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CPV Announces New 1.8-GW Gas-Fired Plant for West Virginia

September 17, 2022

A Maryland-based power generation group said it will build an 1,800-MW combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plant in West Virginia, a project that will utilize carbon capture and storage to take advantage of a government tax credit.

Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) on Sept. 16 said it plans for the project to be operational later this decade. Company officials said the power plant’s construction was made possible by the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, which expanded the 45Q federal tax credit for carbon capture.

“CPV is pleased to work closely with West Virginia to bring this project to fruition in the coming years. This project and technology represent a significant step forward for our Nation in deploying low carbon, dispatchable generation critical to maintaining reliability as we address our collective concerns regarding climate change,” said Gary Lambert, CEO of Silver Spring, Maryland-based Competitive Power Ventures. “West Virginia has been extremely forward thinking at the local, state and national level, and we cannot thank Senator Manchin enough for his leadership in making this opportunity possible.”…

CAISO’s First Geothermal Plant in 30 Years Comes Online

August 25, 2022

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The first geothermal power plant built in more than three decades within the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) balancing authority has come online. Mammoth Pacific Geothermal, an Ormat Co. subsidiary, declared the 30-MW Casa Diablo IV (CD4) commercially operational on July 20.

CD4 is located on public land two miles east of the Town of Mammoth Lakes in Mono County, California. The project is part of the Mammoth complex, which includes three other plants—one completed in 1985 and two added in 1990—each with a generating capacity of approximately 10 MW. The complex taps into the Long Valley Caldera’s hydrothermal system at a point where the hot water is only a few hundred feet below ground.

CD4 comprises two Ormat Energy Converter (OEC) binary generating units, each 21.2 MW, and vaporizers, turbines, generators, air-cooled condensers, preheaters, pumps and piping, and related ancillary equipment. OEC binary generating units are based on an Organic Rankine Cycle, and work by vaporizing a secondary working fluid (organic, with a low boiling point) that is heated by the geothermal fluid extracted from an underground reservoir.…

California Governor Has Plan to Keep Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Open

August 15, 2022

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a plan that would keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open into 2035, a decade beyond the facility’s current closure date.

The proposal, which in part includes giving plant owner Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) a forgivable $ 1.4-billion loan, was included in a draft legislative package sent to state lawmakers late on Aug. 11. The bill has not yet been introduced in the state legislature. The current legislative session ends Aug. 31, though Newsom could call for a special session beyond that date to consider the plan.

The proposal was confirmed by Newsom spokesman Anthony York, according to Associated Press. The news service reported the bill “says impacts of climate change are occurring sooner than anticipated and are simultaneously driving up electrical demand while reducing power supplies.”

“The governor has been clear for months about the potential need to extend the life of Diablo Canyon,” York said. The spokesman said the governor has stressed the importance of all energy options to maintain a reliable power supply, and “this proposal reflects the continued need to keep that flexibility.”…

IAEA: Shelling at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant Raises ‘Real Risk’ of Nuclear Disaster

August 7, 2022

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is growing increasingly alarmed by military action at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, warning that artillery shelling at the plant site on Aug. 5 underlines a “very real risk of a nuclear disaster.”

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in a statement on Aug. 6 said new information about the Russian-Ukraine conflict at the site poses a “serious situation.” The information suggests that while there has been no damage to the 6-GW Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant’s six reactors and no radiological release, “there is damage elsewhere on the site,” he said.

Military action at Zaporizhzhya—Europe’s largest nuclear power plant—has ramped up in recent days. Russia occupied the plant, which is located in the southern part of Ukraine, in March—relatively early in its occupation of Ukraine. The nuclear plant continues to be operated by Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned entity. All 15 of Ukraine’s nuclear reactors are pressurized water reactors of Russian VVER design and are located at four plant sites.…

Rosatom Picks New EPC Lead for Turkey’s First Nuclear Power Plant

August 1, 2022

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A new contractor has been named to finish construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant. Russia’s state-owned energy giant Rosatom on July 30 said it had chosen TSM Enerji, a company owned by three Russian groups and incorporated in Turkey, as the project’s new engineering, procurement, and construction lead.

The Turkish government has said it wants to begin operating the first of four reactors at the 4,800-MW Akkuyu facility next year. “All works under current subcontracts will be transferred to TSM … similar new contracts will be signed between TSM and subcontractors,” Akkuyu Nuclear said in a statement on Saturday. The group did not say specifically why the previous EPC deal with IC Ictas, a Turkish company, had been ended.

IC Ictas on August 1 said it planned legal action against Rosatom’s move. Bloomberg News reported that IC Ictas said annulment of its contract was unlawful, and could result in a delay in the project. IC Ictas in a statement Monday said TSM Enerji, the new contractor, is a limited liability company that may not be able to complete the project.…

UK Throws Support Behind Sizewell C Nuclear Plant Construction

July 22, 2022

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The UK government has given the go-ahead for construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in southeast England, which officials have called an important project for the country to meet its net-zero climate goals.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on July 20 confirmed the government’s support, saying UK officials consider it a major infrastructure project for the country.

Sizewell C, which would be majority-owned by France utility EDF, would be built in Suffolk, a fishing village about 110 miles northeast of London that has been home to nuclear power at the Sizewell site for nearly 60 years. The plant is expected to have 3.2 GW of generation capacity, according to officials who on July 20 announced their support for the project. The plant is expected to feature two, 1,600-MW pressurized water (EPR) reactors.

Sizewell C is sited next to the existing Sizewell B nuclear plant, a 1,250-MW facility that has operated since 1995. Sizewell A, which came online in 1966, was closed at the end of 2006.…