DOE extends deadline for hydro-related opportunity for technical assistance
January 15, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 15, 2021
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) has extended the application period for a Notice of Opportunity for Technical Assistance (NOTA) for improving hydropower’s value.
Part of WPTO’s HydroWIRES (Water Innovation for a Resilient Electricity System) Initiative, “this opportunity will provide hydropower decision makers—such as utilities and system operators—with national lab expertise and capabilities to address current challenges and capture new opportunities for their systems,” the DOE noted.
Additionally, the DOE said that work under the NOTA can help to validate national lab-led modeling, analysis, and tools developed under the HydroWIRES Initiative for the benefit of the broader hydropower community, “as well as further our collective understanding of possible roles for hydropower in an evolving grid.”
WPTO in December 2020 extended the application period for the NOTA.
Interested applicants must submit initial concept papers by February 17, 2021. Applications can be made by clicking on this link.
Additional information is available here.
Berlin, Maryland, generator expected to enhance peak shaving capabilities
January 12, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
January 12, 2021
The town of Berlin, Md., has deployed a 2 megawatt (MW) natural gas generator, replacing a diesel generator.
The Caterpillar G3520 generator is expected to enhance the town’s peak shaving capabilities and joins a fleet of three generators that operate about 100 hours a year and are used to offset the cost of energy during periods of high demand in the summer and winter.
Berlin officials estimate its upgraded generation system will save the town up to $600,000 in annual energy costs, including about $200,000 in reduced transmission congestion costs paid to the PJM Interconnection. In addition, maintenance of a gas generator is about half the cost of maintenance for a diesel generator and natural gas is cheaper than diesel gas.
“For more than a century, the Town of Berlin has managed its own power generation capabilities to minimize energy costs for local residents and businesses,” Jeff Fleetwood, town administrator for Berlin, said in a statement.
“We take tremendous pride in offering the lowest prices for electricity on Maryland’s Eastern Shore,” Tim Lawrence, Berlin’s electric utility director, said in a statement. “This Cat gas generator set offers the reliability and low total owning and operating costs that will benefit the town’s finances and utility customers for years to come.”
The Caterpillar natural gas diesel also has lower emissions and is the first generator in the 2 MW to 2.5 MW range certified by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in 60 megahertz power markets.
“Cat gas generator sets are designed to deliver low-emissions, high-efficiency performance to the utilities and their customers who rely on them for the long haul,” Bart Myers, general manager in Caterpillar’s electric power division, said in a statement.
Carter Machinery installed the new generator and will provide periodic inspections and service through a planned maintenance program.
In February 2015, the Town of Berlin became a member of American Municipal Power, which provides wholesale energy and member services for 135 publicly owned electric utilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Maryland, and Delaware.
EIA reports that nuclear power on track to account for largest share of 2021 capacity retirements
January 12, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 12, 2021
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) on Jan. 12 said that 9.1 gigawatts (GW) of electric generating capacity are scheduled to retire in 2021 and that nuclear generating capacity will account for the largest share of total capacity retirements (56%), followed by coal (30%).
EIA reported the figures in its most recent inventory of electric generators.
At 5.1 GW, nuclear capacity retirements represent half of all total expected retirements in 2021 and 5% of the current operating U.S. nuclear generating capacity.
EIA noted that Exelon Corp. is scheduled to retire two of its Illinois nuclear plants, Dresden and Byron. Each of these plants has two reactors, and their total combined capacity is 4.1 GW. The Unit 3 (1.0 GW) reactor at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York state is scheduled to retire in April.
If all five reactors close as scheduled, 2021 will set a record for the most annual nuclear capacity retirements ever, EIA said.
The decrease of U.S. nuclear power generating capacity is a result of historically low natural gas prices, limited growth in electricity demand, and increasing competition from renewable energy, EIA said.
Meanwhile, after significant retirements of coal-fired electric generating capacity over the past five years, totaling 48 GW, coal retirements will slow in 2021, according to EIA.
