Tag: million
DOE Announces Additional $64 Million for Clean Coal Projects
The post DOE Announces Additional $ 64 Million for Clean Coal Projects appeared first on POWER Magazine.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has earmarked $ 64 million in additional funding for research and development of smaller, more efficient, and cleaner coal plants. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette on Feb. 7 announced the money would be part of the DOE’s “Coal FIRST Initiative,” telling the audience at an Atlantic Council meeting Friday in Washington, D.C., that the program is designed to “produce more coal power more efficiently and transform it into a near zero-emission energy source.”
The Atlantic Council calls itself a “nonpartisan organization that galvanizes U.S. leadership and engagement in the world, in partnership with allies and partners, to shape solutions to global challenges.” The agency’s international advisory board includes former prime ministers and presidents from Australia, Denmark, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, and Sweden, among others.
“Coal is a critical resource for grid stability that will be used in developing countries around the world well into the future as they build their economies,” said Brouillette in a news release detailing the funding opportunity announcement (FOA).…
$28 Million in DOE Funding Available for Advanced Energy Systems R&D
The Department of Energy (DOE) is offering approximately $ 28 million in cost-shared funding for research and development of advanced energy systems. According to three separate funding opportunity announcements (FOAs), the department is looking for research into advanced combustion systems, advanced turbines, and gasification.
“Advanced energy conversion systems are designed to enable efficient, low-cost, and near-zero emission energy from existing and new fossil fuel power plants,” a DOE release says.
University Turbine Systems Research
The University Turbine Systems Research (UTSR) program has available $ 5.15 million to fund laboratory/bench scale research and development projects in six technical topic areas:
- Low-NOx combustion technology development for “air-breathing” advanced turbines
- Advanced cooling technology development for “air-breathing” advanced turbines
- Advanced materials technology development for “air-breathing” advanced turbines
- Big data analytics
- Advanced instrumentation
- Pressure gain combustion
DOE anticipates awarding funding for six to nine projects. Up to three awards are expected in each of the first three topic areas, and one per topic in the last three areas.…
SONGS Arbitration Panel Awards SCE $125 Million
An arbitration panel of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has awarded Southern California Edison (SCE) $ 125 million in its dispute with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) over the failed replacement of four steam generators at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), a fiasco that ultimately led to the plant’s premature retirement.
Victory for MHI
The amount was a victory for MHI, as SCE was seeking a total of $ 7.6 billion for the loss of the plant. MHI was also awarded $ 58 million in attorneys’ fees because of its additional costs incurred in defending the larger claim. SCE must split the remaining $ 63 million with its co-owners San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and the City of Riverside. The utilities were seeking the additional funds to help cover retirement costs for SONGS, which are estimated at almost $ 5 billion. Those costs will now be borne mostly by ratepayers.
SCE’s claim was brought under its contract with MHI, which had a liability limit of $ 137 million.…
Oregon Wave Energy Center Gets $40 Million for Test Facility
Oregon State University’s (OSU’s) Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) was awarded up to $ 40 million by the Department of Energy (DOE) on December 21 to create what the center calls the world’s premier wave energy test facility in Newport, Ore.
The NNMREC facility, known as the Pacific Marine Energy Center South Energy Test Site, is planned to be operational by 2020. It will be able to test wave energy converters that harness the energy of ocean waves and turn it into electricity. Companies around the world are already anticipating construction of the new facility to test and perfect their technologies, OSU officials say.
Oregon State University’s Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center was awarded up to $ 40 million by the DOE on December 21 to create a wave energy test facility in Newport. Source: OSU“We anticipate this will be the world’s most advanced wave energy test facility,” said Belinda Batten, director of NNMREC and a professor in the OSU College of Engineering.…
More Delays at Kemper as $250 Million Deadline Looms
Southern Co. has once again moved back the in-service date for the Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant under construction in Mississippi, this time to December 31, the company said in its quarterly report released on November 4.
Though the plant has experienced ongoing construction delays for a variety of reasons, the most recent date carries special significance. According to the report, Southern subsidiary Mississippi Power will have to repay $ 250 million in tax benefits should it miss the December 31 date.
The deadline is a result of provisions in the “tax extenders” act passed by Congress in 2015, which allowed additional depreciation for certain projects. Southern said it expects to receive about $ 370 million in total tax benefits for Kemper under this provision, about $ 250 million of which has already been received through September 30 as a result of quarterly income tax refunds. But if Kemper does not enter service before the end of the year, Southern will have to repay those benefits.…