An Ignoble Experiment

eBook | Creating A Scalable Enterprise

A new report from Southern California Edison (SCE) attempts to demonstrate that the utility's decision to permanently shut down the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in June was an appropriate cost-mitigation measure in light of the failure of the replacement steam generators supplied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

San Onofre State Beach. Credit: California.gov

"Once we decided to shut down SONGS due to the circumstances created by the failed replacement steam generators, we were able to significantly reduce costs," said SCE President Ron Litzinger. "…these cost savings were greater than the benefits that could have been achieved by continuing to work toward returning SONGS to service, given the uncertainty about if and when SONGS would have been allowed to restart."

While the cost of operating San Onofre was projected to be lower than the cost of buying power on the market, this benefit would decrease as restart was delayed. On the other hand, to continue to pursue restart, SCE would have been required to maintain personnel and systems in place. The longer that restart was delayed, the more the costs would have increased and the benefits decreased, SCE contends.

"SCE had hoped to restart SONGS," said Litzinger. "But in light of the significant delays it encountered in obtaining approval for restart, and the likelihood of additional delays, it no longer made sense to continue spending money to keep that option open. The economic analysis in this paper shows that our decision to shut down SONGS was economically prudent."

Last month, SCE filed a Request for Arbitration of the utility's claims against Mitsubishi in an attempt to recover all damages caused by Mitsubishi's failed replacement steam generator design.

For more:
- see this report

Read more about: Mitsubishi, SONGS
back to top

This week's sponsor is Windstream.

As enterprises capture and create data scaling up into petabytes and beyond, it’s not just a matter of adding a few more CPUs and disks. The storage may need to reside physically closer to the processing resources. Learn more today!

2. TVA retiring coal units

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Comment |

3. Energy efficiency still not sexy

The Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Board of Directors has approved a coal fleet plan that will retire eight coal units at three plant sites with more than 3,000 MW of combined generating capacity in an effort to further diversify TVA's power generating mix to keep pace with changing economic and regulatory conditions.

Stevenson, Alabama Historic District. Credit: C. Bedford Crenshaw/Wikimedia Commons

"This will support our focus on cleaner energy and bring additional, necessary balance into our portfolio for managing our current and projected load profile," TVA President and CEO Bill Johnson said.

The retirements affect all five coal units at the Colbert Fossil Plant in Tuscumbia, Ala.; one of two operating coal units at Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Stevenson, Ala.; and two of three coal units at the Paradise Fossil Plant near Central City, Ky. Paradise Unit 3, one of TVA's largest coal units, will continue to operate. A number of these units were already idled or scheduled for idling and/or retirement based on an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency.

TVA conducted detailed analyses including an Environmental Assessment to review options for meeting stricter air quality regulations at the Paradise plant, including installing additional emission controls on Units 1 and 2, building a new gas-fired generating plant at the site or taking no action. Based on that review, the board on Thursday approved the construction of a gas-fired plant at Paradise. This will result in an investment of approximately $1 billion at the site. The two coal units will be retired when the gas plant is available.

The new plan moves TVA toward a more balanced portfolio of about 40 percent nuclear, 20 percent coal, 20 percent gas and 20 percent hydro, renewables and energy efficiency to help TVA manage load growth and provide maximum flexibility.

Environmental groups are celebrating TVA's decision.

"TVA is making a responsible choice to retire coal plants that have become a huge liability...," said Earthjustice Vice President Abigail Dillen. "Coal plants cannot provide power that is either safe or affordable. Investing in clean energy is cheaper than controlling air and water pollution from these old plants, and there is no practical way to address the costs of climate change pollution from TVA's coal fleet."

For more:
- get the facts

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Comment |

4. Minnesota Power wins best wind project

Americans are not considering energy efficiency, even when they are already making home improvements.

Credit: Lyn Lomasi/Wikimedia Commons

New research from Shelton Group reveals that 26 percent of Americans say they prioritize energy-efficient home improvement over aesthetics but actual projects say something different. Projects planned for the near future indicate more kitchen and bath remodels than than for energy efficiency improvements like adding insulation or replacing HVAC units, according to the research. Even under a hypothetical scenario where respondents were given money for a home improvement project, homeowners consistently prioritized remodeling a kitchen or bathroom. Replacing windows, a project with both aesthetic and energy-efficient benefits, was consistently a second priority with HVAC or furnace replacements coming in third.

