The Kentucky Public Service Commission (KPSC) order allows LG&E and KU to build an approximately 640 MW combined-cycle plant at its Mill Creek facility, add 240 MW of company-owned solar, secure power purchase agreements for nearly 650 MW of additional solar, construct 125 MW of battery storage and implement more than a dozen new energy efficiency programs.

Regulators did not approve all of the coal retirements sought by LG&E and KU, however. The 600 MW approved for retirement represent Mill Creek coal-fired Units 1 and 2, which went into service in 1972 and 1974, respectively. The state’s public service commission deferred LG&E/KU’s proposed retirement of the larger coal-fired Ghent Unit 2 and Brown Unit 3.

Electric utilities in Kentucky are now required to receive approval from state regulators if they want to retire fossil-fired generating units. The new requirement stems from a state law passed earlier in 2023.

LG&E/KU hoped to retire Mill Creek 1 by 2024, Mill Creek 2 by 2027, Ghent 2 by 2028 and Brown 3 in 2028.

LG&E/KU had argued that proposed amendments to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Good Neighbor Plan, if enacted, would effectively require non-SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) equipped coal units to cease operating or operate only at very minimal levels during each year’s ozone season beginning in 2026.

Mill Creek 1, Mill Creek 2 and Ghent 2 are not currently equipped with SCR. LG&E/KU argued operating Mill Creek 1 beyond 2024 would require [Effluent Limitations Guidelines] retrofits, while operation beyond 2027 would require a cooling tower, and operation beyond 2027 in ozone season would require the addition of an SCR due to the Good Neighbor Plan.

LG&E/KU argued that it was also economical to retire Mill Creek 2 and Ghent 2 rather than equipping them with SCR or operating the plants only outside of the ozone season.

LG&E/KU proposed retiring Brown 3, citing $26 million in major maintenance required in 2027. LG&E/KU argued this work would not be cost-effective “given the overall inefficiency of the unit.”

But the commission’s decision reflected a cautious approach. KPSC said by not making so many generation decisions on a “single, contentious load forecast” it hoped to mitigate the risk of overbuilding to the detriment of customers’ rates or underbuilding to the detriment of Kentucky’s energy adequacy.

The commission argued there was not as immediate a need to take action on Ghent 2 and Brown 3, but expects the status of those units to come up again soon when LG&E/KU have a better idea of what the EPA emission rules will look like and when they will be implemented. The Good Neighbor plan is currently stayed in Kentucky while circuit judges proceed with litigation.

“The Commission believes that it would be possible for LG&E/KU to reliably serve load with Ghent 2 and Brown 3 while they wait for more certainty with respect to the Good Neighbor Plan and other environmental regulations,” the order reads.

KPSC also denied the companies’ request to build a second combined-cycle gas plant at this time, finding that construction of a second unit should be deferred to provide for an in-service date in 2030, rather than 2028 as the companies had proposed.

Retirements of Ghent Unit 2 and Brown Unit 3, as well as construction of a second combined-cycle gas plant, would require future commission approval.

PPL said the level of expected investment is consistent with the originally proposed generation replacement plan, which projected $2.1 billion of investment overall, including $1.6 billion through 2026.

The expected investment includes additional costs related to the construction of the approved combined-cycle natural gas plant and investments needed to continue to safely operate and maintain Ghent Unit 2 and Brown Unit 3 and comply with environmental regulations.

PPL’s plan to be a pure U.S. utility holding company was announced after its board of directors completed a strategic review looking into business mix and future growth opportunities.

PPL expects to find a strong buyer for its Western Power Distribution subsidiary in the UK.

“WPD is a very strong business that continues to perform exceptionally well as the premier distribution network operator (DNO) group in the U.K., but we believe it continues to be undervalued by the market as part of PPL,” Vincent Sorgi, PPL CEO, said in a statement. “We believe that greater value can be achieved for PPL shareowners through a sale of the U.K. business and use of proceeds that would be focused on strengthening PPL’s balance sheet and enhancing the company’s long-term earnings growth, which could include supporting strategic growth opportunities in the U.S. and returning capital to shareowners.”