It said that 2.7 GW of coal-fired capacity is scheduled to retire, which accounts for 1% of the U.S. coal fleet.
EIA said that these retirements will come primarily from older units, noting that the capacity-weighted average age of retiring coal units is more than 51 years old.
Nearly two-thirds of the capacity retirements are located in just four states: Maryland, Florida, Connecticut, and Wisconsin.
EIA said that the largest coal retirement in 2021 will be at Chalk Point in Maryland, where both of its coal-fired units — 670 megawatts combined — are expected to retire.
With respect to other energy sources, EIA said that more than 800 MW of petroleum-fired capacity and 253 MW of natural gas-fired capacity are scheduled to retire in 2021.
Almost all of the retiring petroleum capacity will be from the 786 MW unit at Possum Point in Virginia, while the largest natural gas retirement will be McKee Run (103 MW) in Delaware.
After operating for 34 years, a 143 MW biomass waste-to-energy plant in Southport, North Carolina, will retire in March, EIA said.
NuScale Power, UAMPS execute agreements tied to development of small modular reactors
January 11, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 11, 2021
NuScale Power on Jan. 11 announced together with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) that it has executed agreements to facilitate the development of the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), which will deploy NuScale small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Idaho National Laboratory.
The CFPP will be comprised of nuclear power modules to be provided by NuScale. Electricity from the plant will be distributed to customers of 33 UAMPS member utilities in five states. Other western utilities are expected to join the project in the future.
The SMRs in the project will provide the flexibility to ramp up and down as needed to follow load and complement intermittent renewable supply.
Established in 1980, UAMPS is an energy services interlocal agency of the state of Utah. As a project-based consortium, UAMPS provides a variety of power supply, transmission and other services to its 47 members, which include public power utilities in six western states: Utah, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming.
Pursuant to the initial orders from UAMPS, Fluor Corporation and NuScale — as a subcontractor to Fluor — are to develop higher maturity cost estimates and initial project planning work for the licensing, manufacturing and construction of the CFPP.
The orders are the result of recently signed agreements to manage and de-risk the development of the CFPP. These include the Development Cost Reimbursement Agreement between UAMPS and NuScale, and the $1.355 billion multi-year financial assistance award from the U.S. Department of Energy to CFPP LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UAMPS established to develop, own and operate the CFPP.
In addition, UAMPS and Fluor have signed a cost-reimbursable development agreement to provide estimating, development, design and engineering services to develop the site-specific cost estimates for deployment of the NuScale technology at the Idaho National Laboratory site.
Concurrently, UAMPS will continue to evaluate the size of the NuScale power plant as Fluor refines the engineering of alternatives to ensure that the plant is the best overall cost of energy and size to meet the CFPP participants’ subscription needs.
“The orders executed today allow for important progress in the development of the Carbon Free Power Project, and we are excited to take this next step alongside our partners NuScale Power and Fluor Corporation,” said Doug Hunter, UAMPS’ CEO and General Manager. “We are confident that NuScale’s small modular reactor will deliver affordable, stable, carbon-free energy to participating members, complementing and enabling large amounts of renewable energy in the region.”
The NuScale power plant will be located at the DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory site near Idaho Falls, Idaho.
NuScale’s SMR became the first and only design to ever receive approval from the NRC in August 2020.
NuScale and UAMPS expect that the initial orders will address the final step in the regulatory process to proceed with plans to build a NuScale Power Plant as they plan for and develop the Combined License Application (COLA) for the CFPP.
The UAMPS COLA is expected to be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the second quarter of 2023.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission review of the COLA is expected to be completed by the second half of 2025, with nuclear construction of the project beginning shortly thereafter.
Plans unveiled for 550-megawatt virtual power plant in California
December 9, 2020
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 9, 2020
Plans for a 550-megawatt virtual power plant (VPP) in California were unveiled on Dec. 7 by Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP) and OhmConnect.
