Utility Fax Alert Sample

The CAIR Replacement Rule (SO₂and NO_x), Regional Haze (SO₂, NO_x, PM), NAAQS Revisions (PM_2.5, Ozone, SO₂, NO₂) and the Utility MACT (Hg, Acid Gases, Non-Hg Metallic HAPs, Organic HAPs) will all act to drive total particulate emissions limits for coal-fired power plants to near detection levels. Fabric filters will be one of the more important technologies utilized by utilities to achieve the reductions in fine particulate emissions soon to be mandated.

Fabric filters have been utilized for years to control large particulate emissions from power plants and typically the selection criteria for a plant engineer has focused on life expectancy and operating cost. However, in the near future, the key criteria may well change to finding a filter media that will achieve the regulated emission limit given the specific characteristics of the plant.

Over the past ten years, significant advances in the technology of fabric filters have been made that will help utilities meet the coming requirements to capture PM_2.5. There is now a wide choice of filter media for coal-fired boilers including woven glass, nonwovens, and membranes. But there are also big differences in performance and life expectancy based on the temperature, moisture and oxygen content, SO₂, SO₃ and other acid gas mist concentrations in the gas entering a baghouse as well as type and quantity of additives injected upstream to control other pollutants. Although collection efficiency may be the driving criteria, once the efficiency is adequate to meet the regulations, bag life (strength, corrosion and temperature resistance, loss of permeability, cleaning method), pressure losses and maintenance problems will also need to be considered when selecting the most economical media.

We will be conducting a web seminar on this subject on Thursday October 28, 2010 and are looking for speakers to discuss the impact of the coming regulations on filter media selection, their current experience with control of fine particulates with fabric filters and address the advantages or disadvantages of the various fabric filter options available to reduce fine particulate emissions for specific plant configurations and operating conditions. If you would like to make a presentation during this Hot Topic Hour, please contact Jim Downey at (847) 784-0012 x210 or jdowney@mcilvainecompany.com

COAL – US

Duke to cap Cost of Edwardsport IGCC Unit at $2.975 Billion

Duke Energy and Indiana utility regulators have agreed to limit how much customers will be charged to build Duke’s Knox County power plant. Duke Energy agreed to the $2.975 billion cap after it sought approval to spend $530 million more on construction. The new estimate is about $2.88 billion for the new Edwardsport 630 MW IGCC power plant.

Battle brewing over New Ozone Standard

A proposed crackdown on ozone by the Environmental Protection Agency is fueling resistance from businesses groups concerned about costs, Republicans who say it'll be a drag on the economy—and some heartland Democrats engaged in tough election battles this fall. The EPA wants to set the air-quality standard for ozone at between 60 and 70 parts per billion, compared with 75 ppb currently. The EPA says that could save as many as 12,000 lives a year and save the U.S. as much as $100 billion annually in 2020 by reducing spending on health problems associated with excessive ozone, such as asthma and bronchitis. The EPA says a standard of 60 ppb could cost businesses as much as $90 billion annually in 2020. The costs would include new emissions controls that businesses would have to install; higher electricity prices as power plants switched to cleaner-burning, but costlier, fuels; and more-frequent auto inspections.

Leading manufacturers and energy companies—such as Exxon Mobil Corp., Dow Chemical Co., American Electric Power Co., and Southern Co.—say the EPA hasn't proven that the 60 ppb standard would save the number of lives the agency claims. Also, they say the EPA has underestimated the amount of ozone that forms naturally or drifts into the U.S. from abroad, from factories in China, for example.

Explosion shuts down Xcel’s Black Dog Power Plant in Minnesota

The Black Dog coal- and gas-fired power plant was shut down Tuesday following a fire and subsequent explosion at the plant’s 108 MW Unit 3. Workers at the plant noticed smoldering in a coal hopper early Tuesday morning and notified Burnsville emergency services. Response crews were on the scene when contents of the bin fully ignited, resulting in an explosion that blew out some 200 feet of the plant’s west-facing wall.

Healy Restart Delayed – Again!

