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Massive Fire Forces DTE Energy’s St. Clair Power Plant Offline

August 13, 2016

A massive fire broke out at DTE Energy’s St. Clair Power Plant in the early evening on August 11.

Firefighters reportedly received the call for assistance at around 6:30 p.m. and fought the blaze well into the following morning.

Video taken during the incident shows flames in several spots on the north end of the plant’s roof, extending well to the south. There is smoke coming out of vents throughout the entire length of the facility, which has six operational units with a total capacity of 1,547 MW.

The plant invoked emergency procedures and shut down all units onsite by 7:01 p.m. DTE Energy said employees were evacuated safely and that there were no known injuries at the plant.

Firefighters from St. Clair and Marine City were first on the scene, but as many as 30 departments, including Port Huron, which is nearly 20 miles to the north, were said to have been involved in extinguishing the fire.

In a statement released at 8:26 a.m.…

THE BIG PICTURE: China’s Power Glut

July 1, 2016

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U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Closures [Slideshow]

June 25, 2016

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According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, nuclear power has accounted for about 20% of electricity generated in the U.S. each year since 1990. In fact, the U.S. nuclear fleet out produced France—the country with the next highest nuclear generation—by more than two to one in 2012. Russia was a distant third, generating less than a quarter of the U.S. total.

But times of late have been tough for U.S. nuclear generators. Natural gas prices are at historic lows, leading to cheap gas-fueled generation. Even with climate concerns and a worldwide movement to reduce CO₂ emissions, the market is not rewarding nuclear power’s zero-carbon generation. In competitive markets, nuclear power is not competitive.

Since October 2012, U.S. nuclear plant owners have closed or announced closure of 14 reactor units at 11 plant sites. Many of the units had already gone through the lengthy process of obtaining 20-year license extensions, which would have allowed them to operate until the 2030s in some cases.…

FPL to Buy and Phase Out Another Florida Coal Power Plant

June 21, 2016

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Florida Light and Power (FPL) wants to buy and phase out another coal-fired power plant in Florida, a move it says will save its customers an estimated $ 129 million when new gas-fired infrastructure is built in the state.

The NextEra subsidiary on June 20 filed a petition for the Florida Public Service Commission’s (PSC’s) approval to buy the 330-MW Indiantown Cogeneration facility, which is currently owned by Calypso Energy Holdings, in a deal valued at about $ 451 million (including existing debt).

The coal-fired plant is equipped with advanced pollution controls, including selective catalytic reduction technology and a zero-discharge water treatment system. It also sells steam to Louis Dreyfus Citrus, a nearby food processing plant, under an energy services agreement. It is unclear how the deal will affect that contract.

The state regulator approved a power purchase agreement between FPL and the cogeneration facility in 1991 that does not expire until 2025. If the PSC approves the proposal, FPL estimates it will save customers $ 129 million over the remaining life of the contract, approximately nine years.…

How Will the Supreme Court Stay Affect the Clean Power Plan?

June 11, 2016

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One of the witnesses testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on June 9 believes states and regulated entities will be granted additional time to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan (CPP), if the rule is ultimately found to be lawful.

Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted a stay of the rule, which means that the CPP, although finalized, has no legal effect. A stay of an administrative action maintains the status quo during the time that the court considers the legality of the action. Any and all obligations are effectively void and neither states nor regulated entities can be penalized for refusing to comply with any requirement or deadline in the rule.

Unusual Situation

According to Allison Wood, partner in the law firm Hunton & Williams LLP and one of the witnesses at the hearing (Figure 1), stays of federal regulations are very rarely granted by any court. She said the Supreme Court only grants a stay when there is a reasonable probability that four justices would consider the issue one on which they would grant review, there is a fair prospect that a majority of the court would vote to strike down the rule at issue, and there is a likelihood that irreparable harm would result without a stay.…

Watts Bar Unit 2 Nuclear Plant Synchronized to Power Grid

June 7, 2016

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The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) reached another milestone on June 3 when operators at Watts Bar Unit 2—the nation’s newest nuclear power plant and the first added to the fleet in 20 years—synchronized its generator to the power grid, generating electricity from the plant for the first time (Figure 1).

1. Reactor Operator Bill Hahn synchronizes Watts Bar Unit 2 to the TVA power grid on Friday, June 3, 2016. Courtesy: TVA

Watts Bar Unit 2 has had a long and storied history. Ground was broken for the plant in 1973. However, construction was suspended in 1985 due to slower electricity demand growth, rising construction costs due to inflation and new regulatory requirements stemming from the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, and regulatory concerns throughout the TVA nuclear fleet. At the time, Unit 2 was estimated to be about 80% complete with a total investment of about $ 1.7 billion.

In the years that followed, various pieces of equipment, such as pumps, motors, and valves, were salvaged for use in Watts Bar Unit 1 or in Watts Bar’s sister plant, Sequoyah.…