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NERC: Accelerated Coal and Nuclear Retirements Pose Limited Reliability Risks

December 20, 2018

The accelerated retirement of coal-fired and nuclear generation by 2022 could adversely affect reliability in four regions, including in the east and over a swathe of the central U.S., the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) warned as it released findings from a “stress-test” scenario.

But the entity tasked with ensuring reliability and security of the North American bulk power system (BPS) also noted six of 10 assessment areas—which cover PJM, New England, MISO, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and the Western coast—would have enough generation capacity to maintain peak demand, even if they see high levels of generator retirements over the next five years.

A “Stress-Test” Scenario

The findings stem from NERC’s Dec. 18–released “Generation Retirement Scenario,” which the entity evaluated because, it said, the retirement of traditional baseload generators and their rapid replacement with natural gas–fired, wind, and solar generation “is changing the characteristics of the BPS and introducing new considerations for reliability planning.”

The so-called “stress-test” scenario essentially assumes that areas where coal and nuclear currently make up a large share of resource levels will see accelerated retirements so that by 2022, they will lose 30% of their coal capacity and 45% of their nuclear capacity.…

Regulators Back Dominion Takeover of SCANA

December 18, 2018

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Dominion Energy’s bid to purchase SCANA Corp. and its South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) utility, approved by South Carolina regulators on Dec. 14, could bring some stability to SCANA. Shareholders hope that’s the case; they’re excited about swapping their devalued SCANA shares for more valuable Dominion stock.

Workers, though, remain uncertain about their futures, fearing job losses with SCANA moving from local ownership to operating under the auspices of a Virginia-based company. On the flip side, workers also know new ownership could help the company’s bottom line and prevent job cuts, which Dominion has addressed in its merger agreement.

South Carolina’s Public Service Commission (PSC) unanimously supported Dominion’s offer for SCANA, despite protests from environmental groups and others who say the deal is not good for state ratepayers. SCANA CEO Jimmy Addison said the PSC’s decision put the companies “one step closer to a final resolution and the certainty that stakeholders have been hoping for.”

Thomas Farrell, Dominion’s chairman, president and CEO, in a statement Friday said his company was “encouraged” by the PSC’s unanimous support, “and awaits an order to review prior to making a final decision to close the merger with SCANA.”…

Amid Broad Legal Challenges, EPA Proposes Narrower Definition of WOTUS

December 16, 2018

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In a move widely applauded by the power industry, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Army proposed a new definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) that could exempt groundwater and ditches from regulation under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The measures follow other recent significant regulatory actions by the agency. On December 6, the agency also announced proposed revisions to performance standards governing carbon dioxide emissions from new, reconstructed, or modified coal-fired power plants. On November 15, the EPA clarified guidelines on when activities can be grouped together to determine whether they trigger New Source Review (NSR) permitting. And on November 7, it posted a final implementation rule for the 2015 ozone standard.

A Narrow Definition for ‘WOTUS’

The revised definition for “WOTUS” proposed by the EPA and the Department of the Army on December 11 significantly narrows the number of waterways and wetlands that fall within the jurisdictional scope of the CWA compared to a contentious rule finalized by the Obama administration in June 2015.…

Trump EPA Scraps CCS as BSER for New Coal Units

December 14, 2018

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has significantly relaxed requirements needed to build new coal-fired power units in the U.S.

The revisions proposed on December 6 for performance standards governing carbon dioxide emissions from new, reconstructed, and modified coal power units respond to the Trump Administration’s Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth, which directed the EPA and other agencies to review existing regulations and revise or rescind “those that unduly burden the development of domestic energy resources beyond the degree necessary to protect the public interest or otherwise comply with the law.”

Among the proposal’s key changes to the Obama administration’s 2015-finalized New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) are that they drop partial carbon capture and storage (CCS) as the best system of emission reduction (BSER) for new coal units, citing “high costs and limited geographic availability of CCS.”

Instead, for new units, the EPA proposed limits for CO₂ emissions based on “the most efficient demonstrated steam cycle in combination with the best operating practices.”…

Siemens Cutting 200 Jobs at Texas Service Center

December 12, 2018

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Siemens on December 11 said it would lay off about 200 workers at a gas turbines parts and components service center in Houston, Texas, sometime in late 2019 or early 2020. A company spokesperson made the announcement Tuesday, saying the cuts are due to weak global demand for the company’s turbines.

Siemens in a statement said the decision was “difficult.” The company, in a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission, also said the layoffs were partly due to overcapacity within the company’s network.

Siemens in September said that it would cut 2,900 jobs in Germany to boost the competitiveness of its Power and Gas and Process Industries divisions. The company at the time said the cuts would save about $ 590 million.

Lisa Davis, member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG, in a statement at the time said, “The market for fossil power generation has contracted substantially. Against the backdrop of this structural change, the agreement we’ve reached [with the company’s unions] is critical to improving our competitiveness.”…

Dominican Republican to Get Floating Combined Cycle Gas Plant Outfitted with Battery Storage

December 8, 2018

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A novel floating power plant that combines a 145-MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant and a battery energy storage system could begin operating in the Dominican Republic by early 2021.

Siemens and the marine arm of Singapore-based ST Engineering on December 3 said they jointly received an order for a SeaFloat barge-mounted power plant from Bermuda-based Seaboard Corp. subsidiary Transcontinental Capital Corp. The independent power producer is developing the Estrella del Mar III project in the Dominican Republic’s capital of Santo Domingo.

The hybrid project is based on Siemens’ SCC-800 2×1 SeaFloat concept. The shipyard-constructed floating power barge includes two Siemens SGT-800 gas turbines and one SST-600 steam turbine. “The gas and steam turbine generation sets are of single lift package design for floating applications utilizing integrated based frame design with three-point mount,” the company said in a news release.

The project also includes a SIESTART solution; Fluence Energy, a joint venture between Siemens and AES, will provide a 5-MW/10-MWh battery energy storage system to provide frequency regulation control.…