Reactors

INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS

TVA Sells Bellefonte Nuclear Project

The Tennessee Valley Authority has found a buyer for the partially-built Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant in Alabama.

Nuclear Development LLC submitted the winning bid of $111 million for the 1,400 acre property near Hollywood, Alabama. The minimum bid was set at $36.4 million, just above the appraised value of $34.6 million.

Nuclear Development LLC was established in 2012 by Franklin L. Haney. The Haney family currently owns a combined real estate development portfolio of more than $10 billion and 15 million square feet of space.

In a press release, Haney pledged to invest up to an additional $13 billion to complete construction starting in 2017. Some of that investment includes state-of-the art security systems, a digital instrumentation and control system, double-barrier safety barriers and a control room simulator for training operations.

TVA said the 11 organizations expressed an interest, and three bidders completed letters of intent including financial qualifications and a plan for the property.

As part of the deal, TVA requires Nuclear Development LLC to make a minimum of $25 million in investments in the property over the next five years, including economic development activities in Jackson County. Nuclear Development has up to two years to close.

FirstEnergy Weighs Selling or Closing Up To 13 Power Plants

FirstEnergy Corp. has begun a strategic review of its generation business that could result in the sale or closure of 13 power plants, including its three nuclear plants.

The review was revealed during a conference call with analysts last month.

“The fact is, competitive generation is weighing down the rest of the company,” Charles Jones, FirstEnergy’s CEO and president, said during the call. “We do not think competitive generation is a good fit.”

Despite a $380 million profit for the company’s third quarter, FirstEnergy has lost $381 million over the three quarters and will likely end the year with a loss, Jones said.

Additionally, $515 million in debt will come due in 2018.

The 13 power plants eyed for sale include six natural gas, four coal and three nuclear. A partial interest in a hydroelectric plant could also be sold off. If buyers could not be found, some units could face closure.

“We are at a crossroads,” Jones said. “We have to make some tough decisions.”

Microsoft Purchases Additional 237 MW of Wind Power

Microsoft announced a wind energy purchase agreement totaling 237 MW of energy, which is its biggest purchase of wind energy to date.

The purchase brings Microsoft’s total investment in wind energy projects in the U.S. to more than 500 MW.

Microsoft’s newest purchases includes a contract with Allianz Risk Transferfor the 178-MW Bloom Wind project in Kansas. The project is the first to use a novel structure developed by ART and designed to offset high upfront costs associated with the creation of large-scale wind projects. Microsoft is the first buyer to participate in this structure, which has the potential to bring clean energy projects online at a faster pace.

The second of Microsoft’s two newest purchases is with Black Hills Energy for 59 MW from the Happy Jack and Silver Sage wind projects adjacent to Microsoft’s Cheyenne, Wyoming datacenter. The combined output will produce enough energy to cover all the energy used at the center.

Duke Energy Announces Long-Term Plans for Coal Ash

Duke Energy disclosed its long-term plans for 36 of its coal ash basins.

The plans, which affect basins in North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana and Kentucky, call for excavating 34 of them and placing safety caps on 18.

The utility noted it will make long-term closure plans for the remaining 24 basins in the future.

Even with the mix of methods, Duke predicted almost 70 percent of its coal ash will be dealt with by capping them into place.

All of the affected basins are regulated by the federal Coal Combustion Residuals rule.

Last month, Duke announced some coal ash from the H.F. Lee power plant was carried away by flood waters in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

IMG Midstream to Build Gas Plant in Pennsylvania

IMG Midstream plans to construct a 20-MW gas-fired power plant in Pennsylvania.

Bayles Energy LLC, a subsidiary of IMG, was granted approval for the development from the Greene County Planning Commission, according to the Observer-Reporter.

The plant will be constructed near Garards Fort and use locally-sourced natural gas. The company expects the plant to be operational by 2018.

IMG Midstream develops, owns and operates small-scale natural gas plants.

“Small-scale distributed generation plants have proven to be economically beneficial to the local grid,” said Kristi Gittins, a spokeswoman for IMG.

The remotely-operated plant is expected to produce electricity 60 to 80 percent of the time based on seasonal power fluctuations and market needs.

Solar Facility in Texas Faces One-Year Delay

A 150-MW solar facility developed near Georgetown, Texas will begin operations a year later than expected, Georgetown Mayor Dale Ross said.

The announcement came during a Georgetown city council meeting to authorize NRG Energy to take over the project, reported the Community Impact.

City officials now expect to begin receiving solar energy starting July 1, 2018. Original estimates were for the site to begin operations in early 2017.

The facility’s original developer, SunEdison, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, and NRG Energy purchased the Georgetown facility.

The city of Georgetown has an agreement to purchase power from the facility through 2041. Currently, Georgetown purchases energy from the Spinning Spur 3 wind facility through an agreement lasting through 2035.

PG&E Demonstrates Utility-Scale Battery Storage

Pacific Gas and Electric Company successfully completed a technology demonstration project to explore the performance of battery storage systems in California’s electricity markets.

The project, which began in 2014, used a two-MW Vaca-Dixon and 4-MW Yerba Buena battery storage systems in California Independent System Operator (CAISO) markets. In particular, the Yerba Buena system both participated in the market and served as a backup in the event of disturbances or outages.

PG&E compiled a report that includes an overview of the market participation process and the challenges of operating battery resources on the grid.

During the course of the project, PG&E developed and deployed a scalable technology platform to automate the response of current and future battery storage resources to CAISO markets, quantified the financial performance of battery systems and identified opportunities and challenges associated with operating dual-use energy storage systems.

Energy Storage Revenue to Increase $9.9 Billion by 2025

A new report from Navigant Research indicates annual revenue for commercial and industrial energy storage should increase by $9.9 billion by 2025.

The report indicates various market developments, including decreasing prices for batteries and other storage system components, have helped make energy storage systems more economical.

“The landscape of vendors offering C&I ESSs is growing increasingly diverse and competitive as vendors approach the market from different angles,” says Alex Eller, research analyst with Navigant Research. “Given the significant variations in energy use and building load profiles, it can be difficult for vendors to offer a single, standardized system that will meet a customer’s needs, so there is pressure for more flexible systems.”

The report noted global carbon reduction policies should also support the growth of energy storage.

TCEH Corp. Now Called Vistra Energy

TCEH Corp., the parent company of TXU Energy and Luminant, announced a change in branding to Vistra Energy.

The name change comes as Vistra emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a standalone company via a spinoff from Energy Future Holdings Corp.

Vistra will retain TCEH’s management team, including CEO Curt Morgan.

“The energy market in Texas – and beyond – has never been more exciting and transformative,” Morgan said. “This includes new technologies that are reimagining how we generate energy, and unprecedented choice and control for today’s energy consumers. The Vistra Energy brand is intended to capture the full opportunity set before us, backed by a proud history, the industry’s best team of professionals, stellar operating assets and a strong balance sheet.”

Luminant generates and sells electricity, while TXU Energy sells retail electricity and value-added services.

NextEra Energy Commissions 485 MW of New Solar

NextEra Energy Resources announced the company has officially commissioned the Blythe and McCoy Solar Energy Centers in California.

Combined, the centers have a generating capacity of 485 MW, enough to power over 181,000 homes. The power generated will be purchased by Southern California Edison.

“These projects represent a more than $1.2 billion investment in California and a tremendous step forward to help the state meet its renewable energy goals,” said Armando Pimentel, president and CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, which built and will own and operate the projects.

Tags