Alaska’s environmental agency has delayed a request to the federal government for permits for the Healy Clean Coal project. The decision came Tuesday, the next-to-last day of federal regulators’ 45-day review of the plan. Golden Valley Electric Association needs the permit to restart and operate the dormant experimental coal-fired power plant. The state will resubmit the proposal, which would cover operations of the 50-MW coal-fired power plant, within a couple of months, state Division of Air Quality manager Jim Baumgartner wrote to federal regulators. The state Division of Air Quality withdrew the proposed permit Tuesday from the Environmental Protection Agency’s review list. EPA managers had suggested last winter they might call for a rigorous redo of permit reviews, given the plant’s lack of action during the past 10 years. That, given the tightening of emissions standards since the plant’s construction, could doom the project.

COAL – WORLD

Abhijeet Group to build 900 MW Power Plant in Jangipur, West Bengal, India

Abhijeet Group has decided to shift its steel and power project from Jamuria in Burdwan to Jangipur in Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. Abhijeet plans to set up a 2.5-million-tonne steel plant and a 900 MW thermal power unit. The investment could go up to Rs 12,000 crore, making it the biggest industrial project in Murshidabad. Abhijeet requires about 2,000 acres for the project and wants to buy the land directly from the owners. It had identified two plots but zeroed in on the one near the Sagardighi thermal power plant.

BHEL to build 1200 MW Power Plant in Raigarh, Chattisgarh, India for Visa Power

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has secured a Rs 2,665-crore order from Visa Power Ltd (VPL), an independent power producer, for setting up an 1,200 MW (2x600 MW) thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh, India. The VPL's coal-based power project is coming to the Raigarh district of Chattisgarh, BHEL said in a statement on Tuesday.

Coal/Solar to work Together at 150 MW Mejillones Power Plant in Chile

A concentrated solar power facility in Chile will help reduce emissions at a coal-fired power plant, German and French energy companies announced. GDF Suez announced it had teamed with German renewable energy company Solar Power Group to develop a 5-MW solar power plant that will provide steam to the 150 MW Mejillones coal-fired power plant in northern Chile. The solar boiler will connect directly to the coal-fired power plant, reducing coal consumption and decreasing the amount of emissions.

Alpiq filed Bid to build 450 MW Tuzla Addition in Bosnia

Swiss energy firm Alpiq has filed a bid to construct a new 450 MW block at Bosnia's Tuzla coal-fired power plant. Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH) in March invited investors to express interest in the project, worth an estimated €840 million ($1.1 billion) including building, management and use of the power unit located in the northern town of Tuzla. EPBiH General Manager Amer Jerlagic said that many utilities contacted EPBiH about the project but Alpiq was the only firm to have formally expressed interest.

1000 MW Sampur Power Project in Sri Lanka to finally get off the Ground

The severely-delayed agreements on the 1000 MW Sampur Coal Power Plant in Sri Lanka and the Anuradhapura High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) under-sea cable link to India, which are nearly two years behind schedule, are to be concluded by the end of October. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Sampur was entered into in 2006. The 1000 MW Sampur Power Plant will provide 500 MW to the national grid by 2012 in Phase One. Construction is to be carried out by NPTC under the supervision of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

KSK underway with 3600 MW Mahanadi Power Project in Chhattisgarh, India

KSK Energy Ventures Limited announced the continual progress on the 3600 MW KSK Mahanadi power project in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. KSK has secured the total capital outlay for the project, which is estimated be US$3.6 billion (Rs161.900 million), the land and environmental clearance. Currently, civil works are in progress with respect to boilers, electrostatic precipitators, the chimney, and excavation for the main power house building, Turbine generator foundations, switchyard, coal handling plant, cooling towers and raw water reservoir are underway.

1980 MW Bargarh, 2000 MW Noida/Bulandshahr, and 660 MW Bhognipur Power Projects approved by Uttar Pradesh State Energy Task Force

The Uttar Pradesh government will soon invite competitive bids to set up a 2,000-MW thermal power project between Greater Noida and Bulandshahr, alongside the Yamuna Expressway. A proposal in this regard was approved by the state's Energy Task Force (ETF). Bids will be invited soon by the UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) from private companies; the corporation will arrange land, water and coal linkages for the power plant. The ETF also approved UPPCL's proposal to award a contract to set up a 1,980-MW thermal power project at Bargarh, in Chitrakoot, to the company that agrees to sell the maximum quantum of electricity from the plant to the state. A proposal for setting up an additional 660-MW unit under the proposed 1,320-MW thermal plant at Bhognipur, near Kanpur, was also sanctioned.

