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Xuzhou 3 Shows the Future of Subcritical Coal Power Is Sublime

August 3, 2020

The post Xuzhou 3 Shows the Future of Subcritical Coal Power Is Sublime appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A remarkable retrofit at Xuzhou Unit 3 boosted the 320-MW subcritical coal unit’s efficiency to beyond 43.56%—higher than all existing Chinese supercritical units, and even many ultrasupercritical units. The groundbreaking demonstration is a POWER 2020 Top Plant award winner because it offers crucial hope and new purpose for subcritical units around the world.

In April 2017, engineers from Shanghai Shenergy Power Technology sat together contemplating how they would execute a formidable task. Owing partly to their success at boosting the annual average net efficiency at Shanghai Waigaoqiao 3, an ultrasupercritical (USC) unit (and a 2015 POWER Top Plant), to a world-class 44.5%, Hong Kong–based power generation giant China Resources Power had invited the technology arm of Shanghai government–owned Shenergy Group to conduct a high-temperature retrofit at one of four units at the 1.2-GW Xuzhou China Resources Power Plant in Jiangsu province.…

Xcel Energy Approved to Run Two Coal Units on Seasonal Basis

July 20, 2020

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The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved Xcel Energy’s request to offer two of its coal units into the Midcontinent Independent System Operator market on a seasonal basis. That means the company can idle the two units for six months of the year, which is expected to save customers money while also reducing air emissions.

“This is an important proposal and I appreciate Xcel Energy bringing it forward,” said Commissioner Matt Schuerger. “I think this highlights Xcel’s focus on saving their customers money, on meeting Minnesota’s environmental policies, and in being responsive to the investigation the Commission opened.”

Under the order, Xcel would be allowed to operate the Allen S. King Generating Station and Unit 2 of the Sherburne County Station (Sherco 2) from June through August and from December through February, while idling the units during the remaining six months, unless required to meet reliability needs.…

German Lawmakers Sign Off on Phase-Out of Coal

July 6, 2020

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Germany’s plan to end coal-fired power generation in the country is now official, as both houses of the German parliament approved the plan to shut down the last coal units by 2038.

Lawmakers signed off on the deal July 3. Environmental groups have supported the measure, though some say it does not go far enough to protect the environment and more quickly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Supporters of a free market for German energy say it’s not necessary, and is a waste of taxpayer money, including its compensation plan for coal companies.

A major part of the strategy approved Friday is its promise to pour about €40 billion ($ 45 billion) into regions impacted by the closure of coal plants and coal mines to prop up local economies and retrain workers.

The plan is part of Germany’s “Energiewende,” the country’s effort to reduce reliance on thermal power generation and generate all the nation’s power from renewable resources.…

$122 Million Earmarked for Coal ‘Innovation Centers’

June 28, 2020

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Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is ready to make about $ 122 million available to establish what the DOE calls “innovation centers” for coal. Brouillette and the DOE on June 26 said these centers will focus on the manufacturing of value-added, carbon-based products from coal. The facilities also would work on developing new methods to extract and process rare earth elements and critical minerals from the fuel.

“It’s vitally important that America develop a viable domestic supply of rare earth elements, critical minerals, and other valuable products from our vast coal resources,” said Brouillette on Friday, as he toured a Pennsylvania coal mine operated by Consol Energy. “This effort moves us closer to that goal. The Trump administration has been aggressively investing in research and development for novel uses of coal that have the potential to create new markets for coal and coal byproducts.…

North Dakota’s Largest Coal Plant Set to Close

May 8, 2020

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The largest coal-fired power plant in North Dakota is scheduled to close in 2022, with the Minnesota-based wholesale electric power cooperative that operates the facility saying the lost generation will be mostly replaced by wind power.

Minnesota-based Great River Energy, which supplies electricity to the suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul, along with other parts of the state, on May 7 announced it will close the 40-year-old Coal Creek Station power plant near Underwood, North Dakota. The plant, which employs about 260 workers, produces about half of the electricity that Great River sells to 28 member-owned electric cooperatives in Wisconsin and Minnesota, according to Jon Brekke, Great River’s vice president. Brekke said the move enables the utility to move “in an opportunistic direction towards an evolved power supply portfolio,” and reflects “significant shifts in the wholesale [power] market.”

The power cooperative said it plans to invest more than $ 1.2 billion to purchase more than 1,100 MW of wind power from new projects, including at least 600 MW of wind power in southern and western Minnesota.…

DOE Announces Additional $64 Million for Clean Coal Projects

February 9, 2020

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has earmarked $ 64 million in additional funding for research and development of smaller, more efficient, and cleaner coal plants. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette on Feb. 7 announced the money would be part of the DOE’s “Coal FIRST Initiative,” telling the audience at an Atlantic Council meeting Friday in Washington, D.C., that the program is designed to “produce more coal power more efficiently and transform it into a near zero-emission energy source.”

The Atlantic Council calls itself a “nonpartisan organization that galvanizes U.S. leadership and engagement in the world, in partnership with allies and partners, to shape solutions to global challenges.” The agency’s international advisory board includes former prime ministers and presidents from Australia, Denmark, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, and Sweden, among others.

“Coal is a critical resource for grid stability that will be used in developing countries around the world well into the future as they build their economies,” said Brouillette in a news release detailing the funding opportunity announcement (FOA).…