Power plant characteristics and costs

Power Plant Characteristics and Costs

Volumn , Issue , 2010, Pages 1-130

  Kaplan, Stan ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 84895841120     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
DOI: None     Document Type: Book

References (42)

1. For example, a solar project developer decided to leave storage and other "extras" out of a proposed plant in order to make it "commercially viable." "Storage: Solar Power's Next Frontier," Platts Global Power Report, November 1, 2007.
2. In 2007 total generation was 4,160 million Mwh. Generation from the industrial and commercial sectors totaled 154 million Mwh, some of which was from non-CHP industrial and commercial generators. EIA, Annual Energy Review 2007, Table 8.1.
3. North American Electric Reliability Corp., 2008 Long-Term Reliability Assessment, October 2008, p. 46.
4. For instance, LS Power, a coal project developer, describes IGCC technology as "experimental." Steve Raabe, "'Clean Coal' Plant Setbacks Mount in U.S.," The Denver Post, November 1, 2007.
5. Calculated from the Annual Energy Outlook 2008 output spreadsheet. EIA projects that natural gas-fired combined cycle plants plus natural gas combustion turbine peaking plants will account for 54% of capacity additions through 2015.
6. Rebecca Smith, "Banks Hope to Expand Carbon Rules to Public Utilities," The Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2008.
7. DOE/NETL, Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants, June 2008, p. 5. This report is periodically updated and posted at [http://www.netl.doe.gov/coal/refshelf/ncp.pdf].
8. North American Electric Reliability Corp., 2008 Long-Term Reliability Assessment, October 2008, p. 88.
9. For an illustrated summary of several of the Gen III/III+ designs, see "UK Nuclear Power: The Contenders," BBC News, January 10, 2008 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/51651 82.stm]. Additional information is available from the links at [http://www.nei.org/keyissues/newnuclearplants/newreactordesigns/].
10. For additional information on geothermal power see Steve Blankinship, "What Lies Beneath," Power Engineering, January 2007, available by searching [http://pepei.pennnet.com/]).
11. EIA, Annual Energy Outlook 2008, p. 70. For more detail on wind power, see CRS Report RL34546, Wind Power in the United States: Technology, Economic, and Policy Issues, by Jeff Logan and Stan Kaplan.
12. For a comprehensive list of energy market incentives, see EIA, Federal Financial Interventions and Subsidies in Energy Markets 2007, April 2008.
13. For a discussion of the operation of the credit see EIA, Annual Energy Outlook 2007, p. 21. For the forecast of 8,000 MW of nuclear capacity on-line before 2021, see the Annual Energy Outlook 2008, p. 70.
14. 10 CFR § 609 (RIN 1901-AB21), October 4, 2007 [http://www.lgprogram.energy.gov/keydocs.html].
15. On the assumption that the guaranteed debt would have a high (AAA) rating, see "Loan Guarantees for Projects that Employ Innovative Technologies," 10 CFR § 609 (RIN 1901-AB21), October 4, 2007, p. 24.
16. For additional information see the discussion of the investment tax credit in the federal incentives section of the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy website [http://www.dsireusa.org/].
17. "Consumers Energy Latest to Win Tax Concessions," Platts Electric Power Daily, November 29, 2007.
18. IHS CERA press release, "Construction Costs for New Power Plants Continue to Escalate IHS-CERA Power Capital Costs Index," May 27, 2008 [http://energy.ihs.com/News/Press-Releases/2008/IHS-CERA-Power-Capital-Costs-Index.htm].
19. Keith Bradsher and David Barboza, "Pollution From Chinese Coal Casts a Global Shadow," The New York Times, June 11, 2006.
20. Christopher D. Kirkpatrick, "A Bidding War for Engineers: Power Plant Construction Boom Creates a Labor Shortage," The Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer, September 5, 2008.
21. Matthew L. Wald, "Costs Surge For Building Power Plants," The New York Times, July 10, 2007.
22. In 2006, out of 2,010 government-owned electric utilities, only 98 had total revenues in excess of $100 million dollars. In contrast, the fuel cost for a single large power plant can exceed $100 million per year. American Public Power Association, 2008-09 Annual Directory and Statistical Report, p. 30 (data does not include electric cooperatives).
23. Roughly 70% of utility companies were rated between BBB+ and BBB-in 2007. About 10% were rated below investment grade. Edison Electric Institute, 2007 Financial Review, pp. 81 and 87.
24. EIA, Annual Energy Outlook Retrospective Review, April 2007, p. 5.
25. For the EIA nuclear fuel price forecast used in the Annual Energy Outlook 2008, go to [http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/electricity.html] and click on "figure data" for Figure 70.
26. BACT requirements take into account cost-effectiveness; LAER requires the lowest possible emission rate without cost considerations. For an overview of the regulatory framework see MIT, The Future of Coal, 2007, pp. 135-136. The federal New Source Performance Standards for new, large fossil-fired plants are found at 40 C.F.R. §60(Da).
27. NOx regulation is complex and involves both federal and state rules. For a summary of NOx regulation see the National Energy Technology Laboratory website at [http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/ewr/nox/regs.html].
28. RS22817, The D.C. Circuit Rejects EPA's Mercury Rules: New Jersey v. EPA, by Robert Meltz and James E. McCarthy; Amena Saiyid, "Utilities with Permits to Build New Units Caught in MACT Regulatory Bind," Platts Coal Outlook, June 23, 2008.
29. There are also many CRS reports on climate change issues. These reports can be retrieved by using the "Energy, Environment, and Resources" link on the CRS home page to access the "Climate Change" link.
30. MIT, The Future of Coal, 2007, pp. 25 and 28;
31. "Pilot Project Uses Innovative Process to Capture CO2 From Flue Gas,' EPRI Journal, Spring 2008, p. 4).
32. Calculated from MIT, The Future of Coal, 2007, Table 3.1 (estimates for supercritical pulverized coal)
33. For a more detailed discussion of the annualization method see, for example, Chan Park, Fundamentals of Engineering Economics, 2004, Chapter 6;
34. or Eugene Grant, et al., Principles of Engineering Economy, 6th Ed., 1976, Chapter 7.
35. The Annual Outlook main report, assumptions report, and related information are available on the EIA website at [http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/index.html].
36. George Lobsenz, "Nuke Overload: Utilities Seeking $122 Billion in DOE Loan Guarantees," The Energy Daily, October 3, 2008.
37. EIA, Annual Energy Outlook 2008, p. 75.
38. Rebecca Smith, "Utilities Question Natural-Gas Forecasting " Cheap and Plentiful Was Outlook a Few Years Ago; Price Is Double Prediction," The Wall Street Journal, December 27, 2004.
39. MIT, The Future of Coal, 2007, p. 30, Table 3.5.
40. Another recent study shows a capital cost premium of 82%. DOE/National Energy Technology Laboratory, Cost and Performance Baseline for Fossil Energy Plants, Volume 1, May 2007, Exhibit 4-46.
41. EIA, Assumptions to the Annual Energy Outlook 2008, Table 38.
42. The EIA data is from Assumptions to the Annual Energy Outlook 2008, Table 38. A DOE study estimates a cost premium of 112%. DOE/National Energy Technology Laboratory, Cost and Performance Baseline for Fossil Energy Plants, Volume 1, 2007, Exhibit 5-25.