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Calpine Announces $5.6 Billion Sale to Equity Group

August 19, 2017

Houston-based Calpine Corp., which confirmed in July it was looking for a buyer, announced August 18 it has agreed to be bought by Energy Capital Partners (ECP) in a $ 5.6 billion deal.

ECP is a private equity firm that focuses on investments in North American energy infrastructure. The purchasing group also includes a consortium of investors led by Access Industries, a New York City-based holding company, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The deal is expected to close early next year, according to the companies.

“We are excited to partner with Energy Capital,” said Thad Hill, Calpine’s president and CEO, in a statement after the deal was announced. “With ECP, Calpine will be able to operate as it always has, executing on our strategic objectives of providing safe and reliable power and serving our retail and wholesale customers with differentiated products and services.”

Calpine in July confirmed that it was looking for a buyer, two months after reports surfaced that the company was working with investment bankers to facilitate a sale.…

Georgia PSC Signals Support Continuing Vogtle Expansion

August 17, 2017

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In two actions on August 15, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) signaled its support for the Vogtle nuclear expansion project, provided it can be done economically,

Georgia Power must show revised cost and schedule estimates to finish the costly Vogtle nuclear expansion as well as indicate whether it intends to finish the much-delayed construction project in its next construction monitoring report, which is due on August 31, one motion requires.

The PSC voted 4–1 on the motion put forth by Commission Chairman Stan Wise. The motion also requires Georgia Power to address whether the commission should approve revisions to project costs and schedule.

“This vote today sends a message to the Company, the Company’s partners, ratepayers, and Wall Street that the Commission continues to be supportive of this project provided it can be done economically,” Chairman Wise said in a statement. “This information will help us in deciding the appropriateness of whether this project should go forward or not go forward.”…

Operator Reverses Course, Will Keep Running Montana Coal Plant

August 13, 2017

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The operator of one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the Western U.S. will continue to run the facility, changing course about a year after a company executive said the plant was not economically viable.

A spokesman for Talen Energy confirmed to POWER on August 9 that the company will continue to operate the 2,094-MW Colstrip Generating Station in Montana. The company last year told the ownership group it would need to find a new operator by mid-2018.

Todd Martin, a spokesman for Talen, told POWER in an email: “I can confirm that the ownership group has determined that Talen Montana will continue to operate the Colstrip Station.” He said the company would have “no additional public information to share at this time.”

The Billings (Mont.) Gazette first reported August 9 that Colstrip would remain open, based on its interviews in the past week with representatives of the six utilities that co-own the plant.

Montana legislators earlier this year approved a deal that would allow Pennsylvania-based Talen to borrow up to $ 10 million a year to keep the plant operating until 2022.…

Exelon Set to Expand Massachusetts Peaking Plant

August 11, 2017

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Exelon could begin construction as soon as next week on an expansion of its 135-MW West Medway oil-fired peaking plant in West Medway, Massachusetts. The company’s plan to add two units and 200 MW of generation to the existing three-unit facility was deliberated for 29 months by state and local officials before a state board approved the expansion August 4.

The expansion includes the installation of two GE LMS100 dual-fuel turbines, operating primarily on natural gas but also using ultra-low-sulfur diesel as backup for a maximum 30 days a year. The company’s website says the new units could start up and be online in about 10 minutes. Exelon in its reports on the project says the gas-fired generation will reduce CO₂ emissions by 40% when it displaces generation from the three older units.

The construction, which will include two 160-foot emission stacks, along with a 50-foot sound barrier to minimize noise, reportedly is expected to take 14 months to complete.…

FERC Has Quorum as Senate Confirms Two New Members

August 9, 2017

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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) again has a working quorum after the U.S. Senate confirmed Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson as new members August 3. FERC had been without a quorum since February 2017 when Commissioner Norman Bay resigned, and with only one member after Collette Honorable left the agency at the end of June.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, released a statement that said the Senate approved Chatterjee and Powelson by unanimous consent. Murkowski said she has scheduled a hearing for September 7 before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to consider two more nominees, Richard Glick and Kevin McIntyre, for the agency. FERC has long been a five-member agency, and by law requires three commissioners to make up a quorum and have the ability to conduct its full range of business.

Robert Powelson (left) and Neil Chatterjee have been confirmed as the two newest FERC commissioners. Courtesy: FERC

Robert Powelson (left) and Neil Chatterjee have been confirmed as the two newest FERC commissioners. Source: POWER archives

Glick is general counsel for Democrats on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.…

Enviros Call for Court Decision in Clean Power Plan Case

August 7, 2017

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Given that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) isn’t going to be taking any substantial action to rewrite the Clean Power Plan anytime soon, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit should not postpone a decision in the court case against the rule, an August 4 document filed by a group of environmental intervenors in the case argues.

The case against the Clean Power Plan was argued in court on September 27, 2016, before a panel of 10 judges. In the more than ten months since the hearing, the court has not issued a decision in the case.

The situation got more complicated after the election of President Donald Trump, an opponent of the rule, and the nomination of former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who had sued the former administration’s EPA over the rule, as the new administrator of the EPA.

Pruitt’s EPA announced right away that it would be reviewing the rule, as he believes it represents an overreach of the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act.…