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Large Solar Projects Come Online in Hawaii, Florida

January 12, 2019

Two large solar power projects—located more than 4,600 miles apart—recently came online in the U.S., providing service in Florida and Hawaii.

Duke Energy on Jan. 8 announced its 74.9-MW Hamilton Solar Power Plant was online. The installation in Jasper, Fla., is part of the company’s plan to build or acquire at least 700 MW of solar power in the state by year-end 2022.

On the same day, the Lawai Solar and Energy Storage Project in Lihue, Hawaii, was commissioned by the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC). The facility began operating in December 2018. The project from AES Corp. is considered the world’s largest battery energy storage system (BESS) paired with solar generation. It combines 28 MW of solar photovoltaic generation capacity across a 150-acre site with a lithium-ion BESS of up to 100 MWh capacity.

The BESS is notable because it holds more energy than all but one other U.S. installation, a 120-MWh facility built by AES in Escondido, Calif., in 2017.…

Columbia Nuclear Plant Sets Another Generation Record, Credits Good Performance

January 10, 2019

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Operators of the Columbia Generating Station have set a new generation record at the nuclear plant 12 miles north of Richland, Wash., sending more than 9.7 million MWh to the Pacific Northwest power grid during 2018.

The single 1,207-MW single GE-built Mark-2 boiling water reactor that is owned and operated by Energy Northwest—which comprises 26 public power member utilities across Washington state—has set new generation records five out of the past seven years.

Because the plant consistently surpassed generation records set first in 2012 (9.3 TWh), then in 2014 (9.5 TWh), and again in 2016 (9.6 TWh), the plant was a POWER magazine Top Plant in 2017. The plant won the award also due in part to an operations overhaul that began in 2009, when Columbia suffered a series of scrams that landed it on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) radar, and led it to vastly improve its performance.

A Remarkable Cost of Power

The company said in a Jan.…

Growth in Renewables Continues Despite Drop in UK Power Generation

January 8, 2019

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Renewable energy sources increased their share of the UK’s electricity supply in 2018, with new wind farms and biomass plants helping renewables contribute a record 33% of the country’s power in the past year. Coal-fired units, meanwhile, saw a 25% drop in their output, with coal providing about 5% of the country’s total generation.

The UK has said it wants to phase out all coal generation by 2025.

An analysis by Carbon Brief, a UK-based climate science and energy policy group that advises the government, in a report released Jan. 3 noted that the amount of electricity produced in the UK last year was at its lowest level since 1994, despite sustained population growth during the period, including an increase of 6 million people since 2005. Analysts said the reduced need for power is due to increasingly efficient use of energy and the country’s changing economy.

Carbon Brief’s report noted 335 TWh were generated by UK power plants last year, a drop of about 1% from 2017.…

Former FERC Commissioner McIntyre Dead at 58

January 6, 2019

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Kevin McIntyre, who briefly served as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), died Jan. 2 at age 58. He had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 and had surgery to remove a tumor.

President Trump nominated McIntyre, a Republican, in August 2017 to serve as FERC chairman. He was confirmed by the Senate in November of that year—the delay was attributed to his health— and sworn in on Dec. 7, 2017, just prior to his 57th birthday. The nature of his health problems was not made public until March 2018.

At that time he said his prognosis was good, owing to “excellent health” and ongoing treatment. He said: “For reasons of personal and family privacy, I do not intend to provide further details or updates on this subject.”

McIntyre was the co-leader of the global energy practice at the law firm Jones Day prior to his nomination to FERC. He led a large FERC practice at Jones Day, representing clients in several energy sectors.…

Former FERC Commissioner McIntyre Dead at 57

January 4, 2019

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Kevin McIntyre, who briefly served as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), died Jan. 2 at age 57. He had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 and had surgery to remove a tumor.

President Trump nominated McIntyre, a Republican, in August 2017 to serve as FERC chairman. He was confirmed by the Senate in November of that year—the delay was attributed to his health— and sworn in on Dec. 7, 2017. The nature of his health problems was not made public until March 2018.

At that time he said his prognosis was good, owing to “excellent health” and ongoing treatment. He said: “For reasons of personal and family privacy, I do not intend to provide further details or updates on this subject.”

McIntyre was the co-leader of the global energy practice at the law firm Jones Day prior to his nomination to FERC. He led a large FERC practice at Jones Day, representing clients in several energy sectors.…

Tenaska Gas-Fired Plant Comes Online in Pennsylvania

January 2, 2019

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The Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station began commercial operation on Dec. 21, the latest natural gas-fired facility to enter the PJM market.

The 940-MW Tenaska plant, located near Smithton in South Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland County in southwest Pennsylvania, was built in just more than two years, though its planning and permitting process took several years due to opposition from local residents.

The plant is part of a move toward more gas-fired power in PJM, the largest competitive wholesale U.S. power market. PJM serves customers in 13 states in the eastern U.S., and the District of Columbia.

Gas-fired power surpassed coal-fired generation as the fuel of choice in PJM in 2015, as the price of natural gas dropped below the cost of coal across the region. According to a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “The monthly average cost of Central Appalachian coal in the PJM region averaged $ 2.76 per million British thermal unit (MMBtu) in 2013 and has only slightly increased since then, most recently averaging 3.30/MMBtu in 2017.”…