Advanced Power to construct $1.3B electric generating facility
Advanced Power has successfully closed a $1.3 billion financing for the construction of a fully permitted 1,182-MW combined-cycle natural gas electric generating facility located in Columbiana County,
Ohio, known as South Field Energy. The completed electric generating facility, which will be managed by Advanced Power, will sell energy, capacity and ancillary services into the PJM (Pennsylvania, Jersey, Maryland) market. The project is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2021 and will create approximately 1,000 construction jobs during its peak period.
The facility will use two gas turbines, each with a heat recovery steam generator and steam turbine generator, and will produce enough electricity to power approximately a million homes.
For more information, visit www.advancedpower.ch or www.southfieldenergy.com.
DTE Energy breaks ground on Blue Water Energy Center
DTE Energy has taken a significant step toward its goal of reducing carbon emissions by more than 80 percent by breaking ground on a state-of-the-art, $1 billion natural gas-fueled plant. The Blue Water Energy Center will be the most efficient power plant in the state when it begins producing affordable and reliable low-emission electricity for 850,000 homes starting in 2022.
Blue Water Energy Center will run on natural gas and use combined-cycle technology that captures waste heat to produce additional electricity. The plant will be 70-percent cleaner and 40-percent more efficient than the three coal-fired plants DTE plans to retire by 2023. It is a critical component of a balanced energy mix that provides 24/7, always-available power generation required when wind turbines and solar arrays are unable to produce electricity due to weather conditions or time of day.
For more information, visit www.dteenergy.com or call (800) 477-4747.
1.4-million-pound steam generator placed for Vogtle Unit 4
At press time, Georgia Power’s latest milestone at the Vogtle nuclear expansion near Waynesboro, Georgia, was the placement of the third of four steam generators. The 1.4-million-pound steam generator was recently lifted into the Unit 4 nuclear island and marks a significant accomplishment for the nation’s only new nuclear units under construction.
The final steam generator for the project is on-site and expected to be placed in the coming months. Other recent milestones at the Vogtle site include the installation of the fourth and final cooling water system pump for Unit 3.
Georgia Power provides a full report every six months on the Vogtle nuclear expansion to the Georgia Public Service Commission through the Vogtle Construction Monitoring (VCM) process. The 19th VCM report, available on Georgia Power’s website, outlines recent progress made at the site, as well as the latest information on cost and schedule for the project.
For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com or www.psc.state.ga.us.
Power industry takes on $1.76B in active maintenance projects
As the U.S. power industry undergoes radical changes to its generation mix, such as the displacement of coal by natural gas and the slowing of nuclear growth, maintenance projects increasingly are needed to keep existing facilities economically efficient. According to a new report by Industrial Info Resources, more than $1.76 billion in active maintenance-related projects at U.S. power facilities have started or are scheduled to kick off in 2018, more than $1.3 billion of which can be found at either natural gasfired or nuclear power facilities.
For more information, visit www.industrialinfo.com or call (713) 783-5147.
Grid stakeholders spend $8B to cyber-secure assets
Modernization of grid infrastructures is enabling increased efficiencies and reliability through digitization, connectivity and IT-based approaches. Smart cyber assets are transforming both power and water grids, allowing operators to deploy and leverage a new generation of functionality and customer services. However, smart assets are also highly vulnerable to cyber threats, and security is therefore a primary concern, stated ABI Research in a recent report.
Power and water grid stakeholders will spend over $8 billion globally on cyber-securing infrastructures in 2018, o f which only a small portion will be dedicated to operational technologies (OT) and smart systems. Grid modernization efforts are an ideal time to start designing and integrating digital security and adapting existing mechanisms and processes to the OT space, from industrial control systems to smart meters.
For more information, visit www.abiresearch.com or call (516) 624-2500.