Exelon withdrew its application for a water-quality permit for its Conowingo Hydroelectric Generating Station after state regulators indicated they would deny the permit.
Exelon said it will spend $3.5 million over the next two years to study the environmental consequences of sediments building up behind the Susquehanna River dam. The Maryland Department of the Environment had said it would deny the permit without more information about the sedimentation and its implications downstream in Chesapeake Bay. The department expects Exelon to reapply within three months.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has already given Exelon a one-year operating license extension.
More: The Baltimore Sun
Dominion’s New Virginia Plant Goes into Operation on Schedule
The 1,329-MW Warren County Power Station, Dominion Virginia Power’s newest electric generating plant, went on line last week.
The $1.1 billion plant was completed on budget and on schedule, the company said last week. Construction began in March 2012. The natural gas-fired combined-cycle plant, just north of Front Royal, Va., has three combustion turbines, three heat-recovery steam generators and a steam turbine.
As a condition of its permits, Dominion agreed to close its coal-fired North Branch Power Station in West Virginia.
More: Roanoke Times; Dominion
Duke Critic Launches TV Attack on Company’s Solar Record
NCWarn, an environmental and consumers’ rights group, has launched a series of satirical TV commercials slamming Duke Energy’s commitment to solar energy.
NCWarn Director Jim Warren said the ads are meant to show viewers that while Duke says it is a solar energy proponent, it really is trying to weaken the state’s solar energy rules to freeze out private solar development.
In response, Duke pointed out that the company plans to spend more than $500 million next year to build solar plants to meet a 2015 requirement that 6% of its retails sales are from renewable sources. The company has contracted to build or buy 278 MW of solar capacity in the coming year, helping push North Carolina to the third leading solar producer in the country. The North Carolina Utilities Commission approved the plan
“These projects will help provide significant amounts of cost-effective renewable energy to benefit our customers, comply with our state obligations and provide meaningful investments in the communities we serve,” said Rob Caldwell, the company’s senior vice president for distributed energy resources. By the end of 2015, Duke expects to produce or procure a total of 748 MW of solar capacity.
More: Charlotte Business Journal; WRAL
PPL’s Susquehanna Nuke Plant Shut Down by Water Leak
A water leak inside the containment structure surrounding the reactor at Susquehanna nuclear station Unit 1 prompted PPL employees to shut down the reactor, company officials said Saturday.
Although the leak was contained and did not pose a risk to the plant or human safety, the company decided to shut down the reactor and perform repairs as part of its winter readiness program. The company said it expected the repairs to be completed quickly.
More: Allentown Morning Call
DSM Opens 6 MW Solar Field in New Jersey
Life sciences and materials company DSM opened a 6 MW solar facility at its manufacturing plant in Belvidere, N.J.
The solar panels are glazed with the company’s KhepriCoat coating that reduces sunlight reflection, improving energy production by up to 4%. The solar field was developed with GeoPeak and Marina Energy, and at peak production it will supply 30 to 40% of the plant’s energy needs.
More: pv magazine