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Released May 12, 2021 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) in late-March announced plans to build a 690-megawatt (MW) solar power plant next to its closed Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa. A few weeks later, Xcel Energy Incorporated (NASDAQ:XEL) (Minneapolis, Minnesota) said it was partnering with National Grid Renewables (Bloomington, Minnesota) to build a 460-MW solar power plant on the site of its soon-to-be closed Sherco coal-fired power plant in Minnesota.
A trend appears to be taking shape, driven by the declining economics of generating electricity from uranium and coal, improving economics of renewable generation, an energy industry transitioning to low- or no-carbon generating options and, perhaps most importantly, access to transmission lines and the ability to fast-track a project through the queue maintained by the independent transmission operators like Midcontinent Independent System Organization (Carmel, Indiana).
"There are a lot of factors driving the site-location process for new renewable energy," commented Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the global Power industry. "You need large plots of land to site utility-scale solar or wind projects. It makes sense to build them as brownfield projects, on land already owned by a utility on which a closed or soon-to-be-closed power plant already exists. Critically, building renewable projects on top of or adjacent to existing generation allows the developer to utilize existing transmission lines. That keeps them out of the MISO project queue, which has a years-long delay in reviewing proposed projects. Lengthy delays like that could undermine the economics of a proposed renewable energy project."
NextEra wants to build the 690-MW Duane Arnold Photovoltaic Plant in land surrounding the now-closed nuclear power plant of the same name. NextEra, the owner of the closed nuclear plant, had plans to close it last October, but a severe storm last August caused so much damage that NextEra decided not to repair and reopen it. Instead, it proposed to build, in three phases, solar generation, accompanied by a 60-MW battery energy storage system (BESS). The total cost for the generation and storage is expected to be about $780 million. NextEra hopes to begin construction later this year, and all projects will be operating by 2023.
The company has not applied for a permit with Linn County as yet. When it does, NextEra will likely encounter local opposition. A group of landowners have created a private Facebook page that has about 700 members. They have complained that NextEra has not provided them with enough information about the plan. Some are committed to keeping what they call "industrial-scale solar" out of residential and agricultural communities.
An Iowa TV station, KCRG-TV9, quoted NextEra Director of Communications Bryan Garner, as saying: "We've gotten a lot of enthusiasm so far and these are private lease agreements with landowners. In many cases, these lease agreements allow them to enhance their incomes so they can invest that money elsewhere in their farm, their family business."
NextEra created a website and Facebook page on the Duane Arnold Solar Project.
Citing COVID-19 concerns, the company had asked the Iowa Utilities Board (Des Moines, Iowa) to hold a closed-door hearing on its request to build the solar-and-storage complex. The board granted the request. But matters are expected to heat up in the coming weeks as the company will have to go before a Linn County board for land use permits.
In next-door Minnesota, Xcel Energy and National Grid Renewables (formerly known as Geronimo Energy), last month announced plans to build the 460-MW, $575 million Becker Sherco PV Plant on the site of its Sherburne County Power Station, a three-unit, 2,190-MW coal-fired power station. Xcel has plans to close the facility in phases over the next few years. Construction on the solar facility is expected to start in mid-2022, with the start of operations by mid-2024.
A news article in E&E News quoted Brian Ross, a vice president at the nonprofit Great Plains Institute, as saying "The primary thing that drives solar development right now, and actually even some wind development, is the interconnection point. And this is something we're going to continue to see, because we're going to continue to see coal plants shut down."
MISO still needs to approve any repurposing of existing transmission rights, but that process is expected to take much less time than seeking approval of a grassroot transmission project, Ross added.
Chris Clark, president of Xcel's Midwestern utilities, told E&E News that several factors influenced the decision of where to locate the solar project. State regulators' requests for clean energy investments that could restart the state's economy was one factor. For more on that, see July 15, 2020, article - Xcel Energy Wants to Accelerate $3 Billion Spend.
But the ability to site the solar project on the Sherburne County Power Station grounds allowed it to use the utility's 700-MW of transmission rights. "Being able to take advantage of the interconnection, obviously, that's an asset that we want to reuse to benefit our customers," Clark said. "It also allows us to move quickly [to] be able to bring this solar energy online ... and matches up well with our desire to continue to work with the host community of Becker and Sherburne County."
While the Duane Arnold and Sherco solar projects may be the first renewable energy projects that are planned to be built on or near-closed nuclear or coal power plants, they are unlikely to be the last. In MISO alone, the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) (Omaha, Nebraska) closed the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant in Blair, Nebraska, in 2019. Dominion Energy Incorporated (NYSE:D) (Richmond, Virginia) closed Wisconsin's Kewaunee Nuclear Power Station in 2013. The Zion Nuclear Station in Illinois has been closed for some time. And perennially transmission-constrained and gas pipeline-constrained New York and New England have several closed nuclear stations, including: Indian Point (New York), Maine Yankee (Maine), Oyster Creek (New Jersey), Pilgrim (Massachusetts), Vermont Yankee (Vermont) and Yankee Atomic (Massachusetts).
