The powerhouse at Duke Energy’s retired Cliffside Steam Station in Mooresboro, N.C., came down in a cloud of dust last week, the latest demolition Duke has conducted to modernize its generation fleet.
The coal-fired station went into service in 1940, and units 1 through 4 were retired in 2011. Units 5 and 6 are coal-fired units equipped with modern scrubber technology and still operate as part of the James E. Rogers Energy Complex.
See a video of the powerhouse implosion here.
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Entergy Execs Announce 2016 Exits
Entergy Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Savoff and Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Jeff Forbes announced coordinated retirement dates last week.
Both executives plan to shift to advisory roles on Nov. 1 before retiring in 2016’s first quarter. At that time, Tim Mitchell, Entergy’s senior vice president of nuclear operations, will be named acting chief nuclear officer. In an executive restructure, the chief nuclear officer will directly report to Entergy Chairman and CEO Leo Denault. Mitchell will also be a candidate in Entergy’s search for a permanent chief nuclear officer.
Savoff and Forbes joined Entergy in 2003 and oversaw the transition of Entergy’s transmission system to MISO in 2013.
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DTE, GE Working on New Economic BWR Design
DTE Energy is teaming up with GE Hitachi to design a new type of boiling water reactor. While others are working on smaller, modular designs, the two companies are working on advancing the first-ever Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR).
The ESBWR incorporates passive safety systems, including a reactor that can cool itself for more than seven days without backup power or any human input. DTE has already received licensing from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the ESBWR.
The company said it has no current plans to start construction but said it is “keeping the option open, given the long-term environmental and economic advantages of nuclear power.” Dominion Virginia Power has selected the new design for a possible third reactor at its North Anna site in Virginia.
More: Nuclear Street
Alliant Eyes Boosting Solar Capacity by 50%
Alliant Energy subsidiary Interstate Power & Light in Iowa is planning to increase its total solar energy capacity by 50%, according to a recent request for proposals.
The company said it is looking to develop solar projects of between 1 and 10 MW. It currently purchases about 22 MW of solar capacity from about 1,650 customers in its service territory.
Alliant said the plan is unrelated to an Environmental Protection Agency air emissions settlement that calls for it to spend $6 million on environmental mitigation projects, which could include solar generation.
More: DesMoines Register
Xcel Energy to Accelerate Minnesota Wind, Solar Investments
Xcel Energy says it will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in Minnesota by increasing wind and solar power investment and replacing two coal-burning generators with a natural gas-fired unit in the mid-2020s.
The plan, submitted to state regulators, would reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the Upper Midwest 60% by 2030 compared with 2005 levels. Until now, Xcel had aimed for a 40% reduction over that period.
Two of the three coal-fired units at Xcel’s Sherco power plant — Xcel’s largest in the region — would be retired in 2023 and 2026 under the plan. The two units, built in the 1970s, would be replaced by a new power plant fueled by natural gas.
More: Minneapolis Star Tribune
PSEG Combined-Cycle Project to Deliver Power by Summer 2018
Construction on PSEG Power’s 540-MW Sewaren 7 combined-cycle project is expected to begin next year at an existing power station site in Woodbridge, N.J.
The $600 million dual-fuel gas-turbine facility is set to deliver power to the PJM market for the summer of 2018.
The project was finalized after clearing the Base Residual Auction in August.
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Line Replacement has Wisconsin Residents Worried
Residents in Onalaska, Wis., are concerned over Dairyland Power Cooperative’s planned replacement of a 65-year-old 161-kV line.
Dairyland, which is based in La Crosse, has been working nearly a decade to replace the 9-mile stretch of line connecting power plants in Alma and Genoa to the grid, and designs are not yet ready, in spite of a late 2016 start date. The cost of the project is calculated between $7 million and $8 million. Other transmission lines in the area have been rebuilt recently or are in the process of replacement.
Residents are worried that the new line, which will carry twice the electricity at the same voltage, will increase exposure to electromagnetic radiation. Dairyland says raising the wires will mitigate exposure.
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NuScale Seeking British Partners for Modular Reactor Design
NuScale Power, a U.S. company developing a small modular reactor with the help of a $217 million Department of Energy grant, is looking for a partner to help make the design a reality in the United Kingdom.
The company, mostly owned by Fluor Corp., is distributing a prospectus in the U.K. seeking a partner in what it says is a chance to get a piece of the $612 billion nuclear market by 2035.
NuScale’s design is on track to come up for U.S. certification next year, and the company says it expects to receive U.S. regulatory approval in the early 2020s. It is currently developing a test model in Idaho, using technology that can be customized for scale, allowing deployment in series, with up to 12 small reactors totaling about 600 MW.
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Indiana’s Rising Power Prices Drive Pushback
Northern Indiana natural gas and electric provider NIPSCO has asked state regulators for an 11.5% hike in residential electric rates. Indiana’s industrial utility customers are protesting the request.
Joseph Hamrock, CEO of NiSource, parent company for NIPSCO and utilities in six other states, said the increases are needed to fund plants, poles and wires that serve as fail-safes even in light of new generating technologies.
More: NWI Times
South Field Energy to Build 1,100-MW Nat Gas Plant in Ohio
South Field Energy announced plans to build a $1.1 billion, 1,100-MW natural gas-fired power plant in Columbiana County, Ohio.
South Field and other companies are taking advantage of the cheap gas being produced at Utica Shale fields in the state. It is the sixth natural gas plant under construction in Ohio, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
Construction would start in 2017, and the plant should be operational by 2019. South Field is also building an $899 million gas-fired plant in Carroll County.
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Ameren Increases Quarterly Dividend by 3.7%
Ameren increased its quarterly dividend on common stock, from 41 cents/share of common stock to 42.5 cents, an increase of 3.7%. The common share dividend is payable Dec. 31 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 9. The company’s board of directors also declared quarterly cash dividends to all classes of Ameren Missouri stock and all classes of Ameren Illinois preferred stock.
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