Apart from this, the ETF has also given in principle approval for the setting up of nine more power projects, including those at Bargad, Auraiya, Farukhabad and Sandila through the MoU route. These nine projects will together produce 8170 MW of power. Land for four projects has already been identified. The one in Bargad will produce 2,000 MW, Auraiya will produce 700 MW, Farukhabad 250 MW, while Sandila will produce 1,320 MW.

Also in Uttar Pradesh, a unit of the state owned Obra thermal power station has been brought back online, two years after it was shut down for refurbishment. The 200 MW Obra 9 was uprated to 216 MW by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).

Environmental Clearance for 2,640 MW Bhavanapadu Upheld

The National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) passed a common order upholding environment clearance to the 2,640 MW coal-based Bhavanapadu thermal project being developed by East Coast Energy Private Limited at Kakarapalli village of Santasbommali mandal of Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. A spokesperson for the company said that all petitions filed challenging the Ministry of Environment and Forests’ (MOEF) order were dismissed by the High Court as well as the NEAA. The MOEF gave clearance to the project on April 9, 2009. Some organizations challenged the clearance on the grounds that the project site was part of the Naupada swamps, an ecologically sensitive area and affecting the Telineelapuram migratory bird habitat. The NEAA made some recommendations for ecology conservation which the company promised to adhere to. Currently, work is progressing and the project will be commissioned by 2013.

MET to supply FGD for 2x575 MW Orot Rabin

Marsulex Environmental Technologies Corporation (MET) has announced a contract for a major FGD project in Israel. The project was awarded through its licensee, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (Doosan), and will be the first application of MET’s wet limestone / gypsum FGD technology in Israel. Orot Rabin, owned by Israel Electric Corporation and located in Hadera, will be supplied with two 575 MW FGD absorbers. MET’s wet limestone FGD technology will be utilized to remove in excess of 95 percent of the boilers’ SO₂ emissions and produce a wallboard grade gypsum byproduct. Startup is scheduled for late 2012.

ArcelorMittal to build 360 MW Gas-fired, 390 MW Coal-fired Power Plant along with Steel Plant in Kuditini, Karnataka, India

ArcelorMittal, with its consultant M. N. Dastur & Company, has applied to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) seeking terms of reference for preparing an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for setting up a six million tonne greenfield steel plant at Kuditini village near Torangallu in the Bellary district of Karnataka, India. “The total project area required will be 4,500 acres, which the proponent (ArcelorMittal) says will be provided by the Karnataka government. They have proposed to set up a 750 MW captive power plant, of which 360 MW will be gas-based and 390 MW coal-based. The total cost of the project is Rs 30.000 crore,” according to the minutes of the meeting of the MoEF Expert Appraisal Committee.

GAS / OIL - WORLD

Adani to build 2000 MW Power Plant at Mundra

After coal, the Adani Group has set its eyes on natural gas. It is firming up plans to invest Rs 14,000 crore to build a 2,000 MW gas-fired power plant and an LNG terminal at Mundra Gujarat, (India) where it runs India's largest private sector port. Last week, the GoI's board of approval cleared both the projects which will come up over 136 hectares of land at Mundra.

NTPC wants to Expand Gas-fired Generation and add Other Sources

The NTPC plans to add 9,500 MW of gas-based power generation capacity in the 12th Five Year Plan beginning April 2012, chairman and managing director Arup Roy Choudhury said last Friday. “We are talking to the (India) government for gas linkages and are in advanced stage,” Roy Choudhury told reporters. NTPC has the capacity to generate 32,000 MW of power currently out of which 18 percent is gas-based and the remaining is coal-based. The company is aiming at a power generation capacity portfolio of a maximum 80 percent based on coal and gas by 2017 and the remaining 20 percent based on other sources of energy, Choudhury said. NTPC has a target to augment power generation capacity to 50,000 MW by the end of March 2012 and further to 75,000 MW by the end of 12th Plan in March 2017.

