Study highlights importance of coal for power in severe weather
A new analysis conducted by the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) indicates continued retirement of fossil fuel power plants could have an adverse impact on the nation's ability to meet power generation needs during future severe weather events.
The NETL study, titled "Reliability, Resilience and the Oncoming Wave of Retiring Baseload Units, Volume I: The Critical Role of Thermal Units During Extreme Weather Events," draws significant conclusions about the importance of fossil fuels in helping the nation answer power demands in times of crisis.
Peter Balash of NETL's Energy Systems Analysis team said the new study shows "removing coal from the energy mix would worsen threats to the electrical grid's dependability during future severe weather events."
The report warns against overestimating the nation's ability to respond to weather events if the current rate of coal plant retirements continues.
For more information, visit www. netl.doe.gov or call (412) 386-4984.
Duke Energy to invest $11B in new gas, renewables generation
In its latest Climate Report, Duke Energy details its ongoing efforts to mitigate risks from climate change, reduce emissions, navigate policy uncertainty and plan future investments. Through 2026, Duke plans to invest $11 billion in new gas, wind and solar generation.
Report highlights:
- Continue fleet modernization: By 2030, the company expects more than 80 percent of its generation mix to come from lower or zero CO2-emitting sources.
- Continue investments in nuclear fleet: Through 2017, this zero-emissions option marked 19 consecutive years operating at a capacity factor exceeding 90 percent, and the company is evaluating the possibility of extending nuclear operating licenses.
- Expand renewables and natural gas: Through 2016, invest $11 billion in new natural gas-fired, wind and solar generation.
- Modernize the electric grid: Through 2026, invest $25 billion to create a smarter, more resilient grid with smart grid technologies, storm hardening and targeted undergrounding of electric lines to protect against extreme weather.
For more information, visit www. duke-energy.com.
475-MW Reidsville Energy Center to begin construction
Construction of the 475-MW combined-cycle NET Reidsville Energy Center in Rockingham County, North Carolina, is set to begin this summer.
Construction on the $500 million center has been dependent on a transmission interconnection under development by Duke Energy. Currently Reidsville is scheduled for commercial operations by 2021.
For more information, visit www. reidsvilleenergy.com or www.nteenergy. com, or call (904) 687-1857.
NRC issues annual assessments for nation's nuclear plants
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued annual letters to the nation's 99 commercial nuclear power plants operating in 2017 regarding their operational performance throughout the year. All but three plants were in the two highest performance categories.
Of the 96 highest-performing reactors, 83 met all safety and security performance objectives and were inspected by the NRC using the standard "baseline" inspection program.
The NRC determined 13 reactors needed resolution of one or two items of low safety significance. For this performance level, regulatory oversight includes additional inspections and follow-up of corrective actions.
There were no reactors in the third performance category with a degraded level of performance.
For more information, visit www. nrc.gov.
EIA shows future power plants' relative economics
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has calculated two measures that, when used together, largely explain the economic competitiveness of electricity generating technologies.
The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) represents the installed capital costs and ongoing operating costs of a power plant, converted to a level stream of payments over the plant's assumed financial lifetime, and the levelized avoided cost of electricity (LACE) represents that power plant's value to the grid. A generator's avoided cost reflects the costs that would be incurred to provide the electricity displaced by a new generation project as an estimate of the revenue available to the plant. As with LCOE, these revenues are converted to a level stream of payments over the plant's assumed financial lifetime.
Power plants are considered economically attractive when their projected LACE (value) exceeds their projected LCOE (cost).
For more information, visit www. eia.gov or call (202) 586-8800.