Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 2 related projects in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 5 related plants in PECWeb
Released September 06, 2022 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The late-August decision by Ameren (NYSE:AEE) (St. Louis, Missouri) to postpone the retirement of about 1,195 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired generating capacity is the latest example of asset owners postponing scheduled retirements, either for reliability reasons, supply-chain snafus or because the generation is needed to keep the lights on.
September 1 was scheduled to be the retirement day for Ameren's Rush Island Power Station, a two-unit plant that began operating in the mid-1970s. Six months ago, Ameren told the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) (Carmel, Indiana) that it planned to suspend operations at the 1,195-MW Rush Island plant, located in Festus, Missouri. But recently, MISO told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that the plant needed to continue operating to ensure adequate reliability in the MISO market. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
Before Rush Island units 1 and 2 could be taken offline, significant upgrades would need to be made to the transmission and distribution system, according to news reports. These upgrades include four major transmission projects, which cannot be accomplished before June 1, 2025. And that in-service date assumes Missouri utility regulators greenlight the projects, which they have not as of yet.
A similar story is playing out at other coal-fired power stations across the U.S.
WE Energies (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), a unit of WEC Energy Group Incorporated (NYSE:WEC) (Milwaukee), earlier this year postponed the retirement of about 1,100 MW of coal-fired generation capacity still operating at the Oak Creek Power Station, located in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Those units were scheduled to close this year. They came online in phases between 1959 and 1967. The new plan is to retire those units in 2024 and 2025. Subscribers can click here for the plant profile.
Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) (Omaha, Nebraska) this past June decided to delay the coal-to-gas fuel conversion at units 4 and 5 of its North Omaha Power Station, as well as push back the retirement of units 1, 2 and 3, which are fueled primarily by natural gas, for several years. All of those units came online in the 1950s and 1960s. The original plan was to make those changes by the end of 2023. Click here for the North Omaha plant profile.
The Omaha utility is delaying the changes at North Omaha until its new natural gas-fired generation stations, Standing Bear Lake and Turtle Creek, are interconnected to the Southwest Power Pool. However, in a June statement OPPD blamed "unforeseen delays with grid interconnection regulatory approvals for those projects," and projected the two new gas-fired stations would be up and running by 2026. Subscribers can see project reports on the Standing Bear Lake and Turtle Creek projects, and here for the related plant profiles.
Other utilities, including two in Indiana--Northern Indiana Public Service Company (Merrillville, Indiana) and CenterPoint Energy Indiana South--have delayed retirement dates for coal-fired power plants they own.
"It's too soon to say this is a national trend, but we have noticed an ever-lengthening interconnection queue for new generation at regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs)," said Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Global Power Industry. "Until those grid operators find a way to shorten the process to add new generating resources, however they are powered, to the grid, I expect we'll continue to see delayed retirement dates for smaller, older, less-efficient power plants, whether powered by coal or natural gas."
Across the U.S. and Canada, approximately 115,000 MW of coal-fired generation capacity has been closed since 2011, and Industrial Info is projecting an additional 44,000 MW will be retired by yearend 2025.
Click on the image at right to see a graphic on coal-fired generator retirements.
"Aside from interconnection delays in connecting new generation to the grid, electric reliability and supply-chain bottlenecks are the other reasons operators give for delaying the retirement of coal units," Burt continued. "Supply-chain bottlenecks have hit the new-build solar industry particularly hard, and we are hearing that building and delivering a new transformer can take as long as two or three years."
"The generation and transmission systems are separate but tightly interwoven systems, where a problem or delay in one area will make itself felt in other areas," he continued.
Recently, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that less than half of all planned U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) generation that developers planned to bring online during the first half of the year has actually come online. In most cases, the agency said, delays are for six months or less.
The EIA said "various factors could cause (solar PV) delays, including broad economic factors, such as supply chain constraints, labor shortages, and high prices of components, and factors specific to electric generator projects, such as obtaining permits or testing equipment."
