Generation & Markets News

Exelon Generation to Develop 195 MW of New Electric Capacity in Medway, MA

Exelon Generation will add 195 MW of electric generation capacity to help meet future energy needs in New England. Two new generation units will be built as an expansion to Exelon's existing generating facility in Medway, MA. The units will operate primarily during times of peak energy demand. Both units will run mainly on natural gas, but will have the ability to run on ultra-low-sulfur distillate fuel oil as a backup, ensuring fuel diversity and reliability.

Tennessee Valley Authority and DuPont to Continue Cogeneration Partnership at Johnsonville

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and DuPont partnered to generate power and steam at TVA's Johnsonville site in Humphreys County, Tenn. The two companies recently agreed on a plan to convert an existing, limited-use combustion turbine at Johnsonville into a highly efficient combined heat and power, or CHP, plant. With TVA retiring the last four coal-fired units at Johnsonville by the end of 2017 under its clean-air agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, a new steam source had to be found.

Siemens, Bechtel Lands Contract for Stonewall Energy Project in Virginia

Siemens, in consortium with Bechtel, was awarded the order for the turnkey supply for Panda Power Funds' Sto­­newall Energy Project in Leesburg, Virginia. The natural-gas-fired Leesburg CCPP will have a gross installed electrical capacity of 778 MW. Commissioning of the plant is scheduled for spring 2017.

Xcel Energy to Close Coal-fired Generation at Black Dog Plant in 2015

Xcel Energy notified Minnesota regulators and MISO of its intent to stop generating electricity with coal at its Black Dog plant in Burnsville in April 2015, due to changing environmental regulations. The notification is the last step in a multi-year resource planning process. Black Dog's two coal units currently generate 232 MW of electricity. The company will continue to operate the 300-MW natural gas unit located at the Black Dog site. The coal units' retirement will trigger a multi-year decommissioning project.

Toshiba Concludes a MOU with Ethiopian Electric Power on Geothermal Power Generation

Toshiba concluded a MOU with Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) on a comprehensive partnership in geothermal power to collaborate in power generation projects and personnel development. EEP, a publicly owned utility, engages in the development of geothermal resources and the construction of power plants. Through the partnership with EEP, Toshiba will draw on its experience in geothermal systems to develop and manufacture major equipment, create operation and management guidelines, cooperate in personnel development, and start a waste heat utilization business.

Siemens Delivers Steam Turbine-Generator Sets and I&C Components to India

Siemens Energy will supply high-efficiency steam turbine-generator sets with associated instrumentation & control components to power plant projects for Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL), Siemens' licensed partner in India. The machines are destined for the coal-fired units of the North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Project (STPP) and for IB Thermal Power Station Banharpalli. These turbine generators deliver a combined installed electrical generating capacity of over 3,300 MW.

Feds Give SMUD 50-year License for Hydroelectric Projects on American River

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District obtained a 50-year renewal to operate its hydroelectric projects on the upper American River. The utility operates 11 reservoirs and eight powerhouses in the upper American, which generate 688 MW of electricity, representing about 15 percent of SMUD’s annual power. Part of the new license from FERC calls for SMUD to make some changes. The utility will make several recreational upgrades to reservoirs and it will increase the volume of water it releases into streams.

B&W Awarded Contract for Dominican Republic Coal-Fired Boiler Project

Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group (B&W PGG) was awarded a contract to design and manufacture two coal-fired boilers to be installed in the Punta Catalina Power Plant for Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Eléctricas Estatales (CDEEE) in the Dominican Republic. The contract, booked in the second quarter of 2014, was awarded by Italian engineering and procurement contractor Tecnimont S.p.A, which is developing the project as part of a consortium which includes Tecnimont, Constructora Norberto Odebrecht S.A. and Ingeniera Estrella S.r.l.

FERC Actions Support Expansion of Real-Time Market in the West

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) and PacifiCorp announced that tariff amendments to expand the ISO's real-time energy scheduling market across multiple states in the West was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The new market, known as the energy imbalance market (EIM), is expected to increase resource efficiency, reduce costs and more effectively use renewable and conventional resources.

Pacific Future Energy Announces $10-Billion Bitumen Refinery Project for B.C. North Coast

Pacific Future Energy plans to build and operate the world's greenest refinery on British Columbia's north coast. The $10 billion refinery is being designed to be built in modules, each processing 200,000 barrels of bitumen per day. The bitumen will be converted into gasoline, diesel, kerosene and other distillates. When all of the project modules are complete, the facility will process up to 1,000,000 barrels per day, starting with the first phase of 200,000 barrels per day.