The Resi-Station project will be funded by an $80 million commitment from SIP and developed in partnership with OhmConnect and will comprise hundreds of thousands of active customers with a fleet of in-home, smart devices that can deliver targeted energy reductions, orchestrated by OhmConnect technology that predicts, incentivizes, and coordinates energy use.
At full scale, Resi-Station will be the largest residential VPP in the world, according to SIP and OhmConnect.
SIP announced a $100 million transaction as part of its new advanced power grid platform, Resilia, which is focused on making electric systems bidirectional, transactive, and distributed. The transaction includes a $20 million investment in OhmConnect, Inc. and an $80 million commitment to the Resi-Station project.
The funding of the project commitment is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
In order to scale up Resi-Station, SIP and OhmConnect are partnering with Google to offer Nest thermostats to hundreds of thousands of participants in the OhmConnect software program enabling Resi-Station.
Additional information on the VPP is available here.
SIP builds, owns, operates, and invests in both advanced infrastructure projects and technology companies. SIP’s investors include Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
NCPA awarded grant from APPA’s DEED program for hydrogen-related study
December 4, 2020
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 4, 2020
Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) has been awarded a $48,500 grant through the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Demonstration of Energy and Efficiency Developments (DEED) program to study the feasibility of developing a renewable hydrogen production facility at a site near NCPA’s Lodi Energy Center natural gas power plant.
The grant provides 50% of the funding needed to complete the study, with the remaining 50% funded by the 13 Lodi Energy Center project participants.
Operating since 2012, the Lodi Energy Center is a 306-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas power plant located in Lodi, Calif. The plant was the first in the nation to utilize “fast-start” gas-turbine technology to substantially reduce emissions and provide needed support for the integration of the growing California renewable energy market. The plant provides power to 13 public entities, including nine NCPA members, as well as the state of California.
Earlier this year, NCPA announced upgrades to equip the Lodi Energy Center with state-of-the-art technologies capable of integrating a gas blend of up to 45% hydrogen.
This first-of-its-kind application would pave the way for significantly reducing the plant’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and keep the project environmentally viable as the project participants look towards decarbonizing their energy supply, NCPA said.
The presence of a renewable hydrogen production facility near the Lodi Energy Center, located near two major transportation corridors, could offer a dual benefit of providing hydrogen supply for the power plant’s operations as well as fuel for transportation sector needs.
Pending the outcome of the study, NCPA may seek to partner with a third party or parties to construct and operate a hydrogen electrolyzer facility serving both energy and transportation needs.
NCPA’s feasibility study will analyze several areas related to the potential development of a hydrogen production facility near the Lodi Energy Center, including analysis of safety considerations, community impacts, permitting needs, hydrogen storage capabilities, and available grants/subsidies for developing the hydrogen production facility.
The study results will be shared with APPA and its members, as well as others throughout the industry and academia, to advance technical and policy discussions on the role hydrogen can play in decarbonizing the electricity sector. The study will be completed by the end of the year.
NCPA’s work to prepare the LEC for hydrogen integration consists of two phases. The first phase was completed this past summer with the installation of a hydrogen-capable turbine at the facility.
The second phase, which is expected to be complete by 2023, will include the installation of new, hydrogen-capable combustors within the turbine.
“It’s important to evaluate new options for electricity production that move us toward a greener generation footprint,” said Michele Suddleson, DEED Program Director at APPA.
“This project highlights public power generation innovation and showcases our key strengths of cooperation, joint action, and cost-effective problem solving,” she said.
Headquartered in Roseville, Calif., NCPA is a nonprofit California joint powers agency established in 1968 to construct and operate renewable and low emitting generating facilities and assist in meeting the wholesale energy needs of its 16 members.
Additional information about APPA’s DEED program is available here.