Poyry Oyj/Acciona to build Baja California Sur III Power Plant in Mexico

Poyry Oyj has won a contract valued at €1.3 million to provide basic and detailed engineering for a thermal power plant in Mexico. The deal covers the Baja California Sur III power plant of Spanish construction company Acciona SA. Acciona will build a plant with a 42 MW diesel oil-fired engine with a heat recovery boiler.

Albatross Energy to build 230 MW Power Plant in Tororo, Uganda

Albatross Energy has applied for a permit to build a 230 MW heavy-fuel oil power plant in Tororo, Uganda. The firm intends to build, own and operate the plant.

Bangladesh seeking Funding for 225 MW Shikablbaha

Bangladesh is seeking nearly US$200 million in funds to set up a 225 MW power plant at Shikalbaha in south-western Bangladesh to meet electricity demands of the industrial hub of Chittagong, officials said. A PDB official said the dual fueled (natural gas and furnace oil) 225 MW Shikalbaha power station project, planned to be completed in 2013, has already been delayed by three years.

GASIFICATION

GE Energy modifies High Plains Gasification Project in Wyoming

GE Energy has modified its schedule and design of the High Plains Gasification-Advanced Technology Center now under development in Wyoming because of the continued lack of a clear U.S. policy on climate and energy, according to GE officials. GE had the project on a fast-track schedule but will now delay completion of the project by a year in order to implement a more detailed front-end feed system for the plant. That’s because the research facility was to serve, in part, as the technical foundation for a GE client that wanted to build a separate coal-based power plant. But the client dropped its plans because of Congress’ continued failure to enact climate legislation. Development of the High Plains coal-gasification research facility in Cheyenne is moving forward. It is intended to allow the University of Wyoming, GE Energy and other researchers to develop and validate advanced coal gasification technology for the Powder River basin – a key economic driver to Wyoming’s economy,

BIOMASS

Proposed Massachusetts Rule requires Biomass-fired Power Plant to achieve 40 Percent Efficiency for Renewable Energy Credit

Leaders in the wood-burning power plant industry said Monday that proposed new regulations for power plants released by Massachusetts eliminate potential green jobs. The draft regulations released Friday by the state’s Department of Energy Resources do not ban wood-burning power plants but make it more difficult for such plants to receive renewable energy credits. The proposed rules, which will be debated at a public hearing in October, require wood-burning power plants to reach 40 percent overall efficiency to receive half of a full renewable energy credit. In order to receive the full credit, a facility would have to achieve an efficiency standard of 60 percent. Bob Keough, a spokesman for the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said the proposed regulations follow a state study showing that biomass facilities in comparison to other renewable energy facilities produce more carbon emissions. He said facilities that produce both power and heat should be able to meet the efficiency standards. “The regulations make it less likely that large stand-along, electricity-only plants will qualify going forward,” he said.

CO₂

Sierra Club asks EPA to Delay Sunflower Permit Until BACT Rules Come into Effect

The Sierra Club has asked federal officials to block Kansas from issuing an air quality permit for the Sunflower Electric Power Plant in the southwest corner of the state until after new rules on greenhouse gas emissions take effect in January. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) had hoped to issue the permit by the end of the year. But the Sierra Club wants EPA to become more involved in the permit review process and argues that the permit should not be rushed. However, the request appears to have another primary motive - under the new EPA rules, the state would have to require Best Available Control Technology (BACT) to control greenhouse gas emissions.

Southern Company Captures CO₂ at Georgia Power Plant

Southern Company captured carbon emissions at one of its coal-fired power plants for the first time this month. Southern captured what it called "a small amount" of carbon from the emissions of Georgia Power's Yates using a solvent-based capture system developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). Southern plans to deploy the same process on a much larger 25-MW scale at Alabama Power’s Barry near next year.

In addition to the projects at Yates and Barry, Southern Company operates the National Carbon Capture Center for the US Department of Energy near Birmingham, Alabama, and its subsidiary Mississippi Power is building an advanced commercial-scale coal gasification power plant in Kemper County, Mississippi, that will include carbon capture and injection for enhanced oil recovery.

EPA Ends Voluntary Climate Leaders Program

EPA announced this week that it is terminating the Climate Leaders program, a voluntary initiative launched in 2002 with over 220 companies currently participating. The companies agreed to inventory greenhouse gas emissions and set emission reduction goals. EPA said the mandatory greenhouse gas reporting rule which took effect in January, along with other federal regulatory programs and climate programs offered by states, have effectively replaced the Climate Leaders Program.

