Ohio's Coal-Fired Power Plants Shutting Down, but More Capacity in the Pipeline

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Three coal-fired power plants in Ohio, with a combined capacity of 1,400 megawatts (MW), are scheduled to close this year and in 2015. But several new projects are under consideration that would more than replace the lost capacity. Last month, Industrial Info published a series of articles looking at the coal-fired plant profiles of nine states opposing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan.

The three coal-fired power plants that are scheduled to close include:

• Eastlake Power Station; owned by Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (Brecksville, Ohio), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) (Akron, Ohio); 400-MW capacity; first operational in 1953; closing October 2014.
• Lake Shore Power Station; owned by FirstEnergy Corporation; 256-MW capacity; first operation in 1941; closing in April 2015.
• Avon Lake Power Station; owned by NRG Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NRG) (Princeton, New Jersey) Incorporated; 808-MW capacity; first operation in 1947; closing in April 2015.

There are several new electricity generation projects under consideration, which would more than replace that lost capacity. Some of these projects are more likely to go ahead than others.

Combined-Cycle Project On Track
The Ohio Power Siting Board has given conditional approval to Carroll County Energy (Carrollton, Ohio) for the construction of a 700-MW, natural gas-fired, combined-cycle power plant. The plant will consist of two 210-MW General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) combustion turbine generators, which are equipped with heat-recovery steam generators (HRSGs) and a 280-MW steam turbine. The plant would run on natural gas from the Interstate Tennessee Gas Pipeline. This single project, worth an estimated $800 million, would replace about half of the generation capacity that will be lost with the closure of the three coal-fired plants.

View Project Report - 300126322

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) Starts and Stops Construction
Another Ohio project has looked less than certain-the Lima Energy Power Station. Lima Energy Company, a subsidiary of USA Synthetic Fuel Corporation (Washington, D.C.) acquired the 63-acre project site from the City of Lima in 2012, but the original idea for the project dates back to 1998. In the past 16 years, the project has changed location and even began construction in 2005, only to be halted due to incomplete funding. The plan now is for construction to resume and eventually produce 600 MW of electricity by burning syngas, which is produced from the gasification of petroleum coke coal.

View Project Report - 10002286

IGCC projects have not had an easy path to market, and many have been cancelled over the years. For more information, see October 30, 2013, article - IGCC Plants: So Far, Perils and Problems Exceed Potential and Promise; July 10, 2014, article - Nine States Join Lawsuit Opposing EPA Carbon Rules; and July 24, 2014, article - Ohio: Part Four of Coal-Fired Profiles of Nine States Suing EPA Over Clean Power Plan.

Industrial Info's North American Industrial Project Database shows about $11 billion in power projects being planned in Ohio, but not all of these are new generation projects. There are several maintenance projects, as well as refurbishments, environmental projects and modernizations. An upcoming article will look at more of the projects under consideration in Ohio. Customers should consult the Industrial Info Power Project Database for more information.

If your company is developing a power project that you think 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.