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Tube Leaks Cause Latest Delay to Kemper Project

March 20, 2017

The Kemper County Energy Facility will not reach full operation by its latest mid-March deadline, project owner Southern Company subsidiary, Mississippi Power announced March 16 in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“On March 9, 2017, Mississippi Power experienced certain tube leaks in one of the syngas coolers for gasifier ‘A’ and commenced an outage on gasifier ‘A’ to perform necessary corrective actions. As a result, Mississippi Power no longer expects the remainder of the Kemper IGCC will be placed in service by mid-March 2017,” the filing says.

The Kemper County Energy Facility, a new-build, integrated coal gasification combined cycle plant located near Meridian, Mississippi, is currently three years behind schedule and $ 4.7 billion over budget. Once completed, the plant will employ two gasifiers and a carbon capture system to burn low-rank Mississippi lignite with emissions roughly equal to those of a natural gas plant.

As of the company’s last monthly SEC filing, the plant was expected to reach full operation by mid-March, following several delays over the course of the last few months.…

SONGS Arbitration Panel Awards SCE $125 Million

March 16, 2017

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An arbitration panel of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has awarded Southern California Edison (SCE) $ 125 million in its dispute with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) over the failed replacement of four steam generators at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), a fiasco that ultimately led to the plant’s premature retirement.

Victory for MHI

The amount was a victory for MHI, as SCE was seeking a total of $ 7.6 billion for the loss of the plant. MHI was also awarded $ 58 million in attorneys’ fees because of its additional costs incurred in defending the larger claim. SCE must split the remaining $ 63 million with its co-owners San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and the City of Riverside. The utilities were seeking the additional funds to help cover retirement costs for SONGS, which are estimated at almost $ 5 billion. Those costs will now be borne mostly by ratepayers.

SCE’s claim was brought under its contract with MHI, which had a liability limit of $ 137 million.…

Six Years After Fukushima, Only Three Reactors Operating in Japan, More Poised to Restart

March 10, 2017

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Six years after the Fukushima disaster prompted an electricity crisis in Japan and sent tremors throughout the world’s nuclear power sector, Japan is determined to continue its reliance on nuclear for nearly a fifth of its power needs in the long term.

Nuclear will make up 20% to 22% of Japan’s power mix by 2030, under a long-term plan issued in 2015, Hirohide Hirai, the director general of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), told attendees at CERAweek by IHS Markit, which is taking place in Houston this week.

On March 11, 2011, nearly a day after the 3-minute, 9.0-magnitude Great Tohoku Earthquake struck northeastern Japan—and unleashed a tsunami that killed 20,000 people—the world learned that Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (TEPCO’s) Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear plants were in peril after rising waters inundated and disabled offsite power supplies.

All of Japan’s nuclear power plants were shut down for safety checks after the disaster. Six years later, only three of 45 operable reactors have come online: Kyushu Electric’s Sendai 1 and 2 (restarted in 2015), and Shikoku Electric Power Co.’s…

Odds Are Against a Coal Comeback, Duke CEO Says

March 6, 2017

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Regardless of recent federal support for a revitalization of coal in the U.S., “the economics are challenged,” Lynn Good, CEO of Duke Energy, said March 1 during a presentation at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Energy Innovation Summit.

“I think coal continues to be an important part of a diverse set of resources … about a third of our generation comes from coal, but that will be declining over time,” she said.

The story of the decline of coal is not as cut and dried as many on Capitol Hill have suggested. The regulations passed in the last administration did play a part, but so did the decrease in natural gas pricing, Good said.

Regarding regulation, Good pointed to the Obama administration’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), which forced many energy generators to make some tough decisions. “The mercury rule is the one I would point to most specifically that put a lot of challenge into the coal fleet, whether the investment to address that regulation made sense given the life of each of those plants.”…

Perry Confirmed as Secretary of Energy

March 3, 2017

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With a vote of 62–37, the Senate on March 2 confirmed former Texas governor Rick Perry as the new secretary of energy.

Perry received the support of 10 Democratic senators: Mark Warner (Va.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Tom Udall (N.M.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Ben Cardin (Md.), and Joe Donnelly (Ind.). Independent Sen. Angus King (Maine) also voted for Perry.

President Donald Trump announced Perry’s nomination in mid-December. The nominee was met with immediate criticism from the left for his prior climate change denial and pro-fossil fuel history. However, Perry’s nomination held very little controversy compared to some of Trump’s other nominees, and his confirmation was presumed imminent.

Perry is well-known for his 2012 Republican presidential bid. His run was derailed in part due to a televised debate gaffe in which he stated he would eliminate three federal agencies. He named the Departments of Commerce and Education before faltering, forgetting the third agency.…

Minnesota Looks to Double Renewable Energy Standard to 50% by 2030

March 1, 2017

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Bipartisan lawmakers in Minnesota want utilities in that state to procure 50% of power sold by 2030 from renewable sources. The measure, if passed, could put the state’s renewable efforts on par with California’s.

The bipartisan bill introduced in the Minnesota Legislature on February 27 seeks to double the state’s renewable energy standard, which is currently 25% by 2025.

Lawmakers noted that the state is already on track to surpass current goals set by the Next Generation Energy Act, which was enacted by former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) in 2007. That bill was overwhelmingly supported by 97% of legislators.

About 21% of Minnesota’s generated electricity came from renewable sources in 2015, according to the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Wind energy generated 17% of the state’s power, biomass generated 3%, and hydro 1%. About 44% came from coal, 21% from nuclear, and 13% from natural gas.

Under a 2007 statute, Xcel Energy—the state’s largest utility—has a separate, more aggressive requirement of getting 31.5% of its power from renewables by 2020, with at least 24% of sales from wind and 1.5% of sales from solar.…