Tag: Support
DOE Set to Support Small Modular Coal Units
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) wants to know whether small-scale, modular coal-fired power plants are feasible. The DOE this week put out a request for information on how to accomplish such projects, following on its announcement earlier this year that it wants to establish funding opportunities for new coal technologies in an effort to prop up the industry.
“The objective of this RFI [Request for Information] is to support DOE’s mission to lead research and technology development that promotes the advancement of coal-fired power plants that provide stable power generation with operational flexibility, high efficiency, and low emissions,” according to the DOE announcement made May 8. Among the details: a design that has a lower cost than traditional coal plants, capability to be load-following, and with an efficiency higher than 40%, well above the current average of 33% for a traditional coal plant. (The efficiency of a power plant is measured as the percentage of the total energy content of that plant’s fuel that is converted into electricity.)…
Minnesota May Be Next to Support Nuclear Plants
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.
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.…
Japan Regulatory Group Gives Conditional Support for TEPCO Restart
Japan’s nuclear watchdog agency has given Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) conditional approval to restart two reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. The units were taken offline after the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown in March 2011.
The country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) on September 13 said TEPCO could restart the units after it provides a detailed plan of how it can ensure the operational safety of the boiling-water reactors, the same type that operated at Fukushima, which was crippled after an earthquake and tsunami struck the region, resulting in flooding at the nuclear plant. The Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported the NRA’s action.
A district court in March of this year ruled that TEPCO and the Japanese government were aware of risks at Fukushima and could have taken action to avoid the meltdown of three reactors.
TEPCO Under Scrutiny
Units 6 and 7 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture were among 54 nuclear facilities in Japan—the country’s entire nuclear fleet—ordered to shut down after the 2011 earthquake.…
Georgia PSC Signals Support Continuing Vogtle Expansion
In two actions on August 15, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) signaled its support for the Vogtle nuclear expansion project, provided it can be done economically,
Georgia Power must show revised cost and schedule estimates to finish the costly Vogtle nuclear expansion as well as indicate whether it intends to finish the much-delayed construction project in its next construction monitoring report, which is due on August 31, one motion requires.
The PSC voted 4–1 on the motion put forth by Commission Chairman Stan Wise. The motion also requires Georgia Power to address whether the commission should approve revisions to project costs and schedule.
“This vote today sends a message to the Company, the Company’s partners, ratepayers, and Wall Street that the Commission continues to be supportive of this project provided it can be done economically,” Chairman Wise said in a statement. “This information will help us in deciding the appropriateness of whether this project should go forward or not go forward.”…