Air Pollution Control Equipment Services Industry News Clarion Energy Content Directors 10.25.2016 Share EPA Finalizes Updated CSAPR The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its updated Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which will be implemented in May 2017. EPA finalized Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) that provide summertime budgets for nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from power plants in 22 eastern U.S. states, not including North Carolina. These plants are believed to contribute to downwind emissions of NOx. The rule also responds to the July 2015 remand of certain CSAPR budgets by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The court ruled that EPA’s existing requirements were too broad and required some states to cut more pollution than necessary. The final CSAPR update is expected to deliver total benefits of $880 million per year, including $810 million in health-related benefits and climate-related co-benefits estimated at around $66 million per year due to reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. AEP to Sell Four Power Plants for $2.17 Billion American Electric Power (AEP) today announced it has signed an agreement to sell four competitive power plants totaling approximately 5,200 MW in Ohio. The plants will be acquired by a newly formed joint venture of Blackstone and ArcLight Capital Partners for about $2.17 billion. AEP announced in January 2015 that it was considering strategic alternatives for the plants, including a possible sale. The generating capacity of the facilities is in the PJM Interconnection region and includes: Lawrenceburg Generating Station, 1,186 MW natural gas, Lawrenceburg, Indiana Waterford Energy Center, 840 MW natural gas, Waterford, Ohio Darby Generating Station, 507 MW natural gas, Mount Sterling, Ohio Gen. James M. Gavin Plant, 2,665 MW coal, Cheshire, Ohio The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, netting AEP about $1.2 billion in cash after taxes. U.S. Installs More Than 2 GW of Solar Capacity in 2Q The U.S. installed more than 2,000 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the second quarter of 2016, according to a report by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight report, the 2,051 MW installed marks the eleventh consecutive quarter in which more than a gigawatt of PV was installed. Utility-scale solar installations accounted for 53 percent of all installed PV in the first half of this year. An additional 7.8 GW is scheduled to come online this year. California represented 50 percent of the non-residential market installations in the second quarter, the study said. The U.S. non-residential market segment grew 5 percent over the first quarter and 50 percent year-over-year. GTM Research states that by 2021, more than 30 states will add more than 100 MW of annual capacity. AEP Names Raja Sundararajan as VP of Regulatory Services American Electric Power named Raja Sundararajan vice president of Regulatory Services. In his new role, Sundararajan will be responsible for AEP’s regulatory activities before 11 state regulatory commissions and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). He is replacing Rich Munczinski, senior vice president of Regulatory Services, who is retiring in December. Sundararajan has been vice president of Transmission Asset Strategy and Policy for AEP since March 2012. He was previously AEP’s managing director of Transmission Business Strategy. He joined AEP in 2002 in Commercial Operations and has held management positions in Treasury and Corporate Finance. He was also AEP’s managing director of Market Risk. Two Wind Farms in Mexico Sold for $852 Million A unit of Sempra Energy signed an agreement to buy two wind farms in Mexico for $852 million. Blackstone Energy Partners is the majority owner of both projects. Infraestructura Energética Nova (IEnova), through one of its subsidiaries, entered into a purchase and sale agreement for 100 percent equity interest in the 252-MW Ventika I and Ventika II wind facilities in Mexico. The wind farm uses 84 Acciona wind turbines. It was jointly developed by Fisterra Energy and Cemex. Construction was completed in December 2015 and commercial operations started in April 2016. Upon closing in fourth quarter 2016, IEnova would make an estimated cash payment of $375 million, plus the assumption of outstanding debt of approximately $477 million. Natural Gas Was 33.5 Percent of U.S. Generation in First Half of 2016 After years of low natural gas prices and countless projections for low-priced gas for the foreseeable future, the dominance of natural gas in power generation is becoming more evident. According to data released last week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas was by far the leading source of generation in the U.S. during the first half of 2016. Natural gas accounted for 33.5 percent of electricity produced through June while coal accounted for 28.1 percent. During the same period last year, 30.5 percent of the nation’s electricity was produced with natural gas. What’s more, power produced with natural gas reached an all-time high in July. In EIA’s short-term energy outlook, the agency found that gas-fired power plants generated 4,950 gigawatt-hours of power each day in July, up 9 percent from the previous record high set in July 2015. Nuclear accounted for 20.5 percent of the generation pie during the first six months of 2016, and renewable resources, including conventional hydropower, accounted for 16.5 percent. Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant Closure Date Set The Omaha Public Power District set an official closure date for the 479-MW Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant. OPPD said the single-unit plant will cease operations on Monday, October 24, 2016. Closing the plant is estimated to save OPPD between $735 million and $994 million over the next 20 years. The utility will submit the cease operations to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Aug. 26. In June 2016, OPPD announced it would decommission Fort Calhoun due to changes in the energy market. The plant is currently undergoing the “end-of-life operation” phase, which includes decommissioning planning and preparation. Calpine to Sell Mankato Power Plant Calpine Corporation has announced it will sell its Mankato Power Plant, a 375-MW natural gas-fired, combined-cycle power plant in Minnesota. Southern Power will buy the facility for $395.5 million plus working capital and price adjustments. The Mankato plant provides electricity to Northern States Power, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy Inc., through July 2026, pursuant to a tolling agreement. In addition, a 345-MW expansion is currently in advanced development to serve a 20-year tolling agreement with Northern States Power. The expansion will add a natural gas-fired combustion turbine and a heat recovery steam generator to the plant. Commercial operation of the expansion is expected by June 2019. Colorado Regulators Okay 600-MW Wind Farm Xcel Energy was granted final approval for development of a 600-MW wind farm on the eastern plans of Colorado. The Rush Creek Wind Project, with two generation sites and a 90-mile high-voltage transmission line tying into Xcel’s electric system, would be one of Colorado’s largest wind farms. Plans for Rush Creek include 300 turbines on 116,000 acres in Elbert, Lincoln, Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties. Construction will begin in 2017 with operations slated for late 2018. Construction costs have been capped at $1.096 billion. The plans were approved late last month by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. In a release, the agency noted the project satisfied the reasonable cost standard in Colorado state law that allows utility ownership of up to 25 percent of the total new renewable energy resources acquired after March 27, 2007. DTE Energy to Build 1,000 MW of Gas Generation DTE Energy announced today it will build enough gas turbine plants to provide 1,000 MW of energy, enough to power 850,000 homes, with an expected completion date between 2021 and 2023. The construction plans will help replace power currently generated by the three coal plants it plans to shut down by 2023. Construction on the plants is expected to cost between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. One of the future gas plants could be constructed on existing DTE property near the Bell River power plant in China Township, Michigan. The River Rouge facility, the St. Clair facility in East China Township, and the Trenton facility are all scheduled to close between 2020 and 2023. The three plants generated 25 percent of the electricity produced in 2015. By 2023, the company will have retired 11 of its 17 coal-fired units after it shut down three generating units earlier this year. Related Articles 8 Rivers, Siemens Energy collaborate on gas turbine decarbonization Indiana’s consumer advocate wants to thwart Duke Energy’s carbon capture study Calpine, DOE enter cost share agreement for Houston carbon capture demonstration Installing carbon capture in Utah would be tough. But is that debate missing the point?
