THE BIG PICTURE: Prevailing Winds
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U.S. Nuclear: From Hope to Despair
A decade ago, the annual Platts nuclear energy conference in Washington was brimming with optimism over a coming “nuclear renaissance,” as licensing requests poured into the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and companies announced ambitious plans for new nuclear construction. Ten years later, the not-so-under-the-surface theme of the conference was nuclear survival.
“The question is survival,” former Entergy nuclear executive Bill Mohl told attendees at the annual Platts nuclear energy conference in Washington, D.C., in early February. Mohl, who led Entergy’s merchant power business and retired February 28, went on to explain that Entergy’s long-term strategy of buying up single-unit nuclear plants at bargain-basement prices and bidding them into the regional transmission operator (RTO) and independent system operator (ISO) competitive wholesale markets was a miserable failure.
It seemed like a really good idea at the outset, but a combination of factors undercut the strategy, and Entergy is now exiting merchant nuclear power in as big a way as it entered. Vermont Yankee is shuttered.…
Reports of the Electric Grid’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
There have been numerous pronouncements recently about the upcoming demise of the bulk power grid as consumers are projected to move toward decentralized green energy sources. We don’t believe that the end of the electric grid is nigh upon us.
Investment in Transmission Grows
In the last decade, low load growth in the U.S. has been accompanied by continued transmission growth. Although the percent of load growth is declining or flat nationwide, investment in the transmission system is increasing. In addition, recent trends suggest that decarbonization efforts—installation of renewable resources and distributed energy resources—will likely be accompanied by increasing transmission expansion. Other factors are contributing to the increased transmission system investment as well.
Annual electric load growth has trended downward over our lifetimes, from 9.8% annual growth in the 1950s to 0.7% in the first decade of the 21st century. Nonetheless, the load itself continues to grow as does transmission system investment. Annual investment in the transmission system increased from around $ 2 billion in 1997, to $ 14 billion in 2012, an annual growth rate of almost 14%.…
New Approaches for Transformer Operation and Maintenance
ABB Transformer resilience image 2
Technology advancements and new regulatory requirements could reshape how power plant owners operate and maintain large power transformers. Experts outline emerging strategies and call attention to overlooked components that could help prevent transformer failure.
Power transformers are arguably one of the most expensive and vital components in a power system. While they are typically reliable and relatively low-maintenance, sudden failures can result in the loss of power generation along with considerable costs and potentially wider implications for grid reliability.
According to SPX Transformer Solutions, a U.S. maker of medium and large power transformers, and which is also a transformer service solution provider, electrical disturbances are a leading cause of power transformer failure. An analysis it conducted of major failures between 1991 and 2010 (Figure 1) showed that phenomena such as switching surges, voltage spikes, line faults/flashovers, and other utility abnormalities are overwhelmingly responsible for transformer failures. Insulation, moisture, and foreign objects were also notable causes.
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AES Closing Two More Ohio Coal Plants
AES subsidiary Dayton Power & Light (DP&L) confirmed on March 20 that it will close two of its coal-fired plants by 2018 because they have become uneconomic.
The Ohio utility announced its intent to close the two plants in January as part of a settlement over its future reliability planning. The plan had been contested by a variety of parties and environmental groups. DP&L agreed to close the plants and shift its power mix toward more renewable energy. Monday’s announcement makes the move official.
AES purchased the two plants, J.M. Stuart Station and Killen Station, from Duke’s merchant generation arm in 2014. Killen is a single-unit, 618-MW plant in Wrightsville that began operations in 1982. Stuart, a four-unit, 2,318-MW plant in Aberdeen, first came online in 1969. DP&L owns 35% of Stuart and 67% of Killen.
According to local media, the closure may not quite be a done deal. Coal mining firm Murray Energy, which supplies coal to the plants and stands to lose a substantial amount of business if they shut down, is contesting the settlement with the Ohio Public Utilities Commission.…
Tube Leaks Cause Latest Delay to Kemper Project
The Kemper County Energy Facility will not reach full operation by its latest mid-March deadline, project owner Southern Company subsidiary, Mississippi Power announced March 16 in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“On March 9, 2017, Mississippi Power experienced certain tube leaks in one of the syngas coolers for gasifier ‘A’ and commenced an outage on gasifier ‘A’ to perform necessary corrective actions. As a result, Mississippi Power no longer expects the remainder of the Kemper IGCC will be placed in service by mid-March 2017,” the filing says.
The Kemper County Energy Facility, a new-build, integrated coal gasification combined cycle plant located near Meridian, Mississippi, is currently three years behind schedule and $ 4.7 billion over budget. Once completed, the plant will employ two gasifiers and a carbon capture system to burn low-rank Mississippi lignite with emissions roughly equal to those of a natural gas plant.
As of the company’s last monthly SEC filing, the plant was expected to reach full operation by mid-March, following several delays over the course of the last few months.…