Although only 11 percent of respondents admitted that "making my home more beautiful" was their top priority, a later question intended to ensure honesty about home spending priorities revealed that 55 percent were likely to make non-energy efficiency improvements to their homes (e.g., kitchen or bathroom renovations, new carpet, tile or hardwood, etc.) in the near future -- significantly higher than the overall average likelihood (12 percent) for making energy-efficiency improvements in the same timeframe.

"One of the biggest barriers to making energy-efficient upgrades is a perception that it's just not worth it -- that the investment will not result in higher resale value for your home," said Suzanne Shelton, president and CEO of Shelton Group. "Yet Americans are sold on the idea that kitchen and bath remodels allow them to command a higher price. The challenge is convincing Americans that the same is true of energy-efficient upgrades."

A recent UC Berkeley/UCLA study of 1.6 million home transactions found that green labeling improved selling price. Controlling for all other factors, such as location, school district, crime rate, time period of sale, views and amenities, researchers found that the 4,321 homes sold with Energy Star, LEED or GreenPoint rated labels commanded an average price premium of 9 percent.

"Most homebuyers expect to make improvements, but they want to spend their money on 'sexy' improvements like paint and new countertops," said Shelton. "They do not want to upgrade the HVAC, add insulation or buy a new water heater…"

The primary barrier to homeowners' primary barrier to undertaking more energy-efficient improvements continues to be cost. When asked why they haven't done more to improve their homes, 44 percent said that "it would be expensive." "There are other renovations I want to do first" was the second most common answer, while 9 percent said "I'm not willing to replace things that are working fine."

New messaging directions to elicit stronger, more emotional responses -- rather than those messages that just encourage saving money -- should help homeowners see the benefits of prioritizing energy-efficient improvements, according to Shelton.

"Linking energy efficiency to home value is a powerful messaging strategy," said Shelton. "It seems we have work to do to convince homeowners that energy-efficient improvements are worth the investment…"

For more:
- see this report

Read more about: Energy Star, Shelton Group
back to top

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Comment |

5. PPL enters innovative infrastructure financing arrangement

Power Engineering magazine and RenewableEnergyWorld.com have named Minnesota Power's Bison Wind Energy Center near New Salem, N.D. the best wind project of the year, recognizing its excellence in design, construction and operation.

A new Bison wind turbine near New Salem, N.D. Credit: Business Wire

Minnesota Power was honored for phases 2 and 3 of the Bison project, whose capacity of 292 MW includes 85 state-of-the-art direct-drive 3 MW turbines. Bison's wind energy is delivered to customers using a repurposed direct current transmission line, originally built in the 1970s to send coal-based power from Center, North Dakota to Duluth, Minnesota.

"The renewable energy experts who voted the Bison project as the best wind project understood the interstate networking required, the creative asset swap that made transmission possible, and the innovation our people and partners demonstrated," said Al Hodnik, chairman, president and CEO of Allete Inc., the parent company of Minnesota Power. "Wind generation is a critical component in achieving our EnergyForward resource strategy of an energy mix that is one-third renewable, one-third coal and one-third natural gas as we help transform the nation's energy landscape."

The Bison project features a unique arrangement with Manitoba Hydro whereby wind energy from the Bison project can be stored in hydroelectric reserves in Canada, essentially providing a battery storage mechanism when wind is high or customer demand is low. Bison's wind blades also utilize patented technology that operates more quietly and efficiently.

"The renewable energy experts who voted the Bison project as the best wind project understood the interstate networking required, the creative asset swap that made transmission possible, and the innovation our people and partners demonstrated," said Al Hodnik, chairman, president and CEO of ALLETE Inc., the parent company of Minnesota Power. "Wind generation is a critical component in achieving our EnergyForward resource strategy of an energy mix that is one-third renewable, one-third coal and one-third natural gas as we help transform the nation's energy landscape."

In August, Minnesota Power announced it was moving ahead with phase 4 of the Bison project -- a 205 MW addition that will make it the largest wind farm in North Dakota at nearly 500 MW of capacity -- pending regulatory approval.

For more:
- get the facts

Related Article:
Bison's wind capacity factor exceeds 40 percent

Read more about: Allete, Bison wind
back to top

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Comment |