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

November 7, 2021

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.”…

Pennsylvania Move to Join RGGI May Save Nuclear Plant

March 17, 2020

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The post Pennsylvania Move to Join RGGI May Save Nuclear Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Energy Harbor Corp., the new name for the former FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) after FES’s bankruptcy, on March 13 said its Beaver Valley nuclear plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, will remain open. FES in March 2018 had told state regulators it would close the plant in 2021 because it was no longer economic to operate.

Energy Harbor President and CEO John Judge said the decision to keep the plant open came after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said the state would join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a program for capping and decreasing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the power generation sector that currently includes 10 states in the U.S. Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

Energy Harbor, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, was announced as the new name for FES in late February. The company while operating as FES was the unregulated power generation arm of FirstEnergy Corp.;…

Swift (and Angry) Reaction to Trump Move to Save Coal, Nuclear Plants

June 3, 2018

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Reactions from U.S. energy and legal and regulatory groups began pouring in minutes after the White House confirmed on June 1 that President Trump has directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to act immediately to stop the loss of uneconomic coal and nuclear plants.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a June 1 statement that President Trump believes in “total energy independence and dominance, and that keeping America’s energy grid and infrastructure strong and secure protects our national security, public safety and economy from intentional attacks and natural disasters.”

Because “impending retirements of fuel-secure power facilities are leading to a rapid depletion of a critical part of our nation’s energy mix, and impacting the resilience of our power grid,” the president has directed Energy Secretary Rick Perry to “prepare immediate steps to stop the loss of these resources, and looks forward to his recommendations,” she said.

The White House confirmation comes hours after the leak of a Trump administration draft memo outlining a plan for federal action to prop up coal and nuclear plants that were unable to compete in wholesale power markets and faced retirement.…

Judge Rules TVA Must Move Gallatin Coal Ash

August 5, 2017

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A federal judge on August 4 said the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) must dig up coal ash at one of its power plants and move it to a lined waste site. The order came in a suit filed by the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association (TSRA) and the Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN), who said coal ash stored at the TVA’s Gallatin Fossil Plant has been polluting the nearby Cumberland River for decades in violation of the Clean Water Act.

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville, Tenn., said that although there is little evidence thus far that seeping coal ash has polluted the river, uncertainty about future pollution and its possible danger will continue to create conflicts, and moving the ash is the best way to resolve an “untenable situation that has gone for far too long.” The Southern Environmental Law Center in 2014 announced its intention to represent the two environmental groups in the suit.

The case involves a coal ash pit at Gallatin that was closed in 1970, but where the coal ash ponds remain in use.…

AEP to Shed Ohio, Indiana Coal and Gas Plants in Move for Full Regulation

September 20, 2016

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In an effort to become a fully regulated power company, American Electric Power (AEP) has agreed to sell four Midwestern power plants—representing a total of 5.2 GW—to a newly formed joint venture of Blackstone and ArcLight Capital Partners for about $ 2.17 billion.

AEP will sell:

the 1,186-MW natural gas–fired Lawrenceburg Generating Station in Lawrenceburg, Ind.
the 840-MW natural gas–fired Waterford Energy Center in Waterford, Ohio
the 507-MW natural gas–fired Darby Generating Station in Mount Sterling, Ohio
the 2,665-MW coal-fired Gen. James M. Gavin Plant in Cheshire, Ohio

All generating capacity is located in the region served by PJM Interconnection.

The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, but it is subject to regulatory approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, and federal clearance pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, AEP said.

Moving on Out

Efforts to formalize a power purchase agreement that would have supported continued operation of AEP and FirstEnergy generation capacity in Ohio were punctured by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on April 27, though the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) had blessed the deal just a month before.…