GasFired | EnergyNorthwest.com

Xcel Buys Minnesota Gas-Fired Plant

November 8, 2018

Xcel Energy said it will buy a natural gas-fired power plant in Minnesota from Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co. The $ 650 million deal for the Mankato Energy Center puts Xcel in charge of a facility from which it has purchased power since the plant’s first unit came online in 2006.

A second unit at the plant is expected to come online in 2019, bringing the facility’s total power generation capacity to 760 MW. That would make it the largest gas-fired plant in Xcel’s fleet. The plant was built by Calpine Corp. and sold to Southern Power in 2016 in a $ 395.5 million deal.

“Securing the Mankato gas plant is a great value for our customers as it will provide significant cost savings and operating flexibility for the long term,” said Chris Clark, Xcel’s regional president, in a statement November 6. “As we continue to transition to cleaner energy sources and reduce reliance on coal, this plant will help us continue to deliver reliable electricity while keeping bills low.”…

Group: Indiana Should Reject Vectren Plan for New Gas-Fired Plant

August 15, 2018

| No Comments

| Industry News

An Indiana consumer protection agency has told state regulators they should reject Vectren Corp.’s plan to build a new natural gas-fired power plant in the state. Vectren wants the plant to replace four of the utility’s retiring coal-fired units.

Indiana’s Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) on August 13 said it completed a five-month legal and technical review of Vectren’s request. In a news release, the OUCC’s Bill Fine said, “Any electric utility that seeks to overhaul its generation fleet today must evaluate all possible options. It must also carefully examine the ways the options would impact its customers in terms of both money and electric reliability. In this case, Vectren has not evaluated all options or shown that it is proceeding in the most prudent manner.”

Evansville-based Vectren in a statement in response said it feels confident “that our generation plan is the best option for our electric customers in southwestern Indiana. The new natural gas plant will provide reliable, cleaner energy in addition to local jobs in Posey County.”…

Gas-Fired Generation Will Top 2018 Capacity Additions

May 13, 2018

| No Comments

| Industry News

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) latest report on the nation’s power generation inventory expects 32 GW of new capacity will enter commercial service this year, the most in at least at decade. And for the first time in five years, renewable energy sources will not make up the majority of that new generation.

Nearly all the new generation that came online in the first two months of this year—98% of the 2 GW added in January and February—was renewable, mostly solar and wind. But the rest of the year will belong in large part to natural gas-fired generation; EIA expects about 21 GW of gas-fired power will enter service by year-end 2018, according to planned online dates in EIA’s Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory report.

EIA on May 7 discussed the data in its online Today in Energy report. The agency said that based on project in-service dates, this will be the first year since 2013 that renewable energy sources will not comprise the bulk of new generation.…

New Gas-Fired Plants Planned in Florida, South Carolina

May 9, 2018

| No Comments

| Industry News

Florida regulators have given the green light to a pair of new natural gas-fired power plants that will add nearly 1,700 MW of generation capacity in the state, and a Florida-based energy project developer has announced a 1,000-MW gas-fired facility project in South Carolina.

The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) on May 8 gave approval to two plants proposed by Tampa-based Seminole Electric Cooperative, which provides wholesale power to its nine member cooperatives in 42 of the state’s 67 counties. One plant is a 1,122-MW facility sited in Putnam County in north-central Florida. The second—which Seminole will develop with Shady Hills Energy Center LLC—would be a 573-MW gas-fired facility in Pasco County on the state’s Gulf Coast.

St. Augustine-based NTE Energy in a separate announcement Tuesday said it would invest more than $ 1 billion to develop the 1,000-MW Anderson County Energy Center in South Carolina, which NTE said “will feature some of the most efficient and environmentally-friendly technologies currently available.”…

Proposed Wisconsin Gas-Fired Plant Would Aid Utilities’ Renewable Initiatives

June 11, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

Minnesota Power and Wisconsin’s Dairyland Power Cooperative announced plans to co-develop a combined cycle natural gas–fired power plant, a 550-MW facility designed to provide backup power for the utilities’ efforts to expand their use of renewable energy sources.

The Nemadji Trail Energy Center would be built along the Nemadji River in Superior, Wis., a location adjacent to both utilities’ service territories. The utilities would co-own the facility and divide its electrical power output. The companies said that if regulators approve the plan (a decision is expected sometime in 2018), construction could begin in 2020 and the $ 700-million plant—each company investing $ 350 million—could be operational in 2024 or 2025.

Minnesota Power spokeswoman Amy Rutledge said the Superior site’s access to existing natural gas and electric transmission lines made it a logical choice for the utilities. The area is served by multiple natural gas lines, including from Northern Natural Gas, Great Lakes Gas Transmission, and ANR Pipeline, according to analysts Rocco Canonica and Richard Frey of S&P Global and Platts Analytics.…