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Official: FERC, Other Agencies Identifying ‘Critical’ Coal, Nuclear Plants

August 11, 2018

An official with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) told a nuclear industry group this week that the agency and Trump administration officials are trying to identify power plants they consider critical to the nation’s grid. The move is seen as part of the White House effort to prop up the struggling U.S. coal and nuclear power industries.

Anthony Pugliese, FERC’s chief of staff, provided information during a talk before the American Nuclear Society, according to Rod Adams of Atomic Insights, a Virginia-based publishing company that produces content related to atomic energy. Adams shared audio of Pugliese’s remarks with E&E News. “We are working with DOD [Department of Defense] and DOE [Department of Energy] and NSC [National Security Council] to identify the plants that we think would be absolutely critical to ensuring that not only our military bases but things like hospitals and other critical infrastructure are able to be maintained, regardless of what natural or man-made disasters might occur,” Pugliese said.…

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.…

Bill Supporting Xcel Energy Nuclear Plants Dies in Minnesota

May 30, 2018

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A bill that would have provided more cost-recovery certainty for Xcel Energy’s two Minnesota nuclear plants didn’t get through the state House of Representatives prior to the legislative session ending on May 20, effectively killing the measure.

The bill would have allowed Xcel to submit proposals to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) designating each of its nuclear plants—the dual-unit Prairie Island station and the single-unit Monticello plant—as carbon-reduction facilities. As part of the process, the company would have included a proposed statement of the total expected costs, including but not limited to capital investments and operation and maintenance costs associated with the facility’s operation.

The MPUC would then have been required to approve or reject the total expected costs within 10 months of the filing date. The solution would have given Xcel the ability to recover a facility’s total costs outside of a general rate case proceeding. Proponents of the legislation suggested that it would have given Xcel more certainty than it currently has concerning cost recovery.…

Report Says More Nuclear Plants in Financial Trouble

May 15, 2018

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A report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) says the financial struggles of U.S. nuclear power plants continue to increase, and it is likely more plants will be faced with early retirement. It’s another acknowledgement of the tough operating environment for nuclear facilities as gas-fired and renewable energy sources continue to grab more power generation market share in an era of lower electricity costs and slowing demand for electricity.

Nicholas Steckler, an analyst with BNEF, on May 15 said 24 of the more than 60 U.S. operating nuclear power plants are either set to close or will not be able to cover their operating costs through 2021. Steckler wrote in his report that those sites have total generation capacity of 32.5 MW, which is nearly a third of the nation’s total nuclear nameplate generation capacity of just above 100 MW, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

A 2016 POWER magazine report detailed the nuclear retirement picture at that time, and several more units have announced plans for premature closures over the past several months.…

New Gas-Fired Plants Planned in Florida, South Carolina

May 9, 2018

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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.”…

Minnesota May Be Next to Support Nuclear Plants

April 1, 2018

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Following the lead of Illinois and New York, which have enacted policies supporting nuclear power plants, the Minnesota Legislature is weighing a bill that could help the owner of two nuclear facilities within its borders.

Minnesota is home to the single-unit 671-MW Monticello nuclear plant and the dual-unit 1,100-MW Prairie Island plant (Figure 1). Xcel Energy owns a 100% stake in both of them.

1. Home on the prairie. The Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Station generates about 20% of the electricity used by Xcel Energy’s customers in the Upper Midwest. Unit 1 began operation in December 1973 and Unit 2 followed in December 1974. The reactors are licensed until 2033 and 2034, respectively. Courtesy: Nuclear Management Co.

Current Minnesota regulations require investor-owned utilities, such as Xcel, to file multi-year integrated resource plans (IRPs) with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC). Companies give details about their future generation mix in the IRPs. Once the MPUC approves the plan, the utility decides how much money to allocate toward capital, and operations and maintenance expenses at each of its generation facilities.…