Electrical Generation

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    OVJA Exposed as Front for Murray Energy Blocking Gas-Fired Plants

    Enough is enough. It’s time to name names and put an end to blocking new gas-fired electric plants planned in West Virginia. WV has a long, proud history as a coal producer. According to West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney, some 95% of the electricity produced and used in the Mountain State comes from coal-fired plants. However, natural gas burns cleaner than coal, and frankly, natgas is now cheaper than coal. Yet WV still has not permitted or allowed a single new gas-fired plant to be constructed. Last year then-WV Sec. of Commerce Woody Thrasher observed that Ohio has built 19 new gas-fired power plants, and Pennsylvania has built 22 new gas-fired power plants, while WV has built NONE. Why not? Because of Robert Murray, CEO and founder of Murray Energy, one of the largest independent coal mine operators in the U.S. Bob Murray is using a front organization called Ohio Valley Jobs Alliance (OVJA) to file a blizzard of frivolous lawsuits that have kept all new gas-fired plant projects from being built in WV. Drew Dorn, Director of ESC Harrison County Power and President of Energy Solutions Consortium (the company that has filed to build several new gas-fired plants in WV), points out Murray’s hypocrisy on the shale issue, by saying: “Murray Energy is trying to kill thousands of jobs on these projects. Murray Energy has made huge amounts of money off of natural gas in rights-of-way and other means, but when it comes to West Virginia natural gas making electricity, the company is trying to achieve through the courts what it could not through the marketplace.” The gloves are now off and it’s time to fight back–to get gas-fired plants built in WV. It’s time to “out” Bob Murray for the obstructionist he has become, and to expose him for the economic damage he’s causing…
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    Surprise! NJ Issues Permits for Meadowlands Marcellus-Fired Plant

    MDN reported in April that a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi wants to build a huge, new $1.5 billion natural gas-fired electric generating plant in the Meadowlands (New Jersey), just outside of New York City (see Marcellus Electric Plant Proposed for Meadowlands to Power NYC). The North Bergen Liberty Generating Project, at 1,200 megawatts, will help replace some of the electricity lost when the Indian Point Nuclear plant located in New York along the Hudson River closes down in 2021. We suspect that since the mighty Transco pipeline, which flows mostly Marcellus molecules in the northeast, will feed the Meadowlands project, this plant will become an important new market for PA Marcellus production. The town where the plant will be located, North Bergen, is jazzed about the plant (see NJ Town Ready to Approve Meadowlands Marcellus-Fired Power Plant). Of course the plant is opposed by radicals in the nutty Sierra Club and other Big Green groups who despise all fossil fuels and demand that you and I end our use of fossil fuels to make them feel better about themselves. The Sierra Clubbers, namely Jeff Tittel, thought he could tell NJ’s newly elected leftist Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy to block the project. After all, they’re best buds. Tittel strongly supported Murphy’s campaign. But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum. In a surprise move, the Murphy Administration has just approved the first in a series of required permits, indicating ole Phil is in favor of the project after all and wants it built. Which has Jeff Tittel hopping mad…
    Read More “Surprise! NJ Issues Permits for Meadowlands Marcellus-Fired Plant”

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    Anti-Fossil Fuel CA, NY, MA Scramble to Avoid Electric Blackouts

    Saturday morning 34,500 residents in Los Angeles lost their electric power, in the midst of a dangerous heat wave. The cause? Not enough electricity to power all those air conditioners. Last winter Massachusetts and New England came razor close to losing electric power for millions of residents during an extended cold snap that went on for weeks. The only thing that saved their bacon was firing up a bunch of 1960s oil burning power plants. And the very town where MDN editor Jim Willis lives (Windsor) in Upstate New York is about to embark on a project to stick 33 wind mills across thousands of acres–wind mills that are 60 stories high and will kill bald eagles living in the area. These three seemingly separate stories have one thing in common–each state is anti-fossil fuel. They all desperately need more electricity. And each state is heading for (or already in) brownouts and blackouts–because of their stubborn, obtuse, anti-fossil fuel political leaders who insist “renewables” will ride in to save the day. Each state is now going to reap what it has sown, and we will be there every step of the way to remind you that we’ve predicted it, for years…
    Read More “Anti-Fossil Fuel CA, NY, MA Scramble to Avoid Electric Blackouts”

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    Rolling Blackouts/Brownouts Coming to Upstate NY? Maybe

