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New 1.1-GW GE-Powered Gas-Fired Plant Enters Service in Michigan

July 12, 2022

A new $ 1.1-billion natural gas-fired power plant, built by Kiewit and featuring equipment from General Electric (GE), has entered service in southwest Michigan. The Indeck Niles Energy Center in Niles, a community just north of South Bend, Indiana, will provide 1,100 MW of generation capacity.

The plant is operated by Indeck Energy Services along with its South Korean partners, Korea Southern Power Co. (KOSPO) and DL Energy, formerly known as Daelim Energy. Indeck, based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, is a developer of thermal and renewable energy power generation projects across the Upper Midwest and U.S. Northeast. KOSPO is South Korea’s largest electric utility.

The Niles plant features two GE 7HA.02 gas turbines, powering two GE-supplied H65 generators. The facility also includes an STF-D600 steam turbine powering a H84 generator, and two heat recovery steam generators that are triple pressure reheat drum. The plant also includes GE’s Mark* VIe Distributed Control System software, along with services to support the availability and reliability of the plant, according to GE.…

Southern Co. Gas-Fired Demonstration Validates 20% Hydrogen Fuel Blend

June 17, 2022

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A demonstration project at Georgia Power’s 2.5-GW natural gas–fired Plant McDonough-Atkinson facility has validated a natural gas fuel blend with 20% hydrogen by volume on one of its six Mitsubishi Power advanced-class gas turbines.

The test, one of the largest of its kind to date, provided an approximately 7% reduction in carbon emissions compared to gas, project participants Mitsubishi Power, Southern Co.’s Georgia Power, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) said on June 10.

The test successfully validated fuel blending hydrogen and natural gas “at both partial and full load” at the designed 100% natural gas firing temperature, “within emissions compliance and without impact to maintenance intervals,” project participants said. The team also confirmed “improved turndown by testing up to 20% hydrogen at minimum emissions-compliant load.”

The project entailed building flow control and pressure control skids to feed the fuel blend to one of the Smyrna, Georgia, plant’s six M501G natural gas turbines, which have an approximate output of 265 MW.…

ISO-NE Move Puts New Gas-Fired Plant in Doubt

November 7, 2021

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The future of a natural gas-fired power plant planned in northeastern Connecticut is in jeopardy after regional grid operator ISO-New England (ISO-NE) asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to end a capacity contract with the project.

Florida-based NTE Energy’s plan to build the 650-MW Killingly Energy Center has been delayed due to permitting issues. NTE Energy secured an obligation in ISO-NE’s 2019 energy supply auction for the 2022-23 supply period, meaning it agreed to produce a certain amount of power at a specific cost that would be funneled into the larger New England power grid.

ISO-NE in a Nov. 4 letter to FERC asked the agency for authorization to cut Killingly from future power considerations, known as Capacity Supply Obligation (CSO) plans. The ISO said its monitoring of the project’s progress found NTE Energy would not hit its “critical path schedule milestones” until more than two years after the start of the agreed-on commitment period. ISO-NE in its filing said, “Killingly was required to achieve commercial operation on June 1, 2022.”…

New York Officials Deny Permits for Proposed NRG Gas-Fired Plant

October 28, 2021

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New York officials have denied permits for NRG Energy’s proposed natural gas-fired power plant upgrade project in Astoria, a decision made after an environmental agency said the plan was “inconsistent” with a state measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The state’s Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on Oct. 27 said the proposed new power plant “would be inconsistent with or would interfere with the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits established in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).”

DEC’s determination stated, “Astoria NRG failed to demonstrate the need or justification for the proposed project notwithstanding this inconsistency.” Wednesday’s ruling came after the DEC in July approved draft permits for the Astoria Replacement Project, a 437-MW plant that would have replaced half-century-old gas-fired units in the Ditmars-Steinway area of Queens County in New York.

The DEC’s reversal came after a series of public hearings this summer in which the agency received more than 6,000 responses in opposition to the project.

Lawmakers in Opposition

New York Gov.…

SRP Approves Arizona Expansion with 16 Gas-Fired Turbines

September 15, 2021

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The post SRP Approves Arizona Expansion with 16 Gas-Fired Turbines appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The board of directors of Arizona’s second-largest public utility has approved a nearly $ 1 billion plan to expand the natural gas-fired Coolidge Generating Station, adding 820 MW of generation capacity.

The Coolidge station at present is a 575-MW power plant with 12 single-cycle gas turbines; the plant began operating in 2011. The expansion plan approved Sept. 13 would add another 16 gas-fired turbines to the site.

The Coolidge station is operated by Salt River Project (SRP). The expansion plan was approved by an 8-6 vote of the utility’s board on Monday. The board also rejected a motion to table the decision for one month so the proposal and associated data could be analyzed.

The utility has not provided extensive details about the project, and SRP did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the expansion. An Aug. 24 presentation to the Salt River Project Power Committee said expanding the gas-fired plant would be more cost-effective than building carbon-free power generation under scenarios that included “low gas prices.”…

California Will Add Gas-Fired Units to Increase Power Supply

August 22, 2021

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The post California Will Add Gas-Fired Units to Increase Power Supply appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved licenses for gas-fired power units to help the state cope with continued electricity shortages. The move comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier declared a state of emergency for California’s power grid.

The state’s Dept. of Water Resources is procuring what it called five temporary gas-fueled generators, each with generation capacity of 30 MW, to install at existing power plants. The CEC on Aug. 17 approved licenses, good for up to five years, for the generators.

Newsom’s order, issued in July, is designed to free up additional energy capacity in the state. It came during a major heat wave and was partly in response to the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, which threatened the regional power transmission system and California’s power supply. The governor’s order suspends certain permitting requirements, and allows the use of backup power generation, with a goal of alleviating heat-related supply demands on the power grid.…