Alabama Power Generators Evaluate $7 Billion of New Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Power generators are developing about $7 billion in potential new power generation projects in Alabama, according to Industrial Info's North American Industrial Project Database. This article highlights new generation projects only; for information on maintenance, refurbishments, environmental projects and modernizations, customers should consult the Industrial Info Project Database.

This article kicks off a new series highlighting power-generation projects that are still in the early stages of development. Last month, Industrial Info featured a series of articles looking at the coal-fired profiles of the nine states opposing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan. That series started with Alabama and ended with Oklahoma. This series will start with the nine states that were the focus of the previous series, and then move on to other states around the country.

For more information, see July 10, 2014, article - Nine States Join Lawsuit Opposing EPA Carbon Rules, and July 18, 2014, article - Alabama: Part One of Coal-Fired Profiles of Nine States Suing EPA Over Clean Power Plan.

Alabama Power Company (Birmingham, Alabama), a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia), owns and operates six of the nine coal-fired power plants in the state, but also generates 30% of its electricity from hydropower and nuclear energy. Alabama Power is also switching the primary fuel source at four units at Plant Gaston, which is near Wilsonville, from coal to natural gas. This fuel switch is not related to the EPA's Clean Power Plan; rather, it is to bring the plant into compliance with the EPA's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), which have led to the shutdown of many older coal-fired power plants.

The Gaston units will still have the ability to burn coal, but Alabama Power has said that this is not likely to happen unless there is an unexpected gas-supply emergency. Federal data shows that Alabama Power operates 13,600 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity: 8,000 MW from coal-fired units, 2,100 MW from gas, 1,700 MW from nuclear and 1,700 MW from hydro. The remaining 100 MW is from other renewable power sources, such as solar and wind.

View Project Report - 300088032

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Knoxville, Tennessee) has restarted and suspended work on the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant several times over the years, and Unit 1 is still under consideration. This project alone accounts for $4.9 billion of the total for Alabama.

View Project Report - 4001656

PowerSouth Energy Cooperative Incorporated (Andalusia, Alabama) is considering adding two duct-fired, natural-circulation, dual-pressure heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) and a steam turbine generator in a 2-on-1 combined-cycle configuration to increase capacity of units 4 and 5 at the McIntosh Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) & Peaking Station.

View Project Report - 300114087

The other projects of note in Alabama are both hydropower projects. Hydro Green Energy (Westmont, Illinois) is developing a 22-MW hydropower project at the Claiborne Lock & Dam on the Alabama River, near Monroeville. This project is unlikely to start before 2016, and has been in development for several years.

Hydropower projects are often very lengthy endeavors. The Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) (Montgomery, Alabama) has been studying the feasibility of constructing a hydroelectric generating plant at the George W. Andrews Lock and Dam on the Chattahoochee River for several years. An indication of the time it takes to develop these projects the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) approval of AMEA's preliminary permit in 2010.

View Project Report - 300134711 300137492

If your company is developing a power project that you feel deserves some extra attention feel free to contact Brock Ramey, North American Power Research Manager at Industrial Info.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 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.