    In May, MDN brought you a story of how New England was “this close” to rolling blackouts due to an extreme shortage of electricity during a cold snap (see When Neighbors Go Bad: NY Forcing New England into Blackouts). New York is blocking natural gas pipelines that are critically needed to flow gas to New England gas-fired electric plants. New England has a bunch of old 1960s oil-burning plants. It was reactivating those old plants and burning 2 million barrels of oil over a two-week period (belching out all sorts of pollution), that kept the lights on in New England this past winter. But what’s this? New York itself is now in a pickle. National Grid, a local electric utility operating in much of Upstate, is warning customers to “reduce unnecessary electricity usage for the remainder of the week.” Why? The company says that although, “Electricity supply to the area is adequate…heavy demand and high temperatures could potentially challenge regional networks.” Translation: Use less electricity or you may face a rolling blackout/brownout. They don’t use those words, but we do. It sure looks to us like NY (via Andrew Cuomo) is beginning to reap what it’s sown. Stop new pipelines, block new gas-fired electric plant projects, and this is what you get when the temps turn really hot, or really cold…
    Read More “Rolling Blackouts/Brownouts Coming to Upstate NY? Maybe”

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    Handy List of 48 New/Planned Gas-Fired Plants in PA, Courtesy FWW

    The radicals of Food & Water Watch (FWW), a disgusting organization, have done us all a huge favor! FWW is composed of some of the worst of the worst when it comes to anti-fossil fuel nuttery. They oppose everything, including low-carbon natural gas, if it’s called a fossil fuel. FWW issued a new “report” last week taking aim at the growing number of Marcellus gas-fired electric plants sprouting up around the state, replacing dirtier coal-fired plants. Only in the mind of a demented liberal is coal better for the environment than natgas. But we digress. FWW’s report is called “Pernicious Placement of Pennsylvania Power Plants: Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant Boom Reinforces Environmental Injustice.” Those alliterations are just ingenious, aren’t they? As part of the report, FWW published a comprehensive list of 48 planned, under construction, or recently commissioned gas-fired power plant projects in the Keystone State. Wow! What a great list! We’ve extracted the list itself and shared it below (so you don’t have to endure the full report). The focus of the report is the baseless charge FWW (and others) make that new power plant projects are built in poor, black areas–where the downtrodden can’t fight back against the machine that is Big Oil/Gas. FWW includes a map (see it below) that charts where “communities of color” (meaning concentrations of black people) live in the state, along with dots that show where existing and planned gas-fired plants are located. Take a look at the dots for planned plants. Almost none of them are near “communities of color!” Whoops. Some intern wasn’t paying attention when she drafted the report…
    Read More “Handy List of 48 New/Planned Gas-Fired Plants in PA, Courtesy FWW”

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    Huge New Marcellus-Fired Power Plant Coming Near Richmond, VA

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    While it’s been in the planning stages since 2016, we’ve only just become aware of an important new (mammoth) Marcellus-fired electric generating plant coming to Charles City County in Virginia. What’s that? Never heard of “Charles City” County? Neither had we. The county is located southeast of Richmond and west of Jamestown. It is bordered on the south by the James River and on the east by the Chickahominy River. The Chickahominy Power Station, as it’s called, will be a 1,650 megawatt state-of-the-art natural gas-fired power plant. The facility is owned and being developed by Balico, and built by Gemma Power Systems. According to a press release announcing Gemma’s involvement with the project, “The project will be powered exclusively by clean natural gas from the Marcellus shale formation.” That’s cool! We’re not exactly sure which pipeline(s) will flow Marcellus gas to the plant, but it’s good to know that our gas will power it. This is a huge plant. It ties as being the largest natgas-fired plant ever, along with the 1,650 MW Apex Power plant being planned for Guernsey County, OH (see Country’s Biggest NatGas Power Plant Breaking Ground in OH Oct-Nov). Here’s more on the coming Chickahominy Power Station near Richmond…
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    Indiana Utility Files Request to Build New Gas-Fired Electric Plant

