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MHPS Grid-Connects T-Point 2 Advanced Gas Turbine Validation Facility

April 6, 2020

The post MHPS Grid-Connects T-Point 2 Advanced Gas Turbine Validation Facility appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has begun commissioning T-Point 2, its newest combined cycle power plant validation facility that will eventually host the company’s much-watched autonomous combined cycle power project.

The 566-MW facility at Takasago Works in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, will replace the iconic T-Point facility, which MHPS’s parent company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) completed in 1997 as a 60-Hz followup to the 1992-built 50-Hz K-Point validation plant in Kanazawa. Like its predecessors, T-Point 2 has been designed as an ultramodern power plant—which will actively supply power to the regional grid—and a demonstrator that will enable engineers to push the realms of gas turbine technology.

Construction of T-Point 2 began in late 2017 following years of engineering efforts, and MHPS announced on April 2 it has now been synced to the grid and is currently operating at full load—ahead of schedule. Commercial operations at T-Point 2 are now expected to begin in July 2020.…

COVID-19 May Delay Vogtle Nuclear Expansion

April 2, 2020

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Southern Co. in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 1 said the COVID-19 pandemic “could disrupt or delay construction, testing, supervisory and support activities” at the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion project in Georgia.

The company in the filing said, “It is too early to determine what impact, if any, the COVID-19 outbreak will have on the current construction schedule or budget” for the two new nuclear reactors at the site near Waynesboro, Georgia. Southern said state and federal government actions designed to slow the spread of the virus, such as stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders, could bring disruptions to both the labor pool and supply chains.

The company said effects of the coronavirus pandemic “could disrupt or delay construction, testing, supervisory and support activities at Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4.”

John Kraft, a spokesperson for Georgia Power, the lead utility on the project, told POWER on Wednesday that “Construction work continues at the site under continuing enhanced protocols designed to reduce worker-to-worker contact and keep areas that workers frequent, cleaned and sanitized. …

EPA Relaxes Noncompliance Enforcement During COVID-19 Pandemic

March 29, 2020

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Adopting a new temporary policy that gives it more “enforcement discretion,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said March 26 it does not expect to seek penalties for civil violations of the agency’s rules that result from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The policy adopted Thursday addresses concerns that regulated facilities are facing potential worker shortages, travel restrictions, and social distancing restrictions, factors that could heavily affect compliance with EPA requirements, ranging from monitoring and reporting to exceeding air emission limits.

The EPA said that while it will still expect regulated facilities to comply with regulatory requirements “where reasonably practicable,” if consequences of the pandemic result in noncompliance, these facilities must work to return to compliance “as quickly as possible.” To be eligible for the enforcement discretion, however, facilities must also document decisions they make to prevent or mitigate noncompliance, and they must also demonstrate how the noncompliance was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.…

The POWER Interview: GenCell’s CEO on Importance of Clean Energy

March 25, 2020

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The coronavirus pandemic is expected to slow the growth of renewable energy in 2020, owing to supply chain disruptions and an economic recession. It could make hitting targets for clean energy adoption more difficult, particularly in the short term.

Will government officials look to adjust their goals for renewable energy? Perhaps, but with most of the targeted goals 10 or more years away, it’s likely they will take the long view, with adjustments happening down the road depending on market conditions.

Rami Reshef, CEO of GenCell, an Israel-based fuel cell technology company, in a recent interview with POWER talked about the importance of renewable energy, including fuel cells, which convert potential chemical energy into electrical energy and generate heat as a by-product. While chemical energy is stored inside batteries, fuel cells can continuously generate electricity as long as they are supplied with fuel (hydrogen) and an oxygen supply.…

Wind Energy Group Says $43 Billion at Risk from COVID-19

March 23, 2020

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Energy groups continue to assess the industry disruption caused by the coronavirus, with the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) on March 19 saying the global pandemic is putting $ 43 billion of wind industry investments and payments at risk.

Utilities, grid operators, and other have been altering their routines as state and local governments call for the closures of many non-essential businesses. Energy companies have instituted travel bans, have shuttered their offices—asking many employees to work remotely—and changed how they will interact with customers.

Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, earlier this week said the virus has caused “a pretty significant crisis” for the solar industry, disrupting supply chains and likely creating labor shortages. Tom Kiernan, CEO of AWEA, on Thursday acknowledged the challenges the coronavirus is causing for the wind energy industry, going so far as to ask for Congress to intervene to protect jobs and economic investment in the sector.…

Pennsylvania Move to Join RGGI May Save Nuclear Plant

March 17, 2020

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The post Pennsylvania Move to Join RGGI May Save Nuclear Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Energy Harbor Corp., the new name for the former FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) after FES’s bankruptcy, on March 13 said its Beaver Valley nuclear plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, will remain open. FES in March 2018 had told state regulators it would close the plant in 2021 because it was no longer economic to operate.

Energy Harbor President and CEO John Judge said the decision to keep the plant open came after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said the state would join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a program for capping and decreasing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the power generation sector that currently includes 10 states in the U.S. Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

Energy Harbor, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, was announced as the new name for FES in late February. The company while operating as FES was the unregulated power generation arm of FirstEnergy Corp.;…