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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Groundbreaking for Massachusetts' largest gas-fired power plant project took place earlier this summer, capping a long and controversial development process. The Salem Harbor Power Station, developed by Footprint Power (Bridgewater, New Jersey), is a 674-megawatt (MW), combined-cycle plant with total investment value (TIV) of about $750 million. It will be built next to a shuttered coal-fired power plant of the same name that is being demolished.
The new generator is scheduled to begin operating in mid-2017. For more on the lengthy development process and unusual pledge developers made for the Salem Harbor Power Station, see February 20, 2015, article - Footprint Power Secures Financing for Unusual NGCC in Massachusetts.
Iberdrola Engineering & Construction (San Diego, California), part of the Iberdrola group (Bilbao, Spain), is providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to the Footprint plant. WorleyParsons Limited (North Sydney, Australia) is providing engineering services while General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) will supply two 7FA.05 combustion turbines, two duct-fired heat recovery steam generators, two A14 steam turbines, and one H26 hydrogen-cooled generator.
Salem Harbor is one of three grassroot gas-fired power projects being developed in the Bay State. The other two--a 431-MW project from Calpine Corporation (NYSE:CPN) (Houston, Texas) and a 350-MW project from Brockton Power LLC (Boston, Massachusetts)--are scheduled to begin construction in September 2016. Two other stations in the state have unit additions planned to kick off next year. All told, these gas-fired power plant projects will add about 2,188 MW of generation to the state.
New generation is important because Massachusetts' electric demand is growing, and five proposed gas-fired power projects in that state totaling 1,227 MW have been cancelled or placed on hold in recent years. The TIV of those plants is $991 million. In addition, at least 1,869 MW of generation in the state has been shuttered since 2007. That sum includes the old 806-MW, coal-fired Salem Harbor Power Station. For more on the tight electric supply-demand balance in New England, see June 16, 2015, article - Summer Power Demand May Strain New England.
"As we begin a new era of cleaner energy and economic development in the region, we feel fortunate to be rooted in Salem," said Peter Furniss, chief executive at Footprint Power, at a June 2 groundbreaking for the new Salem Harbor plant. "We have always done our best to honor Salem and the North Shore by being transparent and engaged throughout this process."
At the groundbreaking, Scott Silverstein, Footprint's president and chief operating officer, added: "If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a commonwealth to build a power plant. There's no better evidence to that fact than those of you who are gathered here today."
"Footprint Power will ensure the reliability of our electrical supply and also significantly reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions for the area," said Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll in a statement. "It offers a cleaner, greener, more efficient, necessary power supply to our community and our region. And it is also the cornerstone for redeveloping our waterfront into a 21st century economic engine." One day, she said, "cruise ships, not coal ships," could steam into Salem Harbor.
Footprint Power's leaders have committed to lowering the plant's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for each year it operates after 2025, to help Massachusetts comply with tough climate-change legislation it passed in 2008. That law requires Massachusetts to lower CO2 emissions by at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
To stay under its falling CO2 emissions cap, Footprint Power could limit the plant's hours of operations, install equipment to capture CO2 emissions, or invest in renewable energy to offset the plant's CO2 emissions. The agreement to lower CO2 emissions becomes effective after 2025, less than a decade into the plant's operating life. And, as part of a legal settlement with environmental organizations, Footprint Power agreed to cease operations at Salem Harbor in 2050, after only 33 years in operation, CEO Furniss told Industrial Info.
"It's good to see new power plant construction taking place in Massachusetts, because the New England power market is right on the knife's edge," said Brock Ramey, Industrial Info's North American power specialist. "Electricity prices in that region have spiked in recent years during really hot summers or really cold winters. The region's reserve margin has shrunk, and the room for unplanned outages is essentially zero. It takes a long time to build new generation or site new transmission projects, and we're glad construction of the Footprint Power project has begun."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five 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.
The new generator is scheduled to begin operating in mid-2017. For more on the lengthy development process and unusual pledge developers made for the Salem Harbor Power Station, see February 20, 2015, article - Footprint Power Secures Financing for Unusual NGCC in Massachusetts.
Iberdrola Engineering & Construction (San Diego, California), part of the Iberdrola group (Bilbao, Spain), is providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to the Footprint plant. WorleyParsons Limited (North Sydney, Australia) is providing engineering services while General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) will supply two 7FA.05 combustion turbines, two duct-fired heat recovery steam generators, two A14 steam turbines, and one H26 hydrogen-cooled generator.
Salem Harbor is one of three grassroot gas-fired power projects being developed in the Bay State. The other two--a 431-MW project from Calpine Corporation (NYSE:CPN) (Houston, Texas) and a 350-MW project from Brockton Power LLC (Boston, Massachusetts)--are scheduled to begin construction in September 2016. Two other stations in the state have unit additions planned to kick off next year. All told, these gas-fired power plant projects will add about 2,188 MW of generation to the state.
New generation is important because Massachusetts' electric demand is growing, and five proposed gas-fired power projects in that state totaling 1,227 MW have been cancelled or placed on hold in recent years. The TIV of those plants is $991 million. In addition, at least 1,869 MW of generation in the state has been shuttered since 2007. That sum includes the old 806-MW, coal-fired Salem Harbor Power Station. For more on the tight electric supply-demand balance in New England, see June 16, 2015, article - Summer Power Demand May Strain New England.
"As we begin a new era of cleaner energy and economic development in the region, we feel fortunate to be rooted in Salem," said Peter Furniss, chief executive at Footprint Power, at a June 2 groundbreaking for the new Salem Harbor plant. "We have always done our best to honor Salem and the North Shore by being transparent and engaged throughout this process."
At the groundbreaking, Scott Silverstein, Footprint's president and chief operating officer, added: "If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a commonwealth to build a power plant. There's no better evidence to that fact than those of you who are gathered here today."
"Footprint Power will ensure the reliability of our electrical supply and also significantly reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions for the area," said Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll in a statement. "It offers a cleaner, greener, more efficient, necessary power supply to our community and our region. And it is also the cornerstone for redeveloping our waterfront into a 21st century economic engine." One day, she said, "cruise ships, not coal ships," could steam into Salem Harbor.
Footprint Power's leaders have committed to lowering the plant's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for each year it operates after 2025, to help Massachusetts comply with tough climate-change legislation it passed in 2008. That law requires Massachusetts to lower CO2 emissions by at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
To stay under its falling CO2 emissions cap, Footprint Power could limit the plant's hours of operations, install equipment to capture CO2 emissions, or invest in renewable energy to offset the plant's CO2 emissions. The agreement to lower CO2 emissions becomes effective after 2025, less than a decade into the plant's operating life. And, as part of a legal settlement with environmental organizations, Footprint Power agreed to cease operations at Salem Harbor in 2050, after only 33 years in operation, CEO Furniss told Industrial Info.
"It's good to see new power plant construction taking place in Massachusetts, because the New England power market is right on the knife's edge," said Brock Ramey, Industrial Info's North American power specialist. "Electricity prices in that region have spiked in recent years during really hot summers or really cold winters. The region's reserve margin has shrunk, and the room for unplanned outages is essentially zero. It takes a long time to build new generation or site new transmission projects, and we're glad construction of the Footprint Power project has begun."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five 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.