    Many (most?) electric generating companies in the U.S. are regulated–highly regulated. They’re guaranteed a certain, predictable level of (low) profits. But in return for guaranteed profitability, every single thing they do is monitored and authorized in triplicate, with one or another government agency reviewing anything and everything that happens. It’s the deal they’ve struck with the regulatory devil. Vectren is one such regulated utility in the great state of Indiana. Vectren operates the F. B. Culley Generating Station, a 369 megawatt (MW) coal power plant located in Warrick County, Indiana. They plan to close the coal-fired plant in 2023. In its place, they want to build a 900 MW natgas-fired plant and a 50-acre solar farm. Building the gas plant and solar farm would cost Vectren (meaning ratepayers) $940 million. The cost is passed on to ratepayers because Vectren is regulated. That’s the way it works. The bargain struck with the devil. The gas-fired plant will be cleaner than coal, more efficient, cheaper to operate, and better for the environment. We suspect Utica/Marcellus gas would help feed the plant. And yet, anti-fossil fuel wackos oppose the plan to switch to cleaner-burning natgas. Would they prefer no electricity?…
    Read More “Indiana Utility Files Request to Build New Gas-Fired Electric Plant”

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    Ohio Approves $900M Harrison County Power Plant in Cadiz, OH

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    In September 2016, MDN reported that EmberClear planned to fund and build a new $900 million, 1,000-megawatt electric generating plant in Harrison County, OH (see $900M Utica Gas-Fired Electric Plant Coming to Harrison County, OH). The new plant will be fed by Utica Shale gas. EmberClear was, until July 2016, a Canadian-based company. But it went bankrupt and after emerging from bankruptcy it changed its name to Ember Partners, now based in Houston, TX. Since 2016 we haven’t heard anything about the project. But things were/are happening. Last week the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) authorized construction of the 1,050 megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired, combined-cycle electric generation facility in Cadiz–called the Harrison Power Plant. Which is good news indeed. The plant will generate 500 temporary construction jobs and 30 permanent jobs and use a huge amount of natural gas to power it (good for Utica drillers!). Construction on the plant is due to begin in October of this year and the plant will be done and online in June 2021. Here’s the details…
    Read More “Ohio Approves $900M Harrison County Power Plant in Cadiz, OH”

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    Ithaca Power Plant Tries Once Again to Convert from Coal to Gas

    In 2013 so-called environmentalists protested, agitated and lobbied to prevent an electrical generating power plant in Tompkins County, near Ithaca, NY, to switch from burning coal to burning natural gas–because they’re afraid it will mean more fracking (see NY Eco Group Protest to Stop Plant Converting from Coal to NatGas). The owner of the plant, Cayuga Operating Co., ended up selling it two years ago. The new owner, Riesling Power, tried to continue to get approval for converting the coal-fired plant to burn natural gas (not only cleaner, but also cheaper). Ultimately, the Cuomo-controlled Public Service Commission (PSC) turned down the request to convert. So the new owner kept operating it as a coal-fired plant–belching out far more pollution than a natgas plant would. Congratulations idiot fractivists (including obtuse Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, who wanted the plant closed). They screwed themselves and all of their neighbors too. But what’s this? Riesling Power has just filed another application to close the coal-fired plant, and reopen it as a gas-fired plant. But instead of using pipelines to feed the gas-fired plant, they will use compressed natural gas (CNG), trucked in. Which has set off the local crazies once again, spewing fossil fuel hatred and talking about “bomb trucks” visiting the area. Incredibly, the antis would rather keep a nasty coal-fired plant operating than switch to natural gas. Clinically insane…
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    Rhode Island Gas-Fired Plant Making Money – Before It’s Built!

    At a big ceremony in 2015, none other than Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo joined the CEO of Invenergy to announce the Clear River Energy Center–a 900-1,000 megawatt electric generating plant that runs on natural gas (see New NatGas Powered Electric Plant Coming to…Rhode Island?!). A new gas-fired plant planned for the socialist paradise of Rhode Island, home to old money and people who oppose change of any kind. Who woulda thunk? The new plant will lower RI residents’ electric bills by a collective $280 million and replace aging coal and oil power plants–cleaning the air in the process. With the jobs created, the investment in the facility, and lower electric rates, it’s calculated this single plant will have a $1.3 billion impact on the economy of RI. The plan was to begin construction in summer 2016 and have the plant up and running by 2019. What’s happened since the initial announcement? A lot of bureaucratic bull. The project is under review now and a final decision by the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission will not happen until January of next year. In the meantime, the plant is making money, even though it’s not yet built! How? By selling its contracts to provide electricity. The plant won’t be running next year, so Invenergy, the builder, has sold the right to provide electricity to the grid (for a time) to different plant…
    Read More “Rhode Island Gas-Fired Plant Making Money – Before It’s Built!”

