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· Utility E Alert Headlines – July 8, 2011
· Meet the Most Ambitious Greenhouse Gas Goals with New Coal Plants Now
· Research Advances Storage Technology
Here are the Headlines for the July 8, 2011 – Utility E Alert
UTILITY E-ALERT
#1032 – July 8, 2011
COAL – US
§ EPA Finalizes Clean Air Transport Rule
§ B&W to supply FGD System for R.M. Schahfer 14 and 15
§ FGD at Harllee Branch to be delayed until 2015
§ US Appeals Court says EPA has discretion to approve Kentucky Coal-fired Power Plant Permits
§ EPA disputes AEP over Coal-fired Power Plant Shutdown Claims
§ Coal-fired Projects for 2014 Start-up Represent Purchases of $220 Billion
COAL – WORLD
GAS / OIL – WORLD
BIOMASS
CO2
§ Toshiba to Study Feasibility of New Coal-Fired Unit with CCS in Bulgaria
NUCLEAR
BUSINESS
HOT TOPIC HOUR
For more information on the Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/energy.html#42ei.
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Meet the Most Ambitious Greenhouse Gas Goals with New Coal Plants Now
It may seem counterintuitive but the best way to reduce CO2 is to build lots of ultrasupercritcal coal power plants now and then retire them in 2050. This is the conclusion reached by the McIlvaine Company in its Fossil & Nuclear Power Generation: World Analysis & Forecast. This conclusion is based on the following factors:
· New power plants can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 30 percent while eliminating nearly all other pollutants.
· The economic life of these new power plants is only 25 years.
· The economics of wind and solar will be much more attractive 25 years from now.
· Because new plants use 30 percent less coal, the cost of electricity will not rise despite the big investment.
The recommended program results in a slight rise in CO2 emissions by 2030, but a dramatic reduction in 2050 and potentially the elimination of coal as a power source by 2070.
World Coal-fired Capacity in 20 Year Intervals
|
Category |
2010 |
2030 |
2050 |
2070 |
|
GW Coal Total |
1900 |
2600 |
1300 |
0 |
|
TWH From Coal |
8500 |
11,630 |
5815 |
0 |
|
GW Coal Replaced |
|
1200 |
0 |
0 |
|
GW Coal New |
|
700 |
0 |
|
|
Total Coal Additions GW |
|
1900 |
(1300) |
(1300) |
|
Replace with CCS GW |
|
10 |
400 |
x |
|
CO2 Tons/MW |
6500 |
5000 |
4000 |
x |
|
CO2 Billion Tons |
12.3 |
13.3 |
5.2 |
0 |
Coal-fired capacity would rise by 700 GW in the next 20 years, but 1200 GW of ultrasupercriticals would replace old subcritical boilers. As a result, the CO2 emissions per MW would drop by 24 percent. The trillions in investment in the replacement coal-fired power plants would greatly stimulate the world economy without financial penalty due to the low operating costs of the new units.
Subsequent to 2030, the coal-fired power plants could be retired, assuming the cost of alternatives has dropped sufficiently to make this switch economical. Half of these power plants could be replaced by renewables by 2050. Some of the remaining power plants could be equipped with carbon capture systems. The result would be a 60 percent reduction in CO2 emissions. The remaining coal-fired power plants could be retired in 2070, bringing the CO2 emissions from coal-fired power generation to zero.
The recent decisions by Germany and other countries to place less emphasis on nuclear power have dictated a new strategy regardless of views relative to the environment. Under this scenario, the share of power generation from coal will only be 35 percent in 2030. In any case, a very ambitious program in renewable and gas will be needed.
Recent concerns about the economics and environmental hazards with shale gas also dictate a conservative plan relative to the use of this source for power generation.
Some environmentalists will argue that 2050 is too late to make major CO2 reductions. The thesis is that some cataclysm can occur in the meantime. However, the recent revelations that the greenhouse warming potential of methane is much greater in the first 20 years would persuade one to steer clear of shale gas if one is trying to avoid a 2030 cataclysm.
The major hurdle for environmental acceptance will be some guarantee that coal-fired power plants built now will be retired 25 years after construction. One option would be to set lifelong CO2 emission limits for any plant. This would force the retirement at the desired time.
For more information on various options for using fossil and nuclear power to meet the world’s generating needs click on: Fossil & Nuclear Power Generation: World Analysis & Forecast
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/energy.html#n043.
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Research Advances Storage Technology
Reliable storage systems are important to the increased use of renewable energy. Each month the McIlvaine Renewable Energy Update carries a section on storage technology. Research is being done at several locations to advance the development of storage technology.