DOE awards $9.4 mil grant to EPRI-led advanced hydrogen production project that includes NPPD
November 25, 2020
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
November 25, 2020
A team led by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has been awarded a $9.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to support research and development related to hydrogen production from fossil assets without carbon emissions.
The team includes Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), Bechtel, Gas Technology Institute, Hamilton Maurer International, Inc., Nexant Energy and Chemicals Advisory, and Wärtsilä North America, Inc.
The award is part of a DOE Initiative “to advance innovative power plant concepts that are capable of flexible, net-zero operations while producing hydrogen to support economy-wide decarbonization goals,” EPRI noted in a Nov. 23 news release.
The project will investigate design options for hydrogen production in a hybrid coal and biomass power plant. The integrated design study will assess multiple gasification systems that utilize the water-gas shift, a process that converts carbon monoxide and steam to hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
The system will be paired with pre-combustion carbon dioxide capture and pressure-swing adsorption, which produces high-quality hydrogen and a synfuel capable of generating flexible power using an engine or gas turbine, EPRI said.
The design study is a stepping stone to a future demonstration plant that will be strategically located at NPPD Gerald Gentleman generating station. NPPD is a sponsor of the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative, jointly led by EPRI and the Gas Technology Institute.
John Swanson, Director of Generation Strategies and Research at NPPD, noted that Nebraska is an area where opportunities for enhanced oil recovery and sequestration are being investigated for carbon dioxide storage, “and where the need for clean power and hydrogen is increasingly important to support low-carbon and long-term storage targets.”
The primary biomass to be used in the demonstration project is corn stover — stalks, leaves and cobs left over after a corn harvest. Corn stover, which is abundant in Nebraska, will be mixed with Powder River Basin coal, necessitating a flexible gasifier that can use this fuel source, among others, including waste.
The study will begin in early 2021, which complements technology assessments underway as part of the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative, EPRI said.
EPRI conducts research and development relating to the generation, delivery, and use of electricity.
CPS Energy signs deal to provide renewable natural gas for San Antonio’s buses
November 23, 2020
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
November 23, 2020
CPS Energy in San Antonio, Texas, has signed a deal to provide renewable natural gas (RNG) to the city’s mass transit provider.
Under the deal, the public power utility would provide the gas, which will be produced from landfill biogas, to VIA Metropolitan Transit beginning in 2021.
The transit agency will use the gas in its fleet of 502 buses, which are now powered primarily by compressed natural gas (CNG) along with some diesel-electric hybrid, electric, diesel and propane-fueled vehicles.
As the waste in a landfill decomposes, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, that, unless captured, is released into the air. Renewable natural gas can be created from captured methane and blended with natural gas. CPS Energy said it would distribute the enhanced natural gas through its existing natural gas distribution pipelines.
The gas will be captured from a landfill site in Converse, Texas, at a facility that is being designed, built and will be owned and operated by EDL of Australia, which will inject into CPS’ gas pipeline. The utilities will have to build spur lines to connect its pipeline network to the landfill facility.
CPS Energy has agreed to buy the gas EDL produces. On the other end, VIA Metropolitan Transit has agreed to take the beneficial environmental attribute of the non-fossil fuel gas, known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) that are like Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) for fuel. “This is a unique opportunity for CPS,” utility spokesman John Moreno said.
VIA began converting its bus fleet to CNG in 2017 in an effort to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 97% from the diesel buses they replaced. As a vehicle fuel, renewable natural gas also reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 85% compared with diesel fuel vehicles.
The renewable natural gas program is “one more component of our creative Flexible Path strategy, which has been designed to leverage emerging environmental stewardship opportunities, which we keep our customers’ bills affordable and our services reliable,” Paula Gold-Williams, president and CEO of CPS Energy, said in a statement.
In 2019, as part of its Flexible Path strategy, CPS Energy made a commitment to reduces its next emissions profile by 80% by 2040. The utility is also working toward full carbon dioxide neutrality by 2050 in support of the City of San Antonio’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP) that was endorsed by the utility’s board of trustees in August 2019.