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    SWPA Gas-fired Elec Plant Next to Pot Farm Nears Final Approval

    Last October MDN told you that a second Marcellus gas-fired electric generating plant is planned for Greene County, PA (see 2nd Marcellus-Fired Electric Plant Proposed for Greene County, PA). Hill Top Energy Center, based in Huntington Bay, N.Y., is planning to build a 620 megawatt plant on 41 acres of land off Thomas Road in Cumberland Township. The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) held a public hearing in early November, and in early December the DEP issued an air quality permit for the project (see PA DEP Issues Air Permit for Gas-fired Elec Plant Next to Pot Farm). The plant will be built next door to a “medical marijuana operation”–i.e., a pot growing farm. Here’s an idea: Why not burn pot to generate the electricity instead of natgas? Roughly the same CO2 footprint, with the added benefit of lacing the air in the region with happy smoke. Oh well, back to reality. What’s left to do before construction begins on the Hill Top Energy Center? The facility needs a building permit from Cumberland Township. Plans will be reviewed at the next town meeting on July 2. If the plans are approved, a building permit will follow in short order. However, Hill Top says they don’t plan to begin construction until early 2019…
    Read More “SWPA Gas-fired Elec Plant Next to Pot Farm Nears Final Approval”

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    Another New Gas-Fired Elec Plant Being Planned in New Jersey

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    Details so far are sketchy, but it appears that plans are taking shape to build a 660-megawatt gas-fired electric plant in Holland Township (Hunterdon County), NJ. Phoenix Energy Center wants to build the plant along the shore of the Musconetcong River, classified as a Category One (C1) trout stream. Sierra Club nutters are in full panic mode, attempting to prevent such a horrible injustice from happening. God forbid more New Jerseyites get cheaper electricity from a cleaner source! The Holland plant, if it were to get built, would likely get its natural gas from Elizabethtown Gas, which in turn is due to get additional gas supplies from the still-unbuilt PennEast Pipeline. Holland Township officials stress talks are preliminary, and nobody has signed nor agreed to anything. Phoenix isn’t saying anything–and no wonder, because anytime Big Green (the Sierra Club) catches wind of a project like this one, they rush in to try and abort the baby before it’s even born. Here’s the few, scant details known about the Phoenix Energy Center project in Holland Township…
    Read More “Another New Gas-Fired Elec Plant Being Planned in New Jersey”

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    Nicetown Claims “Environmental Racism” re Gas-Fired Plant

    Bet you didn’t know that the environment has become racist. That’s the outrageous claim being made about Nicetown, PA (near Philadelphia). Big Green supporters in Nicetown are opposed to SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) plans to build a Marcellus gas-powered electric plant that would provide electricity to SEPTA’s northern Regional Rail lines and a bus garage (see Antis Plan to Shut Down Philly Transit Meeting re NatGas Powergen). The stated reason for their opposition is because the plant will burn an evil, nasty, vile “fossil fuel.” Yep, fossil fuel hatred syndrome. When the antis weren’t looking, Philadelphia Air Management Services (AMS) went ahead and issued the permit that allows SEPTA to move forward with the proposed natgas power plant, which will get built in Nicetown (see Antis “Shocked” Philly Approved Marcellus Power Plant for SEPTA). Nice. The AMS vote “came as a surprise” to the antis. It was their “last hope” to stop the plant. But they haven’t given up hope. Not yet. Antis are not only litigating to stop the plant, now they’re making wild accusations of “environmental racism.” Because the majority of residents are black, the accusation is that SEPTA is sticking the plant there, where it doesn’t matter if black people get polluted. Which is all nonsense. The reason SEPTA wants the plant in Nicetown is because that’s where they own a large bus garage/facility–the same facility they want to power with electricity from the plant! But “environmental racism” has such a great ring, and looks so good in a headline, it’s just irresistible for sycophantic media…
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    Looks Like WNY Coal-Fired Plant Will Never Convert to Gas/Reopen