SOLON Corporation, one of the largest providers of turnkey solar power plants in the U.S., announced that it will partner with Tucson Electric Power (TEP) and the Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (AzRISE) at the University of Arizona to design and construct an Energy Storage Management Research and Testing (SMRT) site. The purpose of the site is to research the reliability and applicability of integrating different energy storage technologies with photovoltaics onto the grid, and ultimately to provide utilities greater control of their renewable portfolios.
The SMRT site will be attached to a 1.6 megawatt (MW) solar plant recently built by SOLON, owned by TEP, and located at the University of Arizona’s Science and Technology Park. The project is an open design allowing for many different technologies to be added or replaced as advancements continue in the coming years. SOLON will design and install the control system and oversee the project.
In August 2011, SOLON, in partnership with AzRISE, will introduce the first phase of the project with a Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) technology designed and constructed by faculty and students at the University of Arizona. CAES can be an ideal solution for storing large amounts of energy, giving utilities the option of shifting solar energy output by hours, days, or even seasonally. This means utility owners will have the option of using the energy produced by their solar plants when they need it most.
To better address shorter-term variability caused by events such as cloud coverage, a faster response is required of the storage medium. In keeping with this, the second phase of the project, due to be installed in the fall, will be a lithium-ion solution, followed by the third and fourth phases in the spring of 2012. All of these storage systems will be managed with SOLON’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system.
“Arizona is leading the way as a hub for solar energy innovation and energy storage technologies form a key component,” said Joe Simmons, AzRISE Director at the University of Arizona. “As such, we are pleased to be able to collaborate with a local partner in SOLON, and with our local utility, TEP, to develop cutting-edge storage solutions.”
W2 Energy, Inc. announced that AzRISE has prepared its laboratory to test the Advanced Energy Storage and Utilization and System (AESUS), which uses as its core the NT Plasmatron and SteamRay.
It was necessary for AzRISE to retrofit a laboratory with 480 volt electricity to power the 600 psi compressor, which will provide the compressed air for the AESUS. AzRISE has just completed this electrical upgrade.
In the first week of July, AzRISE was to fly the W2 Energy technical team out to the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona, to demonstrate NT Plasmatron system to the AzRISE staff and University of Arizona students. Then AzRISE will connect the NT Plasmatron system to a pressurized air tank and test the complete AESUS system. AzRISE will deliver the AESUS system to a major Arizona utility, where it will be connected to the grid and tested again. After both tests are complete, AzRISE will provide W2 Energy with thorough 3rd party engineering data on the system's operation and performance.
The U.S. Military, as well as companies and research facilities around the world, have expressed interest in the AESUS as a means of high-volume energy storage at a reasonable cost. The AESUS will allow solar and wind power producers to store energy during peak production and release it during peak consumption. The AESUS will also allow large-scale consumers of electricity to buy inexpensive power during off-peak times and release that energy during periods of peak usage and cost.
SolarReserve, a U.S. developer of large-scale solar power projects announced that the company received the "Increased Dispatchability Solution of the Year" award for the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project at the 5th CSP Today USA Summit, held June 29-30. SolarReserve's solar power tower with molten salt storage technology was recognized for its ability to generate power on-demand, and 24-hours-a-day.
SolarReserve's solar power tower technology generates power from sunlight by focusing the sun's thermal energy onto a central receiver. When electricity is needed, molten salt heated by a receiver at the top of the tower is sent to a heat exchanger to produce steam, which in turn drives a conventional steam turbine electrical generator. The cooler molten salt is stored, ready to be reheated by the sun and used again as part of a continuous closed loop. This integrated energy storage allows the technology to deploy electricity on-demand, day and night, providing the same operating stability, reliability and dispatchability of a conventional power generator.
Johnson Controls, Inc., the world's leading automotive battery supplier, is helping to position Wisconsin as a worldwide leader in energy storage. The company announced it is endowing a professorship, research labs and graduate studies in energy storage at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The Johnson Controls Endowed Professorship in Energy Storage Research will add an expert in technology education to the UW-Madison and UW- Milwaukee Colleges of Engineering and Applied Science. The person who holds this endowed chair will be responsible for maintaining cutting-edge laboratories and supervising graduate students in research at both the Madison and Milwaukee campuses. The position is expected to be filled this summer.
Part of the funding will support the creation of The Johnson Controls Energy Storage Research Lab at UW-Madison. The lab will be housed in the new Wisconsin Energy Institute under construction on the UW-Madison campus.
Beginning with the 2011-2012 academic year, the Johnson Controls Graduate Research Fellows fund is also being established at the UW Foundation to support advanced student research projects.
For more information on Renewable Energy Projects and Update, please visit:
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847 784 0012 ext 112
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
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