CPS Energy in San Antonio, Texas, has signed a deal to provide renewable natural gas (RNG) to the city’s mass transit provider.
Under the deal, the public power utility would provide the gas, which will be produced from landfill biogas, to VIA Metropolitan Transit beginning in 2021.
The transit agency will use the gas in its fleet of 502 buses, which are now powered primarily by compressed natural gas (CNG) along with some diesel-electric hybrid, electric, diesel, and propane-fueled vehicles.
As the waste in a landfill decomposes, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, that, unless captured, is released into the air. Renewable natural gas can be created from captured methane and blended with natural gas. CPS Energy said it would distribute the enhanced natural gas through its existing natural gas distribution pipelines.
The gas will be captured from a landfill site in Converse, Texas, at a facility that is being designed, built and will be owned and operated by EDL of Australia, which will inject into CPS’ gas pipeline. The utilities will have to build spur lines to connect its pipeline network to the landfill facility.
CPS Energy has agreed to buy the gas EDL produces. On the other end, VIA Metropolitan Transit has agreed to take the beneficial environmental attributes of the non-fossil fuel gas, known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) that are like Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) for fuel. “This is a unique opportunity for CPS,” utility spokesman John Moreno said.
VIA began converting its bus fleet to CNG in 2017 in an effort to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 97% from the diesel buses they replaced. As a vehicle fuel, renewable natural gas also reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 85% compared with diesel fuel vehicles.
The renewable natural gas program is “one more component of our creative Flexible Path strategy, which has been designed to leverage emerging environmental stewardship opportunities, while we keep our customers’ bills affordable and our services reliable,” Paula Gold-Williams, president and CEO of CPS Energy, said in a statement.
In 2019, as part of its Flexible Path strategy, CPS Energy made a commitment to reduce its net emissions profile by 80% by 2040. The utility is also working toward full carbon dioxide neutrality by 2050 in support of the City of San Antonio’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP) plan that was endorsed by the utility’s board of trustees in August 2019.
CPS’ Flexible Path also includes initiatives such as its FlexSTEP energy efficiency program In July, as part of its FlexPOWER Bundle initiative, CPS Energy released a request for information to evaluate potential partners that can help the utility in the process of adding up to 900 MW of solar power, 50 MW of battery storage, and 500 MW of new technology solutions.
Generation backed by utilities accounted for half of new capacity in 2018-19
October 30, 2020
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
October 30, 2020
Power generation projects financially backed by utility ownership or by a utility contract accounted for about half of the new capacity built in 2018 and 2019, according to a new report by the American Public Power Association.
Utility owned new generation also resulted in a greater diversity of resources than merchant generation. In 2018, about half of the utility sponsored new capacity was natural gas, one-fourth was solar, and one-fifth was wind, according to the report.
In 2019, those three technologies each accounted for about one-third of utility capacity additions.
In contrast, new merchant capacity additions, plants that receive revenue solely from wholesale power markets, consisted almost entirely of natural gas-fired generation — 92% in 2018 and 99% in 2019.
Merchant generation itself accounted for about 38% of the new capacity that began service in 2018 – a total of 11,800 megawatts (MW) – and 16% of the capacity that began service in 2019 or 3,700 MW.
“The capacity constructed or contracted by utilities is far more diverse than merchant generation capacity and includes hydropower and geothermal projects, which are not present in new merchant generation,” Elise Caplan, director of electric markets analysis at APPA and author of the report, said.
New merchant generation capacity has fluctuated over the past seven years, from a low of 2.4% in 2013, climbing to a peak of 29.1% in 2017 and then 37.9% in 2018 before settling back to 16.3% in 2019. That trend has not been “a positive development for resource diversity, environmental goals, and risks to consumers,” the report noted.