    In 2013, a coal-fired electric generating plant near Buffalo, NY (in Dunkirk) was slated to be converted to burn natural gas–a win/win for everyone (see Dunkirk, NY Electric Plant Saved – Converting from Coal to NatGas). Radical environmentalists like the Sierra Club opposed it, but that’s to be expected. Everything seemed to be fine until a competitor hauled NRG, the plant’s owner, into court to dispute the change from coal to natgas. They objected to ratepayers kicking in $150 million for the project. NRG said fighting the case in court will take years, so they just closed down the plant instead (see Dunkirk, NY Coal-Fired Electric Plant Closing in January 2016). It was an economic nuclear bomb for that community. The Town of Dunkirk gets 40% of its tax revenue from that single plant! New York State “generously” shucked out $5.5 million so Dunkirk wouldn’t collapse economically. But doing that year after year will get old quick. Other communities can rightly demand state help too. But then the competitor who had objected to converting the old coal plant to natgas (with ratepayer assistance) dropped their objection, and NRG restarted the project in December 2016 (see Coal-to-Gas Plant Conversion in Western NY Back from the Dead). Once again, environmental lunatics would rather bankrupt Dunkirk than let the plant restart as a gas-fired plant. They lobbied the state Public Service Commission to block the deal. That didn’t happen, but what has happened is that because of the delays caused by NY and NRG’s competitor, NRG has to “restart” the project and along with that comes connection costs–the cost to reconnect the plant to the electricity grid. Estimated reconnect costs go as high as $115 million! The cost of “transmission upgrades” according to the NY grid operator. The cost to reconnect would be almost as much as the project cost itself, meaning there’s no way in Hades NRG will build it. So although antis couldn’t get NY to regulate the project out of existence, electric grid bureaucratic claptrap will keep it out of existence. Same result…
    Read More “Looks Like WNY Coal-Fired Plant Will Never Convert to Gas/Reopen”

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    Construction Begins for 14-Mile Pipe to Feed Berks Gas-Fired Plant

    Birdsboro pipeline route – click for larger version

    Ladies and gentlemen–start your bulldozers! It’s time to begin building a 14-mile natural gas pipeline from the Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco) mainline in Rockland Township, to a natural gas-fired power plant under construction in Birdsboro (Berks County, near Philadelphia). EmberClear Corp. is a Canadian-based company that builds and operates natural gas-fired electric generation plants in North America. In 2015, EmberClear filed an application to build a new 488-megawatt natural gas-fired electric plant in Birdsboro, in Berks County, near Philadelphia (see New NatGas-Fired Electric Plant Coming Near Philadelphia). In April 2017, two different Japanese companies, Sojitz Corporation and Tokyo Gas, each purchased a one-third share ownership of the Birdsboro Power project (see Japanese Now Own 2/3 of Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant in SEPA). We call the Birdsboro Power a “Japanese-owned” project, which it is, but in reality EmberClear is still the company building and operating it. The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued permits for the Birdsboro project in March of this year, and the project is now under construction (see PA DEP Issues Permits for Japanese Gas-Fired Elec Plant in SEPA). In order to operate, the plant will need gas. It will get its gas from the Tetco pipeline 14 miles away, via a dedicated pipeline. Construction has begun on the pipeline. Or rather, preliminary construction–clearing trees, etc. It will only take a few months to complete the pipeline project…
    Read More “Construction Begins for 14-Mile Pipe to Feed Berks Gas-Fired Plant”

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    Country’s Biggest NatGas Power Plant Breaking Ground in OH Oct-Nov

    In April 2016 MDN told you about the Guernsey Power Station–a new Utica/Marcellus natural gas-fired electric generating plant proposed for Guernsey County, OH (see New Utica-Powered Electric Plant Proposed for Guernsey County, OH). Apex Power Group at that time said they want to build a large 1,100 megawatt plant in Valley Township–producing enough electricity to power 1 million homes. Apex said construction is targeted to begin in 2018 and the plant will go online in 2020. At the end of December 2017, Apex and joint venture partner Caithness Energy filed a pre-application for the project–and the application showed they no longer want to build an 1,100 megawatt plant, but instead a whopping 1,650 megawatt plant (see Planned OH Utica-Powered Electric Plant Goes from 1,100 to 1,650 MW). That’s the biggest natgas-fired electric plant we’ve heard of so far–anywhere. A record-holder! We spotted an article in the local Daily Jeffersonian (Cambridge, OH) that says Apex is on track to break ground this coming October/November, which is fabulous news, although that time frame is delayed from a previously announced May start…
    Read More “Country’s Biggest NatGas Power Plant Breaking Ground in OH Oct-Nov”