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
A trend appears to be taking shape, driven by the declining economics of generating electricity from uranium and coal, improving economics of renewable generation, an energy industry transitioning to low- or no-carbon generating options and, perhaps most importantly, access to transmission lines and the ability to fast-track a project through the queue maintained by the independent transmission operators like Midcontinent Independent System Organization (Carmel, Indiana).
"There are a lot of factors driving the site-location process for new renewable energy," commented Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the global Power industry. "You need large plots of land to site utility-scale solar or wind projects. It makes sense to build them as brownfield projects, on land already owned by a utility on which a closed or soon-to-be-closed power plant already exists. Critically, building renewable projects on top of or adjacent to existing generation allows the developer to utilize existing transmission lines. That keeps them out of the MISO project queue, which has a years-long delay in reviewing proposed projects. Lengthy delays like that could undermine the economics of a proposed renewable energy project."
NextEra wants to build the 690-MW Duane Arnold Photovoltaic Plant in land surrounding the now-closed nuclear power plant of the same name. NextEra, the owner of the closed nuclear plant, had plans to close it last October, but a severe storm last August caused so much damage that NextEra decided not to repair and reopen it. Instead, it proposed to build, in three phases, solar generation, accompanied by a 60-MW battery energy storage system (BESS). The total cost for the generation and storage is expected to be about $780 million. NextEra hopes to begin construction later this year, and all projects will be operating by 2023.
The company has not applied for a permit with Linn County as yet. When it does, NextEra will likely encounter local opposition. A group of landowners have created a private Facebook page that has about 700 members. They have complained that NextEra has not provided them with enough information about the plan. Some are committed to keeping what they call "industrial-scale solar" out of residential and agricultural communities.
An Iowa TV station, KCRG-TV9, quoted NextEra Director of Communications Bryan Garner, as saying: "We've gotten a lot of enthusiasm so far and these are private lease agreements with landowners. In many cases, these lease agreements allow them to enhance their incomes so they can invest that money elsewhere in their farm, their family business."
NextEra created a website and Facebook page on the Duane Arnold Solar Project.
Citing COVID-19 concerns, the company had asked the Iowa Utilities Board (Des Moines, Iowa) to hold a closed-door hearing on its request to build the solar-and-storage complex. The board granted the request. But matters are expected to heat up in the coming weeks as the company will have to go before a Linn County board for land use permits.
In next-door Minnesota, Xcel Energy and National Grid Renewables (formerly known as Geronimo Energy), last month announced plans to build the 460-MW, $575 million Becker Sherco PV Plant on the site of its Sherburne County Power Station, a three-unit, 2,190-MW coal-fired power station. Xcel has plans to close the facility in phases over the next few years. Construction on the solar facility is expected to start in mid-2022, with the start of operations by mid-2024.
A news article in E&E News quoted Brian Ross, a vice president at the nonprofit Great Plains Institute, as saying "The primary thing that drives solar development right now, and actually even some wind development, is the interconnection point. And this is something we're going to continue to see, because we're going to continue to see coal plants shut down."
MISO still needs to approve any repurposing of existing transmission rights, but that process is expected to take much less time than seeking approval of a grassroot transmission project, Ross added.
Chris Clark, president of Xcel's Midwestern utilities, told E&E News that several factors influenced the decision of where to locate the solar project. State regulators' requests for clean energy investments that could restart the state's economy was one factor. For more on that, see July 15, 2020, article - Xcel Energy Wants to Accelerate $3 Billion Spend.
But the ability to site the solar project on the Sherburne County Power Station grounds allowed it to use the utility's 700-MW of transmission rights. "Being able to take advantage of the interconnection, obviously, that's an asset that we want to reuse to benefit our customers," Clark said. "It also allows us to move quickly [to] be able to bring this solar energy online ... and matches up well with our desire to continue to work with the host community of Becker and Sherburne County."
While the Duane Arnold and Sherco solar projects may be the first renewable energy projects that are planned to be built on or near-closed nuclear or coal power plants, they are unlikely to be the last. In MISO alone, the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) (Omaha, Nebraska) closed the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant in Blair, Nebraska, in 2019. Dominion Energy Incorporated (NYSE:D) (Richmond, Virginia) closed Wisconsin's Kewaunee Nuclear Power Station in 2013. The Zion Nuclear Station in Illinois has been closed for some time. And perennially transmission-constrained and gas pipeline-constrained New York and New England have several closed nuclear stations, including: Indian Point (New York), Maine Yankee (Maine), Oyster Creek (New Jersey), Pilgrim (Massachusetts), Vermont Yankee (Vermont) and Yankee Atomic (Massachusetts).
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
