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DTE Energy Will Close Belle River Coal Power Plant Two Years Early

October 15, 2021

Detroit-based DTE Energy said it will cease all coal use at its Belle River Power Plant no later than December 2028, at least two years earlier than the facility’s previously scheduled 2030 end date.

The Belle River Power Plant comprises two electric generating units, each with a maximum gross design generating output of 697 MW. The 2,200-acre site on which it’s located is in China and East China Townships in St. Clair County, Michigan, and is shared with several other units including a few gas-fired peaking combustion turbines and the coal-fired St. Clair Power Plant. The Belle River units were brought online in 1984 and 1985, respectively.

DTE, which serves about 2.2 million electric customers in southeast Michigan, said retiring the facility by 2028 will enable the company to achieve its 50% carbon emissions reduction goal faster than planned and move the company closer to its ultimate goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions. DTE has already retired four of its coal-fired facilities—Marysville, Harbor Beach, Conners Creek, and River Rouge—and plans to retire its Trenton Channel and St.…

Stanton Energy Reliability Center Hybrid Supplies Power When Southern California Needs It Most

October 3, 2021

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Stanton Energy Reliability Center is a unique hybrid power station that includes two GE LM6000 gas turbines, each integrated with a battery energy storage system. The station provides reliable and stable power generation needed by the California power grid.

California has long been a leader in the world’s transition toward renewable energy. In 2018, California established a landmark policy requiring that 100% of electric retail sales to customers in the state be supplied by renewable and zero-carbon energy resources by 2045. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has reported that renewable resources, including hydropower and small-scale (less than one MW) customer-sited solar photovoltaic systems, are already supplying more than half of California’s in-state electricity generation. In March this year, the California Energy Commission (CEC), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and California Air Resources Board (CARB) issued a joint agency report that found the state’s clean energy goals are indeed achievable, and in multiple ways.

Yet, the state has also felt the effects of power shortages in recent years.…

Collaboration Brings the Energy for Pennsylvania Community

October 1, 2021

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It took a team effort, led by Kiewit as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor, to overcome numerous challenges and build a 1,000-MW natural gas-fired facility that has sparked a regional renaissance.

A power plant often provides a region with more than just electricity. A large generation facility can also be an economic engine for an entire community.

The Hickory Run Energy Center (Figure 1, and above), a 1,000-MW natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant, has proven to be just that for Lawrence County in Pennsylvania. Tyr Energy LLC is the asset manager for the plant, located in New Castle in North Beaver Township, about 45 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. The facility has been a driving force behind more than $ 1 billion in capital investment projects in the county over the past few years, providing even more of a boost to the local economy after coming online in May 2020.

Hickory Run is contributing to a rebound in manufacturing in the New Castle area, a region with a rich industrial history, starting with iron and brick works in the mid-1800s and continuing for many years as a hub for iron and steel.…

‘What’s Next’ for Siemens Energy?

September 17, 2021

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The post ‘What’s Next’ for Siemens Energy? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Lincoln-Project-Combustion-Gas-Turbine-Delivery-Siemens

Everyone in the power industry is familiar with Siemens Energy. Its technology is behind about one-sixth of the world’s power generation, and even a larger portion than that in the U.S.—roughly a third.

Yet, Siemens Energy as currently organized is a fairly new entity. The company was spun off from Siemens AG and began trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange on Sept. 28, 2020. When the spin-off was approved by Siemens shareholders in July that year, Joe Kaeser, president and CEO of Siemens AG, said, “The spin-off enables us to build two focused companies, both of which will be strong players in their respective sectors.”

Rich Voorberg, Siemens Energy’s president of North America, during a media call on Sept. 13 with three reporters including POWER, said, “We are a pure play energy company. So, what that means is we go from one end to the other.” He started with the company’s generation offerings, which include gas and steam turbines, generators, gas engines, distributed control systems, wind turbines, small hydro, and more, then mentioned industrial applications, and finally transmission systems that deliver electricity to end-users.…

Groups Announce Successful Test to Advance Fusion Energy

September 9, 2021

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The post Groups Announce Successful Test to Advance Fusion Energy appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A company working to bring fusion energy technology to market joined with a group from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in announcing a successful test of what they call the world’s strongest high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet, technology considered key for development of commercial fusion energy.

Representatives of Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), along with researchers from MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC), on Sept. 8 outlined the group’s progress in developing the HTS, what they called a “world changing” technology to produce power while also combating climate change.

The milestone test, conducted at the PSFC on Sept. 5, proved that the magnet built at scale can reach a sustained magnetic field of more than 20 tesla. That’s enough to enable CFS’s small tokamak device, called SPARC, to achieve net energy from fusion, what the groups called “a historic first.” They said the successful demonstration proves that the SPARC will be the world’s first fusion device that can create and confine a plasma that produces more energy than it consumes.…

Consumers Energy to Quit Coal by 2025, Speeding Closure of Five Units

June 26, 2021

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The post Consumers Energy to Quit Coal by 2025, Speeding Closure of Five Units appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Michigan’s largest energy provider Consumers Energy will stop using coal as a fuel source for power generation within the next four years—15 years earlier than previously planned.

In an updated integrated resource plan (IRP) filed with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) on June 23, the CMS Energy subsidiary said the effort would lead Michigan’s clean energy transformation, and, if approved, it would make Consumers “one of the first utilities in the nation to go coal-free.”

Under the sweeping plan, Consumers will accelerate the closure of about 2.5 GW by 2025. It will speed up retirement of its three coal-fired units at its Campbell generating complex near Holland to 2025. Campbell 1 and 2—a combined 600 MW—are currently slated to close in six years. The 840-MW Campbell 3 is scheduled to close in 2040. It would also speed up closure of D.E.…