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Natural Gas and Wind Are Cheapest Sources of Power in Majority of U.S.

December 12, 2016

In a finding that is likely to boost controversy over the future of U.S. energy policy, a comprehensive study of the full levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from various sources of electricity conducted by the University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s Energy Institute found that wind turbines and natural gas combined cycle power plants (CCPPs) provide the least expensive options for new generation across a large majority of U.S. counties.

The study, “New U.S. Power Costs: By County, with Environmental Externalities,” is part of an ongoing initiative at UT that attempts to take a “holistic approach” to calculating both direct and indirect costs of generating electricity.

The Institute has placed the results online in the form of an interactive tool that allows comparison of the LCOE for various options and adjustment of fuel costs. (The tool also makes some assumptions about the suitability of certain generation in various locations; for example, there are areas that would be unsuitable for fossil plants for environmental reasons.)…

Arrests Made After Scaffold Collapse Kills 74 Workers at Chinese Power Plant

November 30, 2016

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Nine people, including the chairman and chief engineer of the Fengcheng power plant, have been arrested following a scaffold collapse that killed 74 construction workers on November 24.

The scaffold platform had been erected to facilitate work on a cooling tower that was being constructed at the plant located in Yichun City, Jiangxi Province. According to a CCTV newscast, more than 60 people were working on the platform, and more than a dozen were on the ground waiting for their 7 a.m. shift to start, when the scaffold collapsed.

China orders safety overhaul after power plant accident in Jiangxi killed 74 https://t.co/G3KfkVluIx https://t.co/D6K8nFAEZB pic.twitter.com/Jzdu1Jv2pw

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) November 28, 2016

China’s state news agency Xinhua reported that the victims ranged in age from 23 to 53 years old, with most under the age of 36. More than 300 rescuers, two drones, four sniffer dogs, and seven cranes were said to have been involved in the search and rescue effort.…

Two Deals Shake Up Northeastern Power Landscape

November 4, 2016

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TransCanada—a leading North American energy company—has struck deals to sell its U.S. Northeast Power business. LS Power will acquire three principally natural gas–fired power plants and a wind farm from TransCanada, while ArcLight Capital Partners will buy 13 hydropower facilities located in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

“The sale of our merchant U.S. Northeast Power business to fund a portion of our acquisition of [Columbia Pipeline Group Inc.] will further enhance the stability and predictability of our earnings and cash flow streams and support a strong and growing dividend,” said Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and CEO.

The plants being acquired by LS Power are Ravenswood, a 2,480-MW multiple-unit facility with dual-fuel-capable steam turbine, combined cycle, and combustion turbine units located in Queens, N.Y.; Ironwood, a 778-MW combined cycle plant in Lebanon, Penn.; Ocean State Power, a 560-MW combined cycle plant in Burrillville, R.I.; and Kibby Wind, a 132-MW wind farm in Franklin County, Maine. LS Power, through its affiliate Helix Generation, will pay TransCanada $ 2.2 billion in cash for the 3,950-MW portfolio.…

France’s Nuclear Storm: Many Power Plants Down Due to Quality Concerns

November 2, 2016

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[Note: This article will appear in the forthcoming December 2016 print issue of POWER.]

The discovery of widespread carbon segregation problems in critical nuclear plant components has crippled the French power industry—20 of the country’s 58 reactors are currently offline and under heavy scrutiny. France’s nuclear safety chairman said more anomalies “will likely be found,” as the extent of the contagion is still being uncovered.

With over half of France’s 58 reactors possibly affected by “carbon segregation,” the nation’s nuclear watchdog, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN) has ordered that preventative measures be taken immediately to ensure public safety. As this story goes into production in late October, ASN has confirmed that 20 reactors are currently offline and potentially more will shut down in coming weeks.

The massive outages are draining power from all over Europe. Worse, new questions continue to swirl about both the safety and integrity of Électricité de France SA’s (EDF’s) nuclear fleet, as well as the quality of some French- and Japanese-made components that EDF is using in various high-profile nuclear projects around the world.…

Idaho Power Pursues Accelerated Depreciation of North Valmy Coal Plant

October 31, 2016

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Idaho Power—co-owner with NV Energy of the two-unit 522-MW North Valmy Generating Station near Battle Mountain, Nevada—filed a request with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC) last week seeking to accelerate the depreciable life of the power plant from 2031 for Unit 1 and 2035 for Unit 2 to 2025 for both units.

In Idaho Power’s 2015 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), the company said its preferred portfolio included retirement of the North Valmy plant at year-end 2025. The timing matched the expected completion date of the Boardman to Hemingway transmission line project, which will add a new connection to the Pacific Northwest. The preferred portfolio included the addition of 60 MW of demand response and 20 MW of ice-based thermal energy storage in 2030, and the addition of a 300-MW combined cycle combustion turbine in 2031.

The 2015 IRP included a 2016 action item to continue working with NV Energy “to synchronize depreciation dates and determine if a date can be established to cease coal-fired operations” at North Valmy Units 1 and 2.…

PSEG Will Retire Two New Jersey Coal Power Plants

October 11, 2016

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Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) will close the 620-MW Hudson Generation Station in Jersey City, N.J., and the 632-MW Mercer Generation Station in Hamilton Township, N.J., on June 1, 2017.

“The sustained low prices of natural gas have put economic pressure on these plants for some time. In that context, we could not justify the significant investment required to upgrade these plants to meet the new reliability standards,” Bill Levis, president and COO of PSEG Power, said in a statement released on October 5. “The plants have been infrequently called on to run and neither plant cleared the last two PJM capacity auctions. The plants’ capacity payments have been critical to their profitability and PSEG’s ability to continue to invest in modernizing them.”

PSEG said it is committed to working with union representatives to limit the impact of the closures on the 200 affected employees, roughly split between the two facilities.

“These plants have played a critical role in powering the growth and economic expansion of New Jersey and PSEG is grateful to our employees who have played a part in building and running them for the past 50 years,” said Levis.…