Cost | EnergyNorthwest.com

Vogtle Expansion Cost Jumps Again; In-Service Dates Set for 2023

July 28, 2022

Southern Co. on July 28 increased its cost estimate for Georgia Power’s share of the two-unit expansion of the Vogtle nuclear plant.

Southern, during an investor presentation of the company’s second-quarter financial results, said Georgia Power’s share of capital costs for the project has risen by $ 52 million, to about $ 10.5 billion in total. Georgia Power, the largest of four utilities owned by Southern Co., owns 45.7% of the project. The construction of Units 3 and 4 at Vogtle is years behind schedule, and the project’s price tag has ballooned to more than $ 30 billion, according to energy industry analysts.

The Vogtle expansion is adding two 1,117-MW Westinghouse AP1000 reactors to two existing units at the site in Waynesboro, Georgia. The project, when initially approved in 2009, was expected to cost about $ 14 billion, with the new reactors coming online in 2016 and 2017. Myriad issues have contributed to delays for the project, including the bankruptcy of Westinghouse and the coronavirus pandemic.…

Net Power Cost Analyst (Associate / Mid-level) Portland, Oregon #107213 (PORTLAND, OR, US, 97232)

February 8, 2022

| No Comments

| Energy Jobs In NW

*

PacifiCorp is seeking customer-centric candidates to grow and sustain our commitment to a culture of customer service excellence, environmental sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion.

General Purpose

Assist in preparation of net power cost regulatory filings, including general rate cases, transition adjustment mechanisms, and power cost adjustment mechanisms. Conduct analysis through research, gathering and interpretation of data, development of alternatives and recommendations for the Net Power Cost department. Analyses include, but are not limited to cost/benefit analysis, trending/forecasting, financial analysis, budget analysis and reporting.
Mid-level: Conduct analysis through research, gathering and interpretation of data, development of alternatives and recommendations for the Net Power Cost department. Present analysis and recommendations to management and may implement selected alternative

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Associate position include:

Provide project management and process improvement support on team’s NPC filing, modeling and/or process improvement projects.
Support modeling team in collecting, uploading and reviewing data inputs and modeling results.
Assist in preparing and analyzing production cost model simulations as well as wide range of ad hoc analyses.

…

Data Breaches Cost More Than $4 Million Per Incident, Power Industry at High Risk

July 28, 2021

| No Comments

| Industry News

The post Data Breaches Cost More Than $ 4 Million Per Incident, Power Industry at High Risk appeared first on POWER Magazine.

IBM Security reported on July 28 that the average cost of recent data breaches was $ 4.24 million per incident, the highest cost ever recorded by the company in 17 years of tracking the metric. Notably, data breaches in the U.S. were by far the costliest, exceeding $ 9 million per incident on average.

The findings were among several insights exposed through a global study of data breaches conducted by the independent Ponemon Institute, a analysis group known for its empirical studies. Researchers reviewed data breaches experienced by 537 organizations between May 2020 and March 2021. The incidents occurred in 17 countries and across various industries.

“We see the number, in general, tick up across the years—some years a little bit higher, some years a little lower—but in general, the trend has been the numbers increase over time,” IBM Cyber Threat Intelligence Expert Charles DeBeck told POWER during an exclusive interview.…

Reduced Cost for Renewables Supports Sector Growth

June 4, 2020

| No Comments

| Industry News

The post Reduced Cost for Renewables Supports Sector Growth appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows costs for renewable power are increasingly cheaper than those for generation from coal, reinforcing the trend of increased investment in solar and wind power and away from fossil fuel-powered electricity production.

The IRENA report—Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019—showed that more than half of the new renewable energy generation capacity added worldwide last year operated at a lower cost than even the least-expensive new coal-fired power plants. Its findings echoed the sentiments of several U.S. renewable energy advocates who participated in an online panel discussion Tuesday organized by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and attended by POWER.

The report, released June 2, said recent power auction results show the trend of cheaper solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind power is accelerating, putting more economic pressure on coal plants, and “reinforcing the case to phase-out coal entirely.”…

How Much Will Hydrogen-Based Power Cost?

February 27, 2020

| No Comments

| Industry News

The post How Much Will Hydrogen-Based Power Cost? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Costs associated with 40 hydrogen technologies used in 35 applications, including for heat and power, could tumble dramatically over the next decade as the scale-up of hydrogen production, distribution, and equipment and component manufacturing continues. For some applications, hydrogen could become competitive with other low-carbon alternatives, and even conventional options. Those are key findings from an in-depth assessment of industry-provided hydrogen application costs that the Hydrogen Council—an international CEO-level advisory body—underscored in a Jan. 20–released report.

The findings offer an important glimpse at growing efforts to integrate hydrogen into the global energy framework. As part of concerted decarbonization goals, 18 governments (whose economies account for 70% of global gross domestic product) had developed detailed strategies for deploying hydrogen solutions, as of January. Industry, too, is paying attention to sharp improvements to cost drivers associated with “renewable” hydrogen production, and the versatile role hydrogen could play in future energy systems.…

PG&E: Judge’s Proposal Could Cost Utility $150 Billion

January 24, 2019

| No Comments

| Industry News

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on Jan. 23 said a federal judge’s proposal that the utility mitigate fire danger in its service territory by trimming trees, along with inspecting and repairing thousands of miles of power lines, could cost the company as much as $ 150 billion this year.

William Alsup, a judge in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, earlier this month said he could order PG&E to remove or trim all trees that could threaten the utility’s equipment and possibly lead to wildfires. The judge said the work would need to be done by June 21.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which regulates the state’s utilities, is expected to express its opinion of Alsup’s proposal by Jan. 25. A hearing on the proposal is scheduled for Jan. 30 in San Francisco, the day after PG&E is expected to file for bankruptcy.

Alsup is supervising PG&E’s probation term that began in 2017 after PG&E was convicted of felony charges stemming from a 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif.,…