8 Rivers Unveils 560 MW of Allam Cycle Gas-Fired Projects for Colorado, Illinois
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8 Rivers Capital, inventor of a novel supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle, plans to begin operating a 280-MW NET Power natural gas–fired plant within the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in southwest Colorado by 2025. The company on April 15 also said it will team with agricultural and processing firm Archer-Daniels-Midlands Co. (ADM) to locate a 280-MW NET Power facility in Decatur, Illinois.
The proposed projects are a giant leap forward for Durham, North Carolina- headquartered venture capitalist firm 8 Rivers, and NET Power, a firm it holds jointly with industry backers that is working to commercialize the Allam Cycle.
Despite intense interest from industry, NET Power has been quiet about developments surrounding the potentially revolutionary technology, including any achievements at a NET Power test facility in La Porte, Texas. The company marked its last substantial technology triumph in May 2018, when it achieved first-fire of a novel commercial-scale 50-MWth combustor at the La Porte facility. …
Self-Tuning Artificial Intelligence Improves Plant Efficiency and Flexibility
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Flexible plant operations are highly desirable in today’s power generation industry. Every plant owner desires increased ramp rates and the ability to operate at lower loads so their plants will remain “in the money” longer in today’s competitive power markets. This goal, while laudable, remains elusive. The ADEX self-tuning artificial intelligence (AI) system allows plants to continuously optimize plant performance at any operating point rather than being constrained to a static “design point” commonly found in gas- and coal-fired plants. Better yet, no changes to the plant distributed control system (DCS) are required.
Renewable energy resources, coupled with internet technologies and emerging large-scale energy storage, fundamentally change the modern electricity markets. Wind and photovoltaic electricity resources have proved to be the most disruptive renewable energy technologies over the past few years and will continue to do so. The challenge for grid operators is managing these disparate electricity providers to match weather-dependent supply with consumers demanding more independence and flexibility to manage personal demand patterns.…
Vistra Backs Illinois Transition Measure to Keep At-Risk Coal Plants Online Through 2025
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Bleeding financially from underperforming and legally burdened coal generation in downstate Illinois and elsewhere, Vistra, the nation’s largest competitive generator, has renewed its call for passage of the Illinois Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Act, a bill that could help keep 2.2 GW of existing at-risk capacity online through 2025 while the state expands its renewable and storage capacity.
The Irving, Texas–headquartered company said it renewed its support for the bill owing to “mounting financial and legal pressures that now come from operating coal plants.” The announcement came as the company accelerated the closure of the 1.2-GW Joppa Power Plant in September 2022—three years earlier than previously disclosed—to settle a complaint related to pollution exceedances in Illinois.
Vistra’s Heavily Burdened Coal Fleet
The Joppa plant, which opened in 1953, has six coal units with a combined capacity of 1 GW, as well as five natural gas units with a combined capacity of 239 MW.…