"The Power industry has long relied on a diverse fuel mix, and it has served the industry well for over a century," Burt commented. "But when the entire industry tries to decarbonize by closing coal plants, rushing to build renewables, and reducing dramatically the number of planned new-build gas plants, one hiccup in one part of the industry will soon be felt everywhere."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
September 1 was scheduled to be the retirement day for Ameren's Rush Island Power Station, a two-unit plant that began operating in the mid-1970s. Six months ago, Ameren told the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) (Carmel, Indiana) that it planned to suspend operations at the 1,195-MW Rush Island plant, located in Festus, Missouri. But recently, MISO told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that the plant needed to continue operating to ensure adequate reliability in the MISO market. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
Before Rush Island units 1 and 2 could be taken offline, significant upgrades would need to be made to the transmission and distribution system, according to news reports. These upgrades include four major transmission projects, which cannot be accomplished before June 1, 2025. And that in-service date assumes Missouri utility regulators greenlight the projects, which they have not as of yet.
A similar story is playing out at other coal-fired power stations across the U.S.
WE Energies (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), a unit of WEC Energy Group Incorporated (NYSE:WEC) (Milwaukee), earlier this year postponed the retirement of about 1,100 MW of coal-fired generation capacity still operating at the Oak Creek Power Station, located in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Those units were scheduled to close this year. They came online in phases between 1959 and 1967. The new plan is to retire those units in 2024 and 2025. Subscribers can click here for the plant profile.
Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) (Omaha, Nebraska) this past June decided to delay the coal-to-gas fuel conversion at units 4 and 5 of its North Omaha Power Station, as well as push back the retirement of units 1, 2 and 3, which are fueled primarily by natural gas, for several years. All of those units came online in the 1950s and 1960s. The original plan was to make those changes by the end of 2023. Click here for the North Omaha plant profile.
The Omaha utility is delaying the changes at North Omaha until its new natural gas-fired generation stations, Standing Bear Lake and Turtle Creek, are interconnected to the Southwest Power Pool. However, in a June statement OPPD blamed "unforeseen delays with grid interconnection regulatory approvals for those projects," and projected the two new gas-fired stations would be up and running by 2026. Subscribers can see project reports on the Standing Bear Lake and Turtle Creek projects, and here for the related plant profiles.
Other utilities, including two in Indiana--Northern Indiana Public Service Company (Merrillville, Indiana) and CenterPoint Energy Indiana South--have delayed retirement dates for coal-fired power plants they own.
"It's too soon to say this is a national trend, but we have noticed an ever-lengthening interconnection queue for new generation at regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs)," said Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Global Power Industry. "Until those grid operators find a way to shorten the process to add new generating resources, however they are powered, to the grid, I expect we'll continue to see delayed retirement dates for smaller, older, less-efficient power plants, whether powered by coal or natural gas."
Across the U.S. and Canada, approximately 115,000 MW of coal-fired generation capacity has been closed since 2011, and Industrial Info is projecting an additional 44,000 MW will be retired by yearend 2025.
Click on the image at right to see a graphic on coal-fired generator retirements."Aside from interconnection delays in connecting new generation to the grid, electric reliability and supply-chain bottlenecks are the other reasons operators give for delaying the retirement of coal units," Burt continued. "Supply-chain bottlenecks have hit the new-build solar industry particularly hard, and we are hearing that building and delivering a new transformer can take as long as two or three years."
"The generation and transmission systems are separate but tightly interwoven systems, where a problem or delay in one area will make itself felt in other areas," he continued.
Recently, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that less than half of all planned U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) generation that developers planned to bring online during the first half of the year has actually come online. In most cases, the agency said, delays are for six months or less.
The EIA said "various factors could cause (solar PV) delays, including broad economic factors, such as supply chain constraints, labor shortages, and high prices of components, and factors specific to electric generator projects, such as obtaining permits or testing equipment."
"The Power industry has long relied on a diverse fuel mix, and it has served the industry well for over a century," Burt commented. "But when the entire industry tries to decarbonize by closing coal plants, rushing to build renewables, and reducing dramatically the number of planned new-build gas plants, one hiccup in one part of the industry will soon be felt everywhere."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
