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Tag: Plant

Southern Company Could Delay Plant Vogtle Decision Until Late Summer

May 30, 2017
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CEO Tom Fanning told Southern Co.’s shareholders attending the company’s annual meeting on May 24 that a decision on how to proceed with the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion could take several more months.

The Vogtle expansion—one of two new nuclear construction projects underway in the U.S. utilizing Westinghouse’s AP1000 technology—has been in limbo, albeit still in progress, since Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy in late March. Yesterday, Reuters reported that Westinghouse had “reached a deal to borrow $ 800 million after allaying creditors’ concerns that the money would be flowing to non-bankrupt affiliates overseas.”

But that news doesn’t seem to have made Southern Co.’s decision to proceed with Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 any easier. Following the annual meeting, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that despite company officials previously stating that they had hoped to have a decision by today, or at least in June, Fanning is now aiming for August or “late summer.”

Less than two weeks ago, Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power announced that it had reached a new service agreement, which would allow for the transition of project management from Westinghouse to Southern Nuclear and Georgia Power “once the current engineering, procurement and construction contract is rejected in Westinghouse’s bankruptcy proceedings.”…

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Trump’s EPA Signals Changes for Power Plant Mercury Rule

April 21, 2017
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The Trump administration is “closely” reviewing the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) final cost consideration finding for its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) to determine whether it should reconsider the rule or some part of it, it said in an April 18 federal court filing.

The EPA filed a motion with the D.C. Circuit urging the court to delay oral arguments scheduled on May 18 for a case filed by an assortment of coal producing and generating companies, which are challenging the agency’s “Supplemental Finding That It Is Appropriate and Necessary To Regulate Hazardous Air Pollutants From Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units.”

Delay and Deflect

In its court filing, the agency said that it needs more time as it “intends to closely review the Supplemental Finding, and the prior positions taken by the Agency with respect to the Supplemental Finding may not necessarily reflect its ultimate conclusions after that review is complete.”

The Obama administration’s EPA issued the final supplemental finding a year ago after a divided Supreme Court in June 2015 (in Michigan v.…

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Interior Dept., Peabody Energy Seek to Keep Coal-Fired Navajo Plant Open

April 17, 2017
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The Navajo Generating Station can continue to be competitive under a reduced-price fuel proposal through 2040, said Peabody Energy, the coal giant which owns a coal mine currently fueling the Arizona plant.

The utility owners of the Navajo plant on February 16 voted to shut down the 2,250-MW coal-fired power plant in December 2019. The decision to close the plant on tribal land near Page along the border with Utah was based on the “rapidly changing economics of the energy industry,” which has seen natural gas prices sink to record lows, the plant’s owners said.

The plant is operated by Salt River Project (SRP). SRP is a utility owner along with Arizona Public Service Co., Tucson Electric Power Co., and NV Energy. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is a participant in the project.

But according to the Arizona Republic, Peabody Energy told regulators last week that the power plant could profit under new ownership. The newspaper reported that the coal company’s officials are “positioning the Navajo Generating Station for new buyers to come in and take over the troubled coal plant, which would allow the company to continue selling coal to the facility” from its Kayenta Mine in northern Arizona.…

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Sale of FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant Final

April 5, 2017
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The James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant officially belongs to Exelon Generation. The sale of the Scriba, NY plant, finalized on March 31, has been long-expected.

“We look forward to bringing FitzPatrick’s highly skilled team of professionals into the Exelon Generation nuclear program, and to continue delivering to New York the environmental, economic and grid reliability benefits of this important energy asset,” Chris Crane, president and CEO of Exelon, said in a release.

The FitzPatrick plant, an 838-MW boiling water reactor commissioned in July 1975, was put on the chopping block in late 2015 by then-owner Entergy Corp. The company cited economics in its decision to power down the plant, saying it was no longer feasible to run the plant in the current climate.

Exelon and Entergy announced in July 2016 that they were working to strike a deal for the sale of the plant. The announcement came shortly after the New York Department of Public Services released a proposal to subsidize zero-emissions nuclear plants upstate.…

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High-Performance Oil Reduces Varnish and Saves Money for Gas Turbine Power Plant

April 3, 2017
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Varnish buildup in oil systems and components can degrade performance and cause erratic valve operation. Some experts have conducted research and formulated new lubricants that could help solve those problems. One such oil proved highly successful during a five-year run at a gas turbine power plant. By eliminating the need for oil changes and valve maintenance at the site during the trial period, the oil even saved money compared to previously used formulations.

The formation of varnish by turbine oils is not a new phenomenon. However, it has become an intense topic of discussion over the last several years because of the resulting downtime, decrease in reliability, and loss of productivity it causes in the power industry. There are a few significant factors that contribute to this issue.

Dynamics Behind Varnish Formation

Through intense focus on asset reliability and operational efficiency, end users have begun to push limits and increase the performance of their power units. The same focus by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) has led to higher performing equipment.…

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Struggling to Compete with Natural Gas, Pennsylvania Coal Plant Files for Bankruptcy

January 14, 2017
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Homer City Generation, operator of a three-unit, 1,884-MW coal-fired generating station about 45 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Pa., has initiated a voluntary, pre-packaged Chapter 11 case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

The financial restructuring process is expected to eliminate more than $ 600 million in existing secured debt from Homer City’s balance sheet and provide for an orderly transition of ownership, according to the company. The plant expects to continue operating, and to meet its ordinary obligations, as the case proceeds.

Filing a pre-packaged Chapter 11 case means the company has already arranged the necessary approvals for its proposed plan of reorganization. By doing so, the company is able to expedite the process, while eliminating some of the uncertainty.

Homer City has been struggling due to depressed power market prices, resulting from the low cost of natural gas. Located virtually in the center of the Marcellus Formation, Homer City’s finances have been doomed by the abundance of natural gas, combined with higher environmental compliance costs.…

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