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Deal Announced to Close Louisiana Coal Unit

January 16, 2020

The post Deal Announced to Close Louisiana Coal Unit appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Arkansas Public Service Commission has approved a plan to retire the Dolet Hills power plant, a coal-fired unit in Mansfield, Louisiana that serves part of the state. The decision, reached in December and announced Jan. 8 by the Sierra Club, came as part of a settlement agreement in a recently concluded Arkansas rate review, according to Peter Main, a spokesman for Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), which shares the plant’s electricity production with plant owner Central Louisiana Electric Co. (Cleco).

Said Main in a Jan. 9 email to POWER: “As part of a settlement agreement in the recently concluded Arkansas rate review, SWEPCO has agreed to seek regulatory approval to retire the Dolet Hills Power Plant by the end of 2026. SWEPCO has committed to make the necessary regulatory filings at least 12 months prior to the retirement date. Also as part of the settlement, the Sierra Club agrees to withdraw its pending challenges related to the Dolet Hills Power Plant in Texas and Louisiana.…

Tri-State Will Close Its Last Coal Units in Colorado, New Mexico

January 10, 2020

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Colorado-based power cooperative Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association on Jan. 9 announced it will retire its lone New Mexico coal-fired unit by the end of this year, and cease operations of its remaining Colorado coal units, and the company’s coal mine, by 2030.

Tri-State, which said the closures will impact about 600 workers, said state regulations, economics, and demand for cleaner energy from its members are behind the move.

“Serving our members’ clean energy and affordability needs, supporting state requirements and goals, and leading the fundamental changes in our industry require the retirement of our coal facilities in Colorado and New Mexico,” said Rick Gordon, chairman of the board of Tri-State, in a news release. “As we make this difficult decision, we do so with a deep appreciation for the contributions of our employees who have dedicated their talents and energy to help us deliver on our mission to our members.”…

A Decade of Turmoil: How Nuclear and Coal Have Struggled to Survive

January 8, 2020

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The past 10 years have been filled with trials and tribulations for both the nuclear and coal power industries. From accidents to plant closures there has been little to cheer about. Still, nuclear and coal power continue to provide reliable baseload generation to billions of customers around the globe. Here’s a look back at the decade that was.

Nuclear Power: Promises and Pitfalls

The 2010s began with the power industry in the midst of a “nuclear renaissance.” Nuclear power had emerged from a long slumber in the U.S. Ground had been broken on the Vogtle expansion in August 2009, which was the first new nuclear power project to commence construction in the U.S. since the Shearon Harris plant received its permit in 1978.

But the renaissance was short lived. On March 11, 2011, the Great Tōhoku Earthquake—a magnitude 9.0 temblor called “Japan’s most forceful quake” in recorded history—generated a series of tsunami waves that reached run-up heights as high as 39 meters (128 feet), setting off the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.…

Settlement Reached in Largest U.S. Coal Ash Cleanup

January 4, 2020

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Duke Energy will save about $ 1.5 billion in coal ash cleanup costs under a settlement between the utility and environmental and other groups announced Jan. 2 by North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

The DEQ said Duke Energy will need to excavate about 80 million tons of coal ash currently stored in basins at six of the utility’s power generation sites. The ash will be moved to lined landfills. The DEQ said it will be the largest cleanup of coal ash in U.S. history. The utility will be allowed to leave coal ash in place at some of its locations.

Duke Energy already is in the process of closing all its coal ash basins at plants in several states, including 31 in North Carolina. Utilities across the U.S. are spending billions of dollars cleaning up coal ash stored near power plants nationwide.…

Ownership Shakeup at Colstrip Coal Power Plant

December 14, 2019

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NorthWestern Energy said it will file an application with the Montana Public Service Commission for pre-approval to acquire Puget Sound Energy’s (PSE’s) 25% interest in Colstrip Unit 4, which is a 740-MW coal-fired boiler. The price? $ 1.

“Securing more capacity for only a $ 1 investment is a unique opportunity that helps give us the time to continue transitioning to an even cleaner energy future without putting either our customers’ safety or their ability to pay their energy bills at risk,” Bob Rowe, president and CEO of Sioux Falls, South Dakota-headquartered NorthWestern Energy, said in a statement.

NorthWestern Energy serves electric and natural gas customers in three states: Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota. In what appeared to be an effort to fend off criticism for adding more coal-fired generation to its portfolio, NorthWestern also announced it is committing to reduce carbon intensity of its energy generation in Montana by 90% by 2045.…

China Ramping Renewables, and Building More Coal Plants

November 30, 2019

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Officials in China in 2017 said the country—the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases—would move away from coal-fired power generation. They promptly canceled more than 100 coal power plant construction projects.

But coal remains king in China, which in the past two years has added 43 GW of coal-fired generation capacity, according to a report released in mid-November by Global Energy Monitor (GEM). Air quality has improved in some parts of the country; the Swiss firm IQAir AirVisual in September said Beijing no longer is among the world’s 200 most-polluted cities, and said particulate levels are at their lowest point since record-keeping began in 2008. But the IQAir report said other areas of China continue to see upticks in pollution as local officials back coal-fired generation in an effort to support economic growth.

A Greenpeace official—the environmental group issues global air quality reports in concert with IQAir—recently said emissions of nitrogen oxide and other pollutants rose last year in northern China’s industrial region as cement and steel production increased to supply a government-backed flurry of construction.…