U.S. Coal-Fired Plants See Decline in Maintenance Turnarounds

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Maintenance projects at coal-fired power plants in the U.S. have declined over the past few years, according to the Industrial Info's outage database, as unit run-time hours have dropped off. This trend is likely to continue. Maintenance personnel and subcontractors typically look at all major components of a unit, including the boiler, generator, balance-of-plant equipment and operational systems, when the unit is offline.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing maintenance outages at U.S. coal-fired power plants since 2013.

Over that past few years, many older coal-fired plants have closed or have converted to low-cost natural gas. Newer plants have installed the latest emission controls equipment, which has saved thousands of jobs and extended the plants' economic life.

In addition to facility closures, the drop off in planned maintenance can be attributed to fewer plants running at base-load hours; many shutting down in the spring and fall due to low load growth; and stronger competition from natural gas-fired and renewable generation. Weaker electrical demand from consumers--even as the economy has expanded--has reduced the need for all fuel types, but coal has been hit especially hard.

Big Rivers Electric Corporation (Centertown, Kentucky) is planning a major turbine overhaul next spring at the 440-megawatt (MW) D.B. Wilson power station in Centertown, Kentucky, while OG&E Energy Services (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is planning a major turbine overhaul next fall on a 572-MW unit at the Muskogee Generating Station near Fort Gibson, Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, Ameren Missouri (Moberly, Missouri) recently announced a commitment to adding 700 MW of wind generation and 100 MW of solar generation to Missouri by 2025, while retiring half of its coal-fired plants.

Xcel Energy (NYSE:XEL) (Minneapolis, Minnesota) recently announced a $2.5 billion investment in the Colorado Energy Plan, which would add up to 1,000 MW of wind, 700 MW of solar and 700 MW of natural gas generation. It also would shut down 660 MW of coal-fired generation at the Comanche Generating Station in Colorado by 2025.

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. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.