113,000 acres of Atlantic Ocean with the potential to support 2,000 MW of offshore wind generation. But Virginia’s largest utility is making no promises that it will exploit the...

Coal boosters who hope carbon capture technology will ensure the fuel’s future will find little support in a new report conducted for planners in the Eastern Interconnection. EPA’s proposed New Source Performance Standards for greenhouse gases will likely make it impossible to permit new coal-fired generation that doesn’t include Carbon...

Duke Settles with Environmental Groups Duke Energy agreed to quit burning coal at its share of the Wabash River Station power plant in western Indiana by June 2018 under a settlement with environmental and citizens groups that also calls for the company to increase its investments in renewable energy. The...

ICC OKs Ameren Transmission Line The Illinois Commerce Commission approved Ameren Transmission's proposed $1.1 billion 345 kV transmission line across central Illinois. The 380-mile Illinois Rivers line will run from Quincy to Terre Haute, Ind., with a branch line running north to Ipava. Construction is expected to begin by April...

FirstEnergy Corp. has begun sending layoff notices to workers at two Southwestern Pennsylvania coal-fired generating plants even as PJM notified the company it won’t complete transmission upgrades in time for the plants' scheduled Oct. 9 shutdowns. Mitchell Power Plant (Source: FirstEnergy) FirstEnergy expects to lay off about 380 workers as...

FirstEnergy Corp. reached a settlement last week in a controversial bid to shift a coal-fired generator from its unregulated subsidiary to regulated utility Monongahela Power, but a consumer group says the reduced price is still a bad deal for ratepayers. Harrison Power Plant (Source: FirstEnergy) Under the settlement, Mon Power...