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Coal-Fired Generation Projected to Surpass Natural Gas This Winter

November 24, 2016

Coal, the unchallenged leader in U.S. power generation for most of the past century, may regain its place at the top of the energy mix hierarchy this winter, according to projections released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The EIA’s November Short-Term Energy Outlook suggests that prices for natural gas delivered to the power sector will continue rising, resulting in gas-fired generation reaching a seasonal peak of nearly $ 31/MWh in February 2017. That’s a far cry from the low recorded in March 2016 of about $ 16/MWh.

Increased gas prices would be a favorable development for the coal power sector. The national average price for power generated by coal has been between $ 21/MWh and $ 23/MWh for the past couple of years, making it the more economical choice.

As recently as 2010, coal supplied nearly twice the electricity generated from gas. However, falling gas prices as a result of the shale boom and coal plants closing due to more stringent environmental regulations have changed the landscape substantially.…

COP22: Countries Challenge the World to Advance Clean Energy

November 20, 2016

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Meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, during the most recent United Nations climate change conference (COP22), Mission Innovation countries—a group of nations whose stated mission is to accelerate the pace of clean energy innovation—launched seven innovation challenges, designed as a global call to action for the research community, industry, and investors.

The challenges are:

Smart Grids
Off-Grid Access to Electricity
Carbon Capture
Sustainable Biofuels
Converting Sunlight (to create storable solar fuels)
Clean Energy Materials
Affordable Heating and Cooling of Buildings

“Collaboration is essential to advancing our global response to climate change and meeting our Mission Innovation goals,” said James Carr, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. “Canada will continue to invest in clean energy research and technology development and work with international partners to leverage efforts to accelerate energy technology innovation to advance the transition to a low-carbon global economy.”

After welcoming Finland and the Netherlands to the group during COP22, the Mission Innovation countries are now 23 members strong, including the three largest CO₂ emitting countries in the world: China, the U.S.,…

Paducah Laser Nuclear Enrichment Facility Gets Fuel but Not Formal Construction Decision

November 12, 2016

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While GE-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) confirmed it hasn’t made a formal decision to proceed with licensing or construction of a laser enrichment facility at Paducah, Ky., the Department of Energy (DOE) announced it has agreed to sell depleted uranium to the company over a 40-year period to help produce nuclear power plant fuel.

The DOE said that GLE would finance, construct, own, and operate the Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility proposed for a site near the DOE’s Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in western Kentucky. The commercial facility is expected to use, under a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license, depleted uranium to produce natural uranium, which will then be used for production of fuel for U.S. civil nuclear reactors. The agreement provides for the sale of about 300,000 metric tons of DOE-owned high-assay uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) inventories for re-enrichment using proprietary SILEX technology to produce natural-grade uranium.

Yet, as a GE Power spokesperson told POWER on November 11, GLE “has made no formal decision to proceed with licensing or construction of the facility.”…

More Delays at Kemper as $250 Million Deadline Looms

November 8, 2016

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Southern Co. has once again moved back the in-service date for the Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant under construction in Mississippi, this time to December 31, the company said in its quarterly report released on November 4.

Though the plant has experienced ongoing construction delays for a variety of reasons, the most recent date carries special significance. According to the report, Southern subsidiary Mississippi Power will have to repay $ 250 million in tax benefits should it miss the December 31 date.

The deadline is a result of provisions in the “tax extenders” act passed by Congress in 2015, which allowed additional depreciation for certain projects. Southern said it expects to receive about $ 370 million in total tax benefits for Kemper under this provision, about $ 250 million of which has already been received through September 30 as a result of quarterly income tax refunds. But if Kemper does not enter service before the end of the year, Southern will have to repay those benefits.…

GE-Hitachi and Southern Nuclear to Pair on Fast Reactor Design Advancement

November 6, 2016

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GE-HItachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Southern Nuclear Energy will collaborate to study the development and licensing of GEH’s PRISM sodium-cooled fast reactor design.

Southern Nuclear Development, a subsidiary of Southern Co. company Southern Nuclear Operating Co. signed a memorandum of understanding to study the high-energy neutron reactor design, as well as to work together toward participating in future U.S. Department of Energy advanced reactor licensing projects.

The companies said in a joint press release on October 31 that the PRISM design has benefited from the operating experience of EBR-II. Developed under the U.S. Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) program, the EBR-II was a 62-MWe prototype that began operations in 1961 at a Argonne National Laboratory site in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and operated for more than 30 years. The prototype was used for testing materials and design concepts and later used to generate power for other site facilities.

The reactor was shut down in 1994. In mid-2015, crews completed work to entomb the reactor, removing and treating the last of the sodium coolant from the reactor’s nine heat exchangers.…

Two Deals Shake Up Northeastern Power Landscape

November 4, 2016

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TransCanada—a leading North American energy company—has struck deals to sell its U.S. Northeast Power business. LS Power will acquire three principally natural gas–fired power plants and a wind farm from TransCanada, while ArcLight Capital Partners will buy 13 hydropower facilities located in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

“The sale of our merchant U.S. Northeast Power business to fund a portion of our acquisition of [Columbia Pipeline Group Inc.] will further enhance the stability and predictability of our earnings and cash flow streams and support a strong and growing dividend,” said Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and CEO.

The plants being acquired by LS Power are Ravenswood, a 2,480-MW multiple-unit facility with dual-fuel-capable steam turbine, combined cycle, and combustion turbine units located in Queens, N.Y.; Ironwood, a 778-MW combined cycle plant in Lebanon, Penn.; Ocean State Power, a 560-MW combined cycle plant in Burrillville, R.I.; and Kibby Wind, a 132-MW wind farm in Franklin County, Maine. LS Power, through its affiliate Helix Generation, will pay TransCanada $ 2.2 billion in cash for the 3,950-MW portfolio.…