This past Monday, Duke Energy, the Carolina's largest state utility, vowed not to construct any new coal plants in North or South Carolina, without carbon capture and sequester (CCS) technology. This comes after Duke Energy received final approval from the state utility board to build its new Cliffside 800 MW coal plant in North Carolina last month. It is unclear if Duke Energy's 1,300 MW Pee Dee coal plant proposal in South Carolina, which is still under review, will be shelved. In exchange for the Cliffside power station, Duke Energy pledges to shutdown four smaller 60 year-old coal plants in the state.
Meanwhile, yesterday, Nevada's largest utility operator, Sierra Nevada, appears to have shelved (subscription required) its Ely Energy Center proposal, a 3-phased 2,500 MW coal power station. Increases in construction costs, poor stock performance, and environmental pressure, all appear to contribute to the project being halted. Instead Sierra Nevada is now optioning to replace its capacity expansion plans with alternatives comprising of energy efficiency and conservation programs, renewable generation, and various cleaner gas-fired generators. Sierra Nevada stated that they did not know if or when they would restart the Ely proposal.
As much as I understand Virginia's energy dilemma , this kinds of news has got to be creating a tremendous amount of pressure on the SCC as it reviews Dominion's application. Also this has to be a bit embarrassing to Dominion officials, as they continue to argue for something which most of industry is beginning to depart away from.
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While I certainly realize the need to retire old power plants like in the city of Alexandria, Virginia had ample capacity in 2005 to meet in-state demand. Soon after, however, it was Dominion who proposed to send the equivalent of 3,000 MW in capacity to New Jersey, threatening to punish landowners in the state with seizure of private property and property devaluation with a new transmission lines to be built by 2011 & 2012. Now with capacity depleted, plant retirement looming and baseline demand growing, Dominion now proposes to damn folks in the southwest part of the state with more grid expansion. No one benefits from this type of planning except New Jersey, Dominion, and its stockholders.
Dominion could save itself a lot of money, time and its reputation, and still maintain grid reliability if it just picked the lowest hanging fruit first. But since they won't and until true carbon capture and sequester technology is market ready, the SCC should force Dominion to find equivalent capacity from other alternatives.
As an example, the SCC could force Dominion to find volunteers from its commercial & industrial customer base willing to conserve electricity through demand response programs, and from residential volunteers in a statewide program comprising of smart meters for air conditioning units. It is believed that these types of program can provide up to 17-20% more capacity to meet demand. Secondly, the SCC should seek the support from state environmentalists in exchange for ending this old coal-style proposal, and expand nuclear at Surrey and/or North Anna sooner rather than originally proposed. The SCC should also consider an order for Dominion to expand its newly proposed gas-fired peaking generator for Caroline County to assist in capacity needs. Lastly, the SCC should have Dominion solicit a study for a wind farm farther offshore. In an oceanic region 10-12 miles offshore, the University of Delaware believes a 300 gigawatt wind field ranges from south of Cape Cod to north of Cape Hatteras. Offshore wind is much more efficient than on- or in-shore, and it doesn't pollute rural or mountainous viewshed or upset ecological sensitive waters in our state's lower bay. The 200-400 foot tall turbines which would be the size required for off-shore wind, would be nearly invisible on a clear day from the shore 10 miles away.
The SCC should always give priority towards exhausting existing utility right-of-ways before ceding new ground to grid expansion. Dominion's Wise County new plant proposal has plant expansion written all over it - 585 MW with old-style coal today, giving way to expansion when CCS becomes available - is Dominion's stated plan. This gives good reason why expanding existing nuclear sites and the new Caroline county proposal, makes for a sound alternative. When CCS is ready, Dominion should turn to convert or replace existing plants first with this new technology; but until that time, however, the SCC should not allow Dominion to break new ground in Virginia, with old-style coal.
Simon Cameron once said: "An honest politician is one who when he is bought will stay bought."
In this sense, Dominion's friends in the Commonwealth are EXTREMELY honest politicians.