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An 865-MW Georgia Power Coal Plant Is Showing Distress

August 7, 2018

The future of Georgia Power’s 865-MW coal-fired Plant Hammond in Floyd County, Georgia—which recently slashed more than half its workforce—is murky, company officials said August 3.

The four-unit facility that began operations in 1954 employed 190 workers in September 2016. Today, according to company officials, the plant only has 41 full-time employees.

Georgia Power Regional Director Cassandra Wheeler reportedly told members of the Rome Rotarians civic club last week that “The numbers don’t look good,” as the Rome News-Tribune reported on August 2. Wheeler reportedly said the future of the plant won’t be known until the company completes its 2019 Integrated Resource Plan, through a process with the Georgia Public Service Commission.

Georgia Power spokesperson Jacob Hawkins on August 6 told POWER that Wheeler’s comments are “generally accurate.” Hawkins added: “While our next IRP is currently under development and will be filed in 2019, we are committed to delivering reliable and affordable energy and ensuring that all of our generation facilities provide value for our customers.”…

New Cyber Threat Actor Targeting Power Sector Identified

August 5, 2018

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Cybersecurity experts have identified a new activity group that they say is targeting access operations at electric utilities in the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and East Asia.

Cybersecurity firm Dragos Inc. told POWER on August 1 that though it has confirmed that the group—which it dubbed “RASPITE”—is actively targeting electric utilities, “there is no current indication the group has the capability” to conduct destructive widespread blackouts like those in Ukraine in 2016. Dragos added, “Operations against electric utility organizations appear limited to the U.S. at this time.”

Symantec, another security firm, calls the group, “Leafminer.” On July 25, Symantec said in a blog post that the group’s activity remains centered on the Middle East, mostly in Saudi Arabia—noting that threat is likely being perpetrated by Iranian actors. “One interesting source of target information discovered during the Leafminer investigation was a list of 809 targets used by the attackers for vulnerability scans,” it said. “The list is written in the Iranian language Farsi and groups each entry with organization of interest by geography and industry.”…

EPA Will Not Revisit Obama-Era NAAQS for Ozone

August 2, 2018

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not intend to revisit national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone that the Obama administration issued in 2015, a court filing shows.

The agency said in its final status report submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on August 1 that it has reviewed the 2015 rule governing state-implementation of primary and secondary NAAQS for ozone—also known as smog—from mobile or stationary sources, but “determined that at this time, EPA does not intend to revisit the 2015 Rule.”

The 2015 ozone rule tightened limits of ozone from 0.075 parts per million (ppm) of ozone averaged over eight hours, as set by the Bush administration in March 2008, to 0.070 ppm. The rule, which followed a proposal to revise standards to a range of 0.065 ppm to 0.070 ppm, drew ire from both industry and environmental groups. It was challenged in federal court.

According to an “Air Trend” data set that the Environmental Protection Agency released this week, average ozone levels have been declining steadily since 1980. Source: EPA

According to an “Air Trend” data set that the Environmental Protection Agency released this week, average ozone levels have declined 32% since 1980 and 22% since 1990.

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Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant Will Close in 2020

July 29, 2018

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NextEra Energy Resources, the wholesale power generating subsidiary of Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc., announced that it has struck a deal to shorten its power purchase agreement (PPA) with Alliant Energy and will retire the Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC)—a 615-MW nuclear power plant located in Palo, Iowa—before the end of 2020.

DAEC’s reactor is licensed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to operate until February 21, 2034, but it was expected to close in 2025 when the PPA with Alliant was originally slated to expire. If the agreement to cut five years from the term is approved by the Iowa Utilities Board, Alliant would pay NextEra $ 110 million in September 2020 as part of the buyout. Furthermore, NextEra would supply Alliant’s customers with wind energy from four of its repowered Iowa wind facilities—about 340 MW of combined capacity—under other PPAs. The transactions are expected to save customers nearly $ 300 million in energy costs, on a net present value basis, over 21 years, according to NextEra.…

High Summer Temperatures Send CAISO and ERCOT Scrambling to Maintain Grid Reliability

July 27, 2018

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California and Texas—two regions where summer reliability concerns were forecast earlier this year—are suffering extreme temperatures and are scrambling to relieve stress on the grid.

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO)—the grid operator that serves about 80% of California—on July 24 and 25 issued statewide Flex Alerts, calling for voluntary electricity conservation during peak afternoon and evening hours.

The Flex Alerts stem from high temperatures across the western U.S., reduced electricity imports, tight natural gas supplies in the Southern California area, and a high wildfire risk. “Consumers can help avoid power interruptions by turning off all unnecessary lights, using major appliances before 5 p.m. and after 9 p.m., and setting air conditioners to 78 degrees or higher,” the grid operator urged. “The ISO has called on all available resources to serve demand, however, conservation is needed to reduce the risk of further emergency measures, including rotating power outages.”

At the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the entity that manages the flow of power for 90% of Texas’s electric load, a new record for all-time system-wide peak demand was set during two hours in the afternoon on July 19.…

EDF Announces More Delays, Cost Overruns for Flamanville 3 Reactor

July 25, 2018

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French utility Électricité de France (EDF)on July 25 said it has pushed fuel loading at its 1.6-GW Flamanville 3 nuclear project to the fourth quarter of 2019 and increased cost estimates for the project by another €400 million (USD $ 467.1 million).

EDF said its current cost for the project has ballooned to €10.9 billion (USD $ 12.75 billion), triple the original budget. The utility today said start-up for the troubled EPR reactor will not occur until at least the second quarter of 2020. Fuel loading and commercial operation start dates at the Normandy plant have now been revised twice in the past year; in October 2017, EDF said fuel loading was set for late 2018, with full production in 2019.

EDF said the latest delay is due to faulty welding of joints, which the utility had previously discussed in April and May of this year. The utility said it has inspected 148 of 150 welds in the main secondary system at Flamanville 3 and found 33 needed repairs.…