Zion Fuel-Rod Removal to Begin
A critical part of the years-long Zion nuclear plant decommissioning is set to begin in January with removal of the spent-fuel rods. The work is vital to EnergySolutions, the company that obtained the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license from plant owner Exelon in order to undertake the decommissioning. Also next month, a court is scheduled to hear an appeal of a federal district court ruling that dismissed a citizen suit over handling of the $800 million decommissioning fund.
More: Chicago Tribune
ComEd Rates Increase
The Illinois Commerce Commission approved a distribution rate increase for Commonwealth Edison that will mean a 5.5% rise in an average bill. The increase is to cover $340 million the utility spent to upgrade its facilities with infrastructure improvements and smart grid components.
More: Chicago Tribune
KENTUCKY
Neighbors Sue LG&E on Coal Ash
Residents near LG&E’s Cane Run Generating Station have filed suit against the utility and its parent, PPL, for relief from blowing coal ash. The company plans to replace the 645 MW plant with a natural gas generator in 2015. The suit, which seeks class-action status, asks for damages, civil penalties and action to cap the ash disposal site.
More: Lexington Herald-Leader
MARYLAND
Offshore Lease Sale Announced
The Interior Department announced it will lease 80,000 acres off the Maryland coast for wind development. An auction could be held next year and turbines built as soon as 2018, the director of the Maryland Energy Administration said, although she allowed that schedule might be optimistic. According to a study, the sale area could generate from 850 to 1,450 MW.
More: The Washington Post
NEW JERSEY
Bill Would Push Offshore Wind
A bill in the state Assembly (A-4538) would have electric utilities finance offshore wind projects, with cost recovery from customers and 2.75% extra as a commission. The measure’s sponsor, Deputy Speaker John Burzichelli, is among lawmakers who say they are frustrated by the Board of Public Utilities’ failure to adopt financing regulations that could help get wind development going.
More: NJSpotlight
Pinelands Pipe Drama Escalates
Four former governors announced their opposition to South Jersey Gas’s proposed pipeline through the Pinelands National Reserve. Meanwhile, a member of the Pinelands Commission who spoke against the project was ordered by the state attorney general’s office to stay out of the proceedings because of what the office said was a conflict of interest.
At a Dec. 4 meeting, members of a commission committee erupted against the proposal and the pressure they felt to grant the waiver required for it. The commission may vote on the project — intended to repower the BL England generating plant — on Jan. 10.
More: Asbury Park Press; The Philadelphia Inquirer
Big Questions About EVs
State law required New Jersey auto dealers to sell more electric vehicles in the next several years, but it’s not clear that customers will buy the cars, in part because inadequate charging infrastructure is creating “range anxiety” in potential buyers.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are trying to address the absence of a task force that was supposed to have figured out how to implement the 2003 law setting zero-emission vehicle goals.
More: NJSpotlight
Solar City Opens Center
Solar City opened an 8,500-square-foot operations center in Camden County to serve its growing market in the area. The company, which installs residential solar systems, says it has about 1,800 customers in the state. It said the location allows crews to travel to sites and install systems often in less than a day, a big improvement over projects that used to take up to three days.
More: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Retail-Website Bill Passes
The state Senate followed the Assembly in approving a measure authorizing the Board of Public Utilities to create a website for customers to compare competitive retail electricity prices. The bill (A-2132) allows the BPU to require retailers to submit information.
More: Assembly Democrats; Energy Choice Matters
NORTH CAROLINA
Duke Demolishes Lee Stacks
Demolition specialists imploded twin 300-foot-tall smokestacks last week at Duke Energy Progress’s H.F. Lee Steam Plant in Goldsboro. The coal-fired plant was opened in 1950. It was replaced a year ago by a 920 MW natural gas plant. More implosions are planned next spring to demolish the coal plant’s boilers.
More: NewsObserver.com
NCUC Approves Duke Green Rider
The Utilities Commission approved a Duke Energy Carolinas experimental program that will allow energy-intensive customers to power new load — such as a new or expanded facility — from renewable sources.
Green Source Rider customers will ask for an annual amount of energy and renewable energy certificates to be produced or procured over a specific term. Duke will match the supply source and contract term request with generation from a Duke source or through a power purchase agreement with another supplier.
“We designed a program that responds to certain customer requests for more renewable energy, but that does not adversely affect other customers,” a company official said.
More: Duke Energy
OHIO
High Court OKs Wind Farm
Rejecting citizens’ objections, the state Supreme Court upheld the Ohio Power Siting Board’s approval of Black Fork Wind Energy’s application to build an up-to-200 MW wind project in Crawford and Richland counties. Black Fork’s parent, Element Power, of Portland, Ore., expects construction to begin in 2015, after it secures power purchase contracts and reapplies for tax credits.
More: The Columbus Dispatch
PENNSYLVANIA
PECO Upgrades Substation
PECO completed a $7 million substation improvement project in Delaware County, installing a 138-kV capacitor bank and related equipment.
More: Wall Street Journal
VIRGINIA
APCO Seeks Rate Increase
Appalachian Power sought State Corporation Commission permission for a $36 million improvement project on the company’s 36-mile portion of the Cloverdale-Lexington 500-kV line, a line it shares with Dominion Virginia Power. The project, to address reliability and market issues, is the utility’s alternative to a more extensive proposal that was rejected. APCO wants to put the improved facility in service in June 2016. At the same time, APCO asked for a $49.9 million distribution rate increase.
More: Appalachian Power; APCO