Study Says Finance Sector Open to Investing in CCS Projects

The finance sector is willing to fund carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects – but only if the technology can demonstrate its viability without public funding, according to a report issued this week by the Climate Group and Ecofin Research Foundation entitled “Carbon Capture and Storage: Mobilizing Private Sector Finance.” Potential investors were asked for their views on the risks and returns associated with a hypothetical greenfield coal-fired power station with carbon capture.

The authors said they were "surprised" by the willingness of financial institutions to consider funding CCS, given the technology’s high costs and potentially low returns. However, Chris Rowland, a director at Ecofin, admitted there are still some difficult issues before the interest in investing turns into actual investments. Perhaps most important is the proviso that lending would occur only if CCS is competitive without direct public funding -- currently CCS projects are highly reliant on government grants and subsidies. The financiers also insisted that they would only lend to projects backed by companies with a strong track record.

NUCLEAR

Pakistan and China National Nuclear Corp. in talks to build 1000 MW Nuclear Power Plant

Beijing and Islamabad are in talks to build a new 1000 MW nuclear reactor in Pakistan.

Qiu Jiangang, vice-president of the state-run China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which has already built Pakistan's main nuclear facility at Chashma in Punjab province, said his company was in talks to set up another giant nuclear plant in Pakistan.

Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility Necessary: DOE

A senior advisor from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science told the government’s commission on nuclear waste that a plan to store spent nuclear fuel from power plants is “important” and needs to “move rapidly,” according to an article from Platts. This comes as the search to find alternatives to the Yucca Mountain repository project in Nevada continues. DOE plans to terminate the project by the end of September and has said that neither the site nor the repository license application it submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is technically flawed. DOE’s Victor Reis told a panel that a repository could be built as a disposal facility but used to store spent fuel underground. If the U.S. decides not to build a repository, then it could be used as a disposal site. Reis also suggested that the U.S. focus its search for a repository on salt sites.

Construction could begin this Year on Units 3 and 4 of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, Tamil Nadu, India

Commercial power generation from the 1,000 MW nuclear power Unit 1 at Koodankulam, Tamil Nadu, India, will commence by March 2011 and the second one by December next year, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd said. Excavation work for the third and fourth plants would "definitely" begin this year, he said, adding "there is enough space to install even four more plants."

CEZ pulls out of Nuclear Power Project in Romania

Czech power firm CEZ will quit a joint venture to build two more units at Romania's sole nuclear power plant. Romania, whose state-owned nuclear power firm already has two 706 MW reactors at its plant in Cernavoda, accounting for roughly 18 percent of the country's power, had plans to build two (2x700 MW) more in partnership with six foreign firms. It holds 51 percent in EnergoNuclear, the joint company that will build the two new units. Alongside CEZ, its minority stakeholders are Electrabel, Enel, Iberdrola, ArcelorMittal and RWE. Romania's cash-strapped government has said it plans to lower its stake in the two reactors to a minority one and negotiate new ownership with its partners. It was unclear on Tuesday whether it will seek to replace CEZ in the venture.

CEZ has already withdrawn from a plan with Romania to build a 400 MW gas-fired power plant citing unforeseen costs.

Kenya and Sri Lanka want to build Nuclear Power Plants

Kenya aims to build its first nuclear power plant by 2017 as it looks for less-expensive alternatives to thermals fuels such as oil and gas, Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Patrick Nyoike said. Kenya last week appointed former Energy Minister Ochillo Ayacko to head the Nuclear Electricity Project, a plan to make Kenya an atomic-power producer, Nyoike said. Ayacko’s first task will be to convince skeptics that the country is pursuing nuclear power safely and he will also be expected to help Kenya conform to the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency standards, said Nyoike. The budget for developing nuclear energy in the fiscal year through June 2011 is 200 million shillings ($2.5 million), he said. One proposal that is being studied is to build a 1,000-MW nuclear power plant, probably along the coast in a joint venture with the government and private companies. Kenya Electricity Generation Co. Ltd., the country’s largest power producer, aims to almost triple installed capacity to 3,000 MW by 2018 and increase that to 9,000 MW by 2030, Managing Director Eddy Njoroge said Aug. 18.