The divestment of WPD will simplify PPL’s business mix, Sorgi added. The revenue from a sale will provide greater financial flexibility for investing in U.S. energy infrastructure buildout.

WPD, serves about eight million customers in central and southwest England and south Wales. PPL’s utilities also provide power to several million customers in the U.S.

Turboden completed the contract with the Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) representing nine of the First Nations tribes in Saskatchewan. The MHI company will provide an 8,000-kW organic rankine cycle (ORC) power generator system using sawmill residual woody biomass as fuel.

The MLTC Bioenergy Centre will be located near Meadow Lake. The green power generation facility, with major equipment supplied by Turboden, is a project of the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, supported with funding from the Government of Canada.

The facility will produce electricity from the ORC system using biomass from the MLTC-owned NorSask Forest Products LP (NorSask) sawmill as heating fuel. The system is expected to produce 6,600kW (net) of carbon neutral baseload electricity to power approximately 5,000 homes.

The project is expected to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by more than one million metric tonnes over 25 years (equivalent to CO2 emission of more than 50,000 vehicles per year), as well as significantly reduce smoke and other harmful particulate matter, improving the local air quality conditions. In addition to the generated electricity, the cogeneration system design provides process heat to the NorSask sawmill buildings as well as new high efficiency lumber dry kiln, which will reduce natural gas consumption and also improve the economics of Canada’s largest 100 percent Indigenous-owned sawmill facility.

Turboden was founded in 1980 by professors from Polytechnic University of Milan, and has been focused on the use of ORC power generation systems. The company became part of MHI Group in 2013.

In October 2019, Turboden’s 995 kW ORC cycle power generation system was adopted for a project in Nankan-machi (Kumamoto Prefecture) using bamboo biomass, as the primary fuel, which had been considered difficult to process in Japan. As the first such initiative in Japan, the project is supported by Japan’s national research and development agency, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), which is seeking to promote the introduction of biomass energy.

Taiheiyo Cement Corp. has ordered the WHRPG system that includes Kawasaki’s newly developed VEGA boiler. The system will be installed at the Saitama plant.

The 8-MW system will recover waste heat during the calcining stage of cement production and use it for power generation and energy-saving measures at the plant. The KHI system is scheduled to start operations in September 2022.

It consists of a waste heat recovery boiler, steam turbine generator and other components. Kawasaki will handle overall plant design, equipment supply, installation and commissioning advisory services. The VEGA boiler will be adopted for the first time in Japan as the heat recovery steam generator.

Taiheiyo has been introducing WHRPG systems at their plants to reduce CO₂ emissions. With this adoption, Taiheiyo will complete the installation of WHRPG systems at all of their plants.

As worldwide interest in global warming prevention measures continues to rise, demand is expected to continue growing in both advanced and developing nations for facilities and systems that save energy and reduce environmental loads, including WHRPG systems for cement plants, according to Kawasaki.

Since its introduction of a cement plant WHRPG at Taiheiyo’s Kumagaya facility in 1982, Kawasaki has delivered the systems at approximately 260 plants worldwide, according to the company. Together those generate about 2,800 MW of electric power and cut CO₂ emissions by about 12 million tons annually.

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(Rod Walton is content director for Power Engineering and POWERGEN International. He can be reached at 918-831-9177 and rod.walton@clarionevents.com).

Irish-based power management company Eaton is acquiring a Virginia power distribution, switching and monitoring equipment company.

Eaton is buying Power Distribution Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Power Distribution is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia and had 2019 sales of $125 million.

The company supplies mission critical power distribution, static switching and power monitoring equipment and services for data centers and industrial and commercial customers.

“PDI’s portfolio is highly complementary to our current offering and will allow us to better serve our data center customers,” said Brian Brickhouse, president, Electrical Sector, Americas region, Eaton. “We have watched the growth of PDI for the last decade and are excited to have them become part of Eaton.”

