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TVA Extends Deadline for Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Deal

November 12, 2018

A Tennessee businessman now has until the end of November to finalize a two-year-old purchase agreement for the unfinished Bellefonte nuclear power plant in Alabama.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which began building the plant in 1974 but ended construction in 1988 amid a downturn in the nuclear power industry, on November 9 said it has extended the deadline in its agreement with Franklin Haney’s Nuclear Development LLC (NDLLC) from November 14 to November 30. Haney now has another 16 days to complete the agreement to buy the plant’s assets.

Haney last week said legal and regulatory issues have delayed the sale’s closure. The project also has been dogged by allegations of payments to secure federal government support. And one of the project’s potential electricity customers recently signaled it may back away from a deal to purchase power from the plant.

Haney, a real estate developer who grew his business by buying and building properties that he then leases to local, state, and federal government interests, was the highest bidder for Bellefonte’s assets in an auction in November 2016.…

Xcel Buys Minnesota Gas-Fired Plant

November 8, 2018

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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.”…

West Virginia Coal Plant Will Remain Open Until 2022

October 23, 2018

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FirstEnergy on October 18 said its coal-fired Pleasants Power Station in West Virginia will stay open until June 2022, after earlier announcing the plant would close in January of next year.

FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young said, “Keeping Pleasants in operation … allows the plant to fulfill current capacity obligations and provides additional time for evaluation of the long-term plan for the station prior to deactivation.”

The plant is operated by Allegheny Energy Supply (AES), a FirstEnergy subsidiary. Pushing back the closing date allows Pleasants Power to remain in operation until the transfer of the facility from AES to FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) is complete. The transfer is part of FirstEnergy’s bankruptcy settlement agreement with FES and the FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), Young said.

FirstEnergy in February of this year said it would close the 1.3-GW Pleasants Power Station by January 1, 2019. The company has been suffering steep losses in competitive markets. It announced a plan in November 2016 to exit competitive generation and become a fully regulated company.…

AEP Will Close Ohio Coal Plant Early

October 10, 2018

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American Electric Power (AEP) this week confirmed it will close its coal-fired Conesville Power Plant in Ohio earlier than originally planned. An AEP spokesperson in an email to media confirmed the plant’s workers were told October 5 that the plant will close by May 31, 2020.

AEP said Units 5 and 6 at the plant, which were originally scheduled to shut down in 2022, will likely close in May 2019. Unit 4 is scheduled to close in May 2020. Those three units began commercial operation between 1973 and 1978.

The first unit at the plant began operating in Coshocton County in 1957, with Unit 2 starting up in 1959, and Unit 3 in 1962. The plant celebrated its 60th anniversary last year. Those three units were decommissioned between 2005 and 2012.

The company said the decision to close the remaining units earlier than planned was made after the plant did not clear the PJM market capacity auction for 2021 to 2022, and only partly cleared the auction for 2020 to 2021.…

New York Gas Plant Comes Online Despite Opposition

October 2, 2018

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The Valley Energy Center in Orange County, New York, entered commercial operation on October 1 despite complaints from local officials and area residents about noise from the plant, among other concerns.

Community members spoke out against the plant at public hearings last week, saying they have felt sick when the plant has undergone test runs over the past several months. Orange County officials and local politicians said they support a decision by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) not to renew the air permit for the plant, though the plant is allowed to operate while a court decides the permit issue.

The DEC has said the plant needs a federal Title V air permit. Competitive Power Ventures (CPV), the plant’s operator, has argued it has one year to obtain the permit after beginning full-time operation.

The Valley Energy Center is a 675-MW gas-fired plant in Wawayanda. It was originally scheduled to begin commercial operation in February, but its opening was delayed because the DEC had not finished permitting Millennium Pipeline Co.’s…

Deadline Extended for Vote on Future of Plant Vogtle

September 26, 2018

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The drama over the fate of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia continued September 25 as the four co-owners of the project sparred over conditions that one of the co-owners, Oglethorpe Power, wants in order to secure its support for moving forward with the project.

A vote on the future of the oft-delayed, massively over budget project was delayed several times Tuesday before eventually being pushed to 5 p.m. Eastern time September 26. The plant’s co-owners on Monday agreed construction should continue on two new AP1000 reactors at the site in Waynesboro, but Oglethorpe’s support was conditional, with the electric membership cooperative saying it needs an agreement on how costs for continuing construction will be capped before casting a “yes” vote. A “no” vote from Oglethorpe could bring a cancellation of the project.

Steve Tumlin, the mayor of Marietta, Georgia, and the city’s representative on the board of the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power), said the deadline for a definitive vote on the project’s future can be extended as much as seven days.…