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Another Coal-fired Plant Will Close in Wisconsin

December 4, 2017

WEC Energy Group continues to move away from coal-fired power in its portfolio. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based utility in November gave WEC investors more details about the plan for Wisconsin Public Service (WPS), a WEC subsidiary, to close the Pulliam Power Plant in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as early as next fall.

WEC subsidiary We Energies last week said it will close its coal-fired Pleasant Prairie plant in the second quarter of 2018. WEC also in 2016 signed an agreement to replace coal units at the its Presque Isle plant in Michigan with natural gas-fired generation; Michigan regulators approved that plan in October of this year. That plant in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is operated by WEC subsidiary Upper Michigan Energy Resources.

Plans for the Pulliam plant’s eventual closure were first announced in October 2016, according to Matt Cullen, a spokesman for WPS. The plant began service in 1927, and at one time had eight coal-fired generating units; it operates two today. The plant is located at the mouth of the Fox River in Green Bay.…

India Launches Probe of Power Plant Blast; Death Toll at 36

November 14, 2017

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India’s Power Ministry has established a committee to investigate the November 1 explosion at NTPC’s thermal power plant in Unchahar. The death toll from the blast is at 36, and dozens more workers at the plant were injured when flue gases and steam were released from a 500-MW coal-fired unit at the plant. Several remain hospitalized with severe burns.

The investigative panel was created November 6 by order of the Power Ministry, under a provision of the country’s Electricity Act 2003. It is led by P.D. Siwal, a thermal power expert from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The Power Ministry said it wants a report from the committee within the next month, and would like a report on the cause of the blast within the next week. The agency also asked the committee to “fix responsibility for lapses, if any,” and “to suggest remedial measures to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future.”

Other members of the investigating committee are Subir Chakraborty, director of projects for Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd.…

Death Toll Rises to 43 in Wake of India Coal Plant Blast

November 12, 2017

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Officials in India say the the death toll from the November 1 explosion at an NTPC thermal plant in Unchahar has risen to 43, with seven more deaths reported in the past week. Dozens of workers at the plant were injured when flue gases and steam were released from a 500-MW coal-fired unit at the plant during a maintenance operation. Several workers remain hospitalized, many with severe burns, according to local officials, who late November 10 said at least eight of the injured are in “very critical” condition.

India’s Power Ministry has a committee investigating the explosion at the Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station in Uttar Pradesh state. The blast occurred in Unit 6 of the plant, a unit which was commissioned in March and had been operating on a trial basis since September. The six-unit, 1,550-MW Gandhi plant supplies electricity to nine states—Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Uttarakhand—and employs about 870 workers.…

Death Toll at 34 in India Plant Explosion; Officials Point to High Pressure in Boiler

November 6, 2017

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Officials in India on November 5 said the death toll has risen to 34 after an explosion and fire November 1 at NTPC’s Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station in Uttar Pradesh state. NTPC, the nation’s largest power utility, said flue gases and steam were released in the blast, which occurred in a 500-MW coal-fired unit that was commissioned in March and had been operating on a trial basis at the plant since September.

NTPC officials investigating the incident said November 3 that pressure inside the unit shot up to 70 times its normal level in just a few minutes before the explosion, and an emergency shut-off mechanism that should have disabled the unit apparently failed to work. A fireball exploded in the unit and pressurized steam gushed out onto dozens of workers, who were either killed or severely burned.

Local hospital officials on November 5 said several workers severely burned in the incident remain hospitalized.

Federal Power Secretary A.K. Bhalla told local media that along with NTPC executives, officials from Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.…

Death Toll at 32 in India Plant Explosion; Officials Point to High Pressure in Boiler

November 4, 2017

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NTPC, India’s largest power utility, on November 3 said the death toll has risen to 32 after an explosion and fire November 1 at its Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station in Uttar Pradesh state. NTPC said flue gases and steam were released in the blast, which occurred in a 500-MW coal-fired unit that was commissioned in March and had been operating on a trial basis at the plant since September.

NTPC officials investigating the incident said pressure inside the unit shot up 70 times its normal level in just a few minutes before the explosion, and an emergency shut-off mechanism that should have disabled the unit apparently failed to work. A fireball exploded in the unit and pressurized steam gushed out onto dozens of workers, who were either killed or severely burned.

NTPC in a statement November 3 said about 80 workers from the plant are still hospitalized. Federal Power Secretary A.K. Bhalla told local media that along with NTPC executives, officials from Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.…

Death Toll Expected to Rise After Explosion at India Thermal Plant

November 2, 2017

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An explosion at a coal-fired power plant in India has killed as many as 18 people and injured about 100, according to news reports. The blast, which occurred November 1 at the Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station, was apparently caused when a boiler pipe burst in a 500-MW generating unit that came online in March of this year.

Police confirmed the total number of dead and said they expect the death toll and number of injured may rise because other people were trapped in the plant, which has been shut down. The plant employs 870 workers.

NTPC, the plant’s operator and India’s largest power utility, said in a statement: “There was sudden abnormal sound at 20 mt. elevation and there was an opening … from which hot flue gases and steam escaped affecting the people working around the area.” The NTPC statement also said “an unfortunate accident in the boiler of 500MW under trial unit of NTPC – Unchahar occurred this afternoon.…