The acquisition is expected to close in this quarter. The deal is Eaton’s third major transaction announced already this year, including the separate sales of its Automotive Fluid Conveyance and Hydraulics businesses for more than $3 billion.  

Eaton operates in more than 175 countries and had 2018 revenues of nearly $22 billion. The company was an exhibitor at the recent DISTRIBUTECH International in San Antonio.

During its annual breakfast briefing at DISTRIBUTECH International, Schneider Electric detailed its move into this relatively new arena for microgrid technology. Indoor agriculture is new territory but it is definitely seen as a growth opportunity for the French-based company.

Schneider and Scale Microgrid Solutions announced they will design, build and finance an energy solution for indoor farming company Fifth Season. The project will utilize modular microgrid platforms including Schneider battery storage, switchgear and advanced controls technology.

The Fifth Season “vertical farm” will be located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“It’s a way to grow food more effectively and supply it more consistently,” said Don Wingate, vice president of sales-utility solutions for Schneider Electric, during the DISTRIBUTECH breakfast briefing. “It’s not affected by weather delays.”

Mark Feasel, president of smart grid solutions for Schneider, said Fifth Season uses no pesticides, 95 percent less water and a small footprint than traditional agriculture. The carbon dioxide emitted from the natural gas engine part of the microgrid will be redeployed in use for the agriculture.

Other components include a rooftop solar array, battery storage and advanced emissions control technologies. Fifth Season hopes to produce about 500,000 pounds of local produce in the first year after construction is completed.

“Our vertical farm in Pittsburgh is reconnecting consumers to locally grown fresh food. This is a first step in solving some of the largest problems facing society caused by the broken food system, however, this industry must achieve long term economic and environmental sustainability,” said Grant Vandenbussche, Chief Category Officer at Fifth Season, in a statement. “This microgrid enables our journey to create a sustainable system that delivers healthier, fresher greens to local communities through both economic and environmental efficiencies.”

The microgrid is being financed by Scale Microgrid Solutions’ microgrid-as-a-service business model, helping Fifth Season save upfront capital that can be used toward additional operational investments, while also immediately benefiting from more efficient, sustainable and economic energy consumption. Commissioning of the full energy system is scheduled for mid-2020 and it will be the first site of several that are to be constructed for Fifth Season in the next three years.

“Energy is not their expertise,” Feasel said, focusing on Schneider Electric’s goal of delivering more modular microgrids for the both Fifth Season and the indoor agriculture sector in general. “This is the first one being built, and it will be replicated over and over and over again.”

Schneider Electric’s cloud-based, demand-side energy management software platform, EcoStruxure Microgrid Advisor, to coordinate and optimize the system’s performance. The system will be equipped to operate in parallel with traditional utility electric services during normal operating conditions, and in “island mode” to ensure that the farm remains powered during unexpected outages.

“This is in the PJM Interconnection,” Feasel noted. The energy providers plan to participate in the system’s time of use and demand shifting markets.

Scale Microgrid Solutions’ vertically integrated operation provides a one-stop-microgrid-shop for commercial and industrial customers. SMS’s productized project platform and pioneering microgrid-as-a-service business model unlocks the microgrid value proposition by avoiding the significant capital and time commitments that accompany typical energy infrastructure projects.

Schneider Electric is available at DISTRIBUTECH in booth 1900.

The Pennsylvania-based utility holding company began in 1920 with the consolidation of eight electric utilities in the central and eastern regions of the state. Then called Pennsylvania Power & Light, it owned and operated 62 power plants.

Fast-forward 100 years and PPL now owns PPL Electric Utilities, Louisville Gas & Electric, Kentucky Utilities and Western Power Distribution in the United Kingdom. Overall the company has more than 10 million customers.

“PPL’s 100-year history is rich with growth and success, but it is nothing without the thousands of dedicated employees — past and present — who have powered progress in our cities, towns and communities,” said William H. Spence, PPL chairman and chief executive officer. “We’re proud of their legacy, we’re thankful for the opportunity we have each day to make a difference in our customers’ lives, and we are driven by the opportunity we have to help shape our shared energy