Sri Lanka is to have its first nuclear power plant within the next 20 years. "We have received government clearance to set up a nuclear power plant of 1,000 MW," M.M.C. Ferdinando, the secretary of the Ministry of Power and Energy said. Ferdinando said the government will begin feasibility studies soon for nuclear power in addition to coal and hopes to get safety approval from the World Atomic Energy Authority.

BUSINESS

Poll in Colorado says Voters support Xcel Plan to Shut Down Coal-fired Power Plants, even if Rates Increase

Nearly 80 percent of voters prefer electricity generated by natural gas and renewable resources instead of coal – and are willing to pay for it, according to poll results released Tuesday. More than three-fourths of those polled said they’re willing to pay the higher electricity bills associated with Xcel Energy Inc.’s $1.3 billion plan to shut down 903 MW of Denver-area coal-fired power plants. The poll queried 500 registered voters between August 28 and September 1. Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies and Democratic polling firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates conducted the poll, which has a margin of error of 4.4 percent. Colorado Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group, paid for the poll. Poll results found that:

79 percent of respondents preferred renewable energy and natural gas over coal as an energy source for Colorado.
76 percent of respondents said they support Xcel’s plan to shut down coal-fired power plants and use more natural gas and renewable energy, and to increase energy conservation efforts.
Plan support also remained strong after respondents were told about its $1.3 billion cost: 71 percent supported a 1 percent increase in bills and 68 percent supported a 3 percent increase. Xcel has forecast a 1 percent increase.

Vattenfall will not sell its German Power Plants

Vattenfall is pursuing a cost-cutting plan involving 6 billion kronor ($862.67 million), but it has ruled out the sale of its lignite power plants in Germany, according to CEO Øystein Løseth. The company will pursue other means of shaving expenses, including reducing purchasing costs, improving processes in operations and maintenance, and trimming its payroll. "We want to optimize our brown coal plants in Germany and also the pit coal plants there," he said. "The rumors that we would sell out of Germany is not correct." Meanwhile, Vattenfall expects that its northern German nuclear power plants will be put back into operation next year. They have stood idle since 2009 due to several incidents and received a number of demands for improvements from the authorities.

Changes in Proposed Power Projects within the Western Systems Coordinating Council

State	Plant Name	Project Developer	Technology	Size	Change in Status
AZ	Sawtooth	SW Public Power Resources Group	cc/gas	480	New, Online 2015
CA	Sentinel	CPV	CT/gas	850	On hold
CA	Carlsbad	NRG	cc/gas	558	On hold
CA	Sun Valley	Edison Mission Energy	CT/gas	500	On hold
Alberta, Canada	H.R. Milner Expansion	Maxim	Coal	500	New, Online 2014
British Columbia, Canada	Wapiti CFB	AES	CFB/coal	184	Cancelled
WA	Wallula	Wallula Resource Recovery & EME	Coal/IGCC	915	Cancelled

Duke May Sell Ohio Power Plants after Customers Defect, Prices Drop

Duke Energy Corp has begun a review of its Ohio strategy that may lead to selling $3.84 billion of power plants in the region, said Chief Executive Officer James E. Rogers. The review is driven by narrower profit margins as wholesale power prices fall and customers switch suppliers in Ohio’s competitive electricity market, Rogers said in an interview in New York. Duke estimates retail customer losses in the state will cut profit about seven cents this year. Duke wrote down the value of its 7,700 MW of wholesale power plants in the region in the second quarter by $660 million, to $3.84 billion. The company said the write down was due to lower prices and the potential costs of complying with tighter federal air pollution regulations at 3600 MW of coal-fired power plants.

As power prices fell, utility customers began looking for bargains. To keep them, Duke formed a retail subsidiary that sells electricity to residential customers at 15 percent below the regulated utility’s rate, according to the Ohio Public Service Commission website. Duke’s retail unit kept 60 percent of customers who opted to switch from the default power supplier. “This is temporary,” Rogers said. “The price is going to come back, but I don’t think it’s going to come back until 2016 or 2018.” Duke has about two months to propose extending the current rate agreement with Ohio regulators, which expires at the end of 2011, or seek the state’s permission to charge customers market-based rates, “the most viable alternative” at current prices, Rogers said.

