U.S. Natural Gas-Fired Plants Prep for 200+ 2Q Maintenance Projects After Rough Period

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Generators of natural gas-fired power across the U.S. gained a clearer perspective on their short-term and long-term challenges over the past two months, as Winter Storm Uri temporarily knocked out units, and a growing number of customers are demanding a bigger role for renewables. But utilities continue to see value in natural gas, with many coupling the preservation of existing units with the development of "green" sources. Industrial Info is tracking more than 200 maintenance-related projects at gas-fired plants across the U.S. that are set to begin in the second quarter.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing gas-fired maintenance projects that are set to kick off from April through June, by U.S. state.

NRG Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NRG) (Princeton, New Jersey) is preparing for outages in the Houston-Gulf Coast area of Texas, including the natural gas-fired, combined-cycle (NGCC) Unit 4 at its Cedar Bayou Power Station in Baytown, which generates 560 megawatts (MW) from a pair of combustion turbines and a steam turbine, all provided by Siemens AG (Munich, Germany). For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

NRG also is preparing for a 56-day outage on Unit 34 at the T.H. Wharton Power Station in Houston, which generates 54 MW from a General Electric (NYSE:GE) combustion turbine. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Although gas-fired generation saw the most significant decline in output across Texas during last month's Winter Storm Uri, which caused days of blackouts across the state, NRG officials recently said the effect on the company's financial standing will be minimal. "Our generation portfolio performed at roughly 80% capacity factor on average," said Chief Executive Officer Mauricio Gutierrez in a recent earnings-related conference call. Gutierrez acknowledged that the company "suffered our share of unit specific and system-related problems that will be part of our root-cause analysis."

"The strategy of diversified supply seems to have held together pretty well," said Chris Moser, the executive vice president of operations for NRG, in the call. "As we saw the forecast get colder and colder, we brought more generation out of seasonal lay-up and we bought more power from the market." He also said the company used its gas storage and transportation contracts to keep many of its gas units operational.

Also in Texas, Calpine Corporation (Houston, Texas) is preparing for a 45-day outage on NGCC Block No. 2 at its Freestone Energy Center in Fairfield, and a 17-day outage on its NGCC Bosque Energy Center in Clifton. The 512-MW Freestone Block No. 2 and the 1,608-MW Bosque plant feature a series of combustion turbines and steam turbines from GE. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Freestone and Bosque projects.

California has been more aggressive than any other U.S. state in rolling back its use of fossil fuels in energy generation, with NRG recently opting to retire about 840 MW of aging gas-fired generation within the state. But the State Water Resources Control Board last September extended the lives of four other aging gas plants, citing concerns that the state could see a shortfall in electricity capacity this summer. Silicon Valley Power, which is owned and operated by the City of Santa Clara, is preparing for a 45-day outage next month on the NGCC Unit 1 at the Donald Von Raesfeld Power Station in Santa Clara. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Generators in less heavily populated areas across the country are preparing for second-quarter maintenance as well:

• San Diego Gas & Electric Company, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) (San Diego, California), plans to take the 540-MW, NGCC Unit 1 at the Desert Star Energy Center in Boulder City, Nevada, offline for 41 days; see project report.
• Tyr Energy Incorporated (Overland Park, Kansas) plans to take the 280-MW, NGCC Unit 1 at the Rathdrum Power Station in Rathdrum, Idaho, offline for 24 days; see project report.
• Capital Power Corporation (Edmonton, Alberta) plans to take the 604-MW, NGCC Block 1 at the Arlington Valley Energy Facility in Arlington, Arizona, offline for 21 days; see project report.
• Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (Little Rock, Arkansas) plans to take the 810-MW, NGCC Unit 1 at the Magnet Cove Generating Station in Malvern, Arkansas, offline for 35 days; see project report.

Although the overall volume of gas in U.S. storage fell below its five-year average during Winter Storm Uri, gas producers and analysts say that enough gas was burned during the cold snap to likely keep prices from crashing when furnaces are shut off in spring, according to Seeking Alpha.

Click here for a full list of gas-fired maintenance projects that are set to kick off from April through June across the U.S.

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/.