The downside of the expansion of merchant power plants includes concerns about fuel security as natural gas plants continue to dominate new generation. For example, ISO New England, which represented 30% of the new merchant natural gas generation last year, has said it has an “energy security problem” because it “relies most on gas delivered through its constrained pipeline system.”
Merchant generation also creates a pool of resources with a continued interest in propping up their earnings by administratively increasing energy and capacity prices, the report said, such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) December 2019 order expanding the Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) in the PJM Interconnection’s capacity market.
At the time, FERC said the administratively determined offer floor would “enable PJM’s capacity market to send price signals on which investors and consumers can rely to guide the orderly entry and exit of economically efficient capacity resources.”
Such administrative interventions “pose impediments to state and utility efforts to develop particular types of resources and increase costs to consumers,” the report said.
Overall, 31,200 MW of new capacity came online in 2018, exceeding the 18,750 MW of capacity that retired even though electricity consumption has been relatively flat. In 2019, about 22,700 MW of capacity came online, exceeding the 18,760 MW of capacity that retired.
The fact that the amount of new merchant generation in 2018 and 2019, 11,800 MW and 3,700 MW, respectively, came close to the amount by which new capacity exceeded the retirements – 11,800 MW in 2018 and 3,700 MW in 2019 – indicates that “new merchant generation could have been a contributing factor to the surplus of new capacity compared to retirements,” the report said.
The report also included data that show that public power utilities accounted for almost 20% of new capacity and 17% of all renewable energy and storage installations in 2018 and 11% of all capacity and 15% of renewables and storage in 2019.
Overall, the “data show that resource diversity, technology innovation, and emissions reductions can be best achieved by financial arrangements that consider utility, consumer and state policy goals rather than projects constructed to maximize earnings from wholesale markets,” the report said.
The report used the list of new generating units from the Energy Information Administration and combined it with information on financial arrangements behind the new capacity primarily from utility and developer websites and from news articles, as well as data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the American Wind Energy Association.
NYPA to explore replacing peakers with clean energy technologies
October 15, 2020
by Ethan Howland
APPA News
October 15, 2020
The New York Power Authority will explore transitioning its natural gas-fired peaking power plants in New York City and Long Island to clean energy technologies, such as battery storage and low to zero carbon emission resources and technologies, under an agreement with a coalition of environmental justice groups.
In an agreement with the PEAK Coalition, a coalition of advocacy groups, NYPA agreed to hire a consultant to explore cleaner options for its fleet of city-wide, peaking power plants, which total 461 megawatts.
“New technologies provide opportunities to include renewable generation and battery technologies in New York City’s electric system to replace, augment and otherwise reduce or eliminate New York City’s reliance on fossil peaker plants over time,” NYPA and the PEAK Coalition said in an agreement outlining the scope of the project.
Replacing the gas-fired units will help New York meet its goal of eliminating carbon emissions from the state’s power fleet by 2040, according to NYPA.
Also, NYPA agreed to pay for consultants to work independently with the PEAK Coalition partners to develop alternative clean energy replacement options, according to the public power utility.
The consultants will study the feasibility of replacing the peaking plants with clean energy options while maintaining grid reliability, according to the agreement.
The agreement calls for the consultants to deliver a report by June 1, if possible. The consultants are slated to be hired via a request for proposals.
Installed in 2001, the power plants operate infrequently — roughly 10 percent of the time or less when directed to do so by the New York Independent System Operator and investor-owned Con Edison Company of New York to meet energy demands, providing local reliability and resiliency, NYPA said.
Replacing the power plants with new technology will lessen or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, NYPA said.
New York City’s peaking power plants, which total about 5,900 MW, produced 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2018, 1,685 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions and 194 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions, according to a May report by the PEAK Coalition.
The PEAK Coalition says it is spearheading the first effort in the United States to reduce the racially disproportionate health effects of a city’s peaker plants by replacing them with renewable energy and storage.