HOT TOPIC HOUR

New Generation Sources was the Hot Topic on September 24^th

Wind and solar will carve out a significant share of future generation but fossil fuels will still be utilized for a majority of the generation in the next three decades. This was one of the conclusions shared by five speakers with experience in different aspects of energy supply.

Jeff Anthony, Manager for Utility Programs American Wind Energy Association, provided some impressive statistics on the growth and projected growth of wind energy in the U.S. On the other hand the U.S. is not approaching the 100 percent per year increases in China. Offshore wind is projected to be a modest percentage of the installed MWs but with twice the capacity factor or more than on shore wind, it will be a significant contributor to electricity output.

Anthony Pietrangelo, Senior Vice President & Chief Nuclear Officer Nuclear Energy Institute, said that the cost of increasing the life of nuclear power plants is very low and the risks equally so. The nuclear power plants already in operation are producing power more cheaply than coal-fired power plants and are therefore the lowest cost option. There is a large price tag associated with new plants but when amortized over 80 years, it is not that costly.

Nick Figone, Director Solar Energy Marketing Ecology & Environment, Inc., explained that the environmental permitting of a large concentrated solar plant can be $500,000 and there are a number of challenges and risks. So it necessary to take an organized and thorough approach. There are many ways to deal with the potential impacts on wildlife. Setting aside land elsewhere is one route and is cost effective compared to some of the alternatives.

Dr. Gerald Sheble, Executive Advisor and Senior Director, US R&D at Quanta Technology, made a clear case for integrating resources with energy storage. The result can be lower cost and higher reliability.

Dave Wagner, Program Development Manager at Geotechnical & Environmental Services, explained that ground source heat exchange technology takes advantage of the constant temperatures at depths of four feet and greater below ground level. The capital cost will be significant but the savings in electricity will make up for this investment in 10 years or less.

The entire recording can be heard as follows: New Generation Sources, in U.S. (Gas, Nuclear, Renewables) 109 minutes Password: hth105

The BIOS, ABSTRACTS AND PHOTOS can be viewed as follows:
BIOS, ABSTRACTS, PHOTOS - September 23, 2010.htm

“Role of Renewable Energy in U.S. and World” is Hot Topic Hour on September 30, 2010

This week we had some great presentations on the nuclear and solar and some non-power energy options. Next week we will be taking a broader view and try to guesstimate the future. What will be the mix of renewable, nuclear and fossil energy in the U.S. and the world?

Paula Mints, Director Energy Navigant Consulting, Inc., will talk about the state of the global solar industry.

McIlvaine staffers will provide specific projections in MW of each type of renewable energy by region over the next 10 years.

Bob McIlvaine will then lead discussions on important variables:

· What will be the impact of greenhouse gas regulation?

· Future cost of carbon sequestration (with and without EOR).

· Future costs of nuclear, solar, wind, coal and biomass.

· Cost reduction expectations for solar and wind.

· Availability of biomass.

· Could a common metric to measure all forms of harm result in better choices?

Should the occasion arise during the discussions, we can retrieve the power points and other data on our site which are relevant. We have had presentations on the lack of gas infrastructure, transmission line siting, projected cost of Oxyfuel, status of shale gas and many other relevant details, so it should be a lively discussion.

To register for the "Hot Topic Hour" on September 30, 2010 at 10 a.m. CDT (Chicago time), click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/FGDnetoppbroch/Default1.htm

Upcoming Hot Topic Hours

DATE	HOT TOPIC HOUR	MORE INFORMATION

September 30, 2010	Role of Renewable Energy in U.S. and World
October 14, 2010	Mercury Measurement and Control
October 21, 2010	Catalyst Selection
October 28, 2010	Fabric Selection for Coal-fired Boilers
November 4, 2010	Status of Carbon-to-Liquid Project Technology
November 18, 2010	Industrial MACT - Impact and Control Options
December 2, 2010	Operation and Maintenance of Steam Generators
December 9, 2010	Impact of Ambient Air Rules for PM_2.5 and Ozone
January 6, 2011	Corrosion Issues in and Materials for Power Plant APC Systems

ACCESSING ALL THE PROJECTS AND INFORMATION ONLINE

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