Coal

AEP seeking coal supply bids for power plants
AEP seeking coal supply bids for power plants

American Electric Power is seeking bids to purchase multi-year supply for several of its coal-fired power plants.

The Ohio-based company which owns several utilities issued a request for proposal for coal supply in four coal-producing regions. These include Central Appalachian Basin, Illinois Basin, Powder River Basin and the North Appalachian Basin.

The coal supply contracts would run from this year’s final quarter through 2023. The deadline is by Sept. 29.

AEP owns and operates, through its subsidiaries, close to 30,000 MW of generating capacity delivering power to 5.5 million customers in 11 states. Its utilities include Michigan Power, Public Service Co. of Oklahoma, Southwestern Electric Power Co. (Louisiana), AEP Ohio, AEP Texas and more.

Although the company is aiming for an 80-percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, coal-fired power accounts for 28 percent of the utility generation mix, compared to 45 percent 11 years ago. Since 2010, AEP has retired or sold nearly 13.5 GW of coal power.

Among AEP’s operational coal-fired power stations include Cardinal in Ohio, Flint Creek in Arkansas, Northeastern Station in Oklahoma and others. The 642.5-MW Dolet Hills coal-fired station in Louisiana (pictured) is set for retirement by the end of this year.

Coal-fired power has diminished significantly in recent decades, but still represents about 20 percent of the U.S. electricity resource mix.

The Future of Coal-Fired Generation is a key component of the power sector and will be at POWERGEN International when it happens live Jan. 26-28 in Dallas. POWERGEN tracks include Decarbonization, the Future of Electricity, Optimizing Plant Performance and the Trends in Conventional Power knowledge hub.