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Vogtle Nuclear Expansion Price Tag Tops $30 Billion

May 10, 2022

An updated financial report from one of the owners of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia shows the cost to build two new reactors has now topped $ 30 billion, more than double the original price tag expected for the project.

The Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), one of four groups with an ownership stake in the Vogtle expansion, on May 6 raised its total cost forecast for the project to $ 7.8 billion, up from $ 7.5 billion. The group’s updated figures, when combined with cost estimates from the other owners, push the cost to build two new 1,100-MW reactors at the site in Waynesboro, Georgia, to at least $ 30.3 billion.

The owners’ updated cost estimate does not include the $ 3.68 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid to the project’s owners after Westinghouse declared bankruptcy, putting total spending for the expansion in the range of $ 34 billion.

More Cost Overruns

MEAG, which provides power to city-owned utilities, owns 22.7% of Vogtle.…

Keeping Coal Relevant: University of Wyoming Leads the Way

May 6, 2022

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To say the coal industry faces challenges is an understatement. Coal-fired power plants are being retired around the globe as efforts to decarbonize the world’s power supply have intensified due to climate change concerns. That’s a problem for people working in the coal industry, as well as for states and governments that rely on coal revenue to fuel their economies.

Wyoming is one of those states. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Wyoming produced more than 239 million tons of coal in 2021. That’s more than three times the amount produced in West Virginia, the second-largest coal producing state in the U.S.

“Wyoming is the energy state,” Scott Quillinan, senior director of research for the School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. “Our mission here at the School of Energy Resources is energy-driven economic development for the state of Wyoming. … We support the energy industry here through academic programs, research programs, and outreach and engagement.”…

The POWER Interview: Importance of Pricing Data for Renewable Energy

May 4, 2022

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The highs and lows of markets for renewable energy are driving more interest in granular pricing data. Any company embarking on a new project must do its research to ensure that it calculates the proceeds based on the right financial information. With so much data now readily available, it’s more important than ever to use the right data, and make accurate calculations.

Amid the boom in demand for renewable power plants, that is not always happening when backers go to measure the value of the energy they will generate. Here’s why, according to Jennifer Newman, vice president of Atmospheric Science Research at REsurety, the Boston, Massachusetts-based renewable industry data and analytics company, who says friends don’t let friends use “8760s.”

POWER: What is an 8760 and how is it used in the renewable energy industry?

Newman: An 8760 (sometimes referred to as a typical meteorological year or TMY) consists of hourly generation values for a wind or solar project for all 8,760 hours of a typical year.…

INL Mulling Building New Nuclear Reactor to Energize Net-Zero Campus Microgrid

April 30, 2022

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Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is exploring designing, building, and operating an onsite nuclear reactor resource as part of a broader effort to achieve net-zero emissions at its sprawling campus in Idaho Falls by 2031.

Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA), an entity that manages and operates the Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory, on April 29 launched a request for information (RFI) from industry, utilities, energy users, and other stakeholders that could inform how it can integrate nuclear-generated power and heat into a campus microgrid. The initiative falls under the April 2021–launched INL Net-Zero Program, which aims to eliminate or offset all emissions from the campus where 5,400 employees work.

The quest to achieve net-zero in less than a decade will serve as a crucial demonstration of a decarbonization pathway that would utilize “technology innovations, collaborations, increased efficiencies, and novel approaches,” BEA suggested. The city-like INL campus already has 100 miles of transmission lines, a landfill, a 605-vehicle fleet, 357 buildings, and hundreds of miles of roads.…

Duke Energy Could Power Purdue with Nuclear Project

April 28, 2022

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Small modular reactors (SMRs) are widely considered the best technology to increase the use of nuclear power worldwide, with advocates touting their zero-emission production of electricity, smaller land footprint, and scalability. SMRs also offer a cost savings over construction of new utility-scale nuclear reactors.

Powering a college campus with nuclear energy has increasingly been a topic of discussion in recent years, as universities try to reduce their carbon footprint and many seek to upgrade older, fossil fuel-powered central utility plants. Purdue University and Duke Energy on April 27 announced that officials will jointly look at the feasibility of using nuclear power to meet the school’s energy needs.

“No other option holds as much potential to provide reliable, adequate electric power with zero carbon emissions,” said Mitch Daniels, Purdue’s president since 2013 after serving two terms as Indiana’s governor. “Innovation and new ideas are at the core of what we do at Purdue, and that includes searching for ways to minimize the use of fossil fuels while still providing carbon-free, reliable, and affordable energy.…

Burns & McDonnell Awarded Contract for Ocean Wind 1 Offshore Project

April 26, 2022

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The first three major construction contracts have been awarded for the 1,100-MW Ocean Wind 1 offshore project that will provide electricity to New Jersey.

Ocean Wind 1 is a joint venture between Ørsted and Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), which provides electricity for much of New Jersey. Those groups on April 25 announced Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. and JINGOLI Power have been contracted to install two high-voltage substations, along with almost nine miles of underground cable, that will connect the offshore wind farm to the onshore electric grid at two landfall points near Atlantic City.

Engineering for the project began earlier this year, and construction is expected to start in September of next year. The Ocean Wind 1 site is about 15 miles off the coast of southern New Jersey. It is part of the state’s plan to install at least 7,500 MW of offshore wind generation capacity by 2035.

Ocean Wind 1 will utilize more than 90 of GE’s Haliade X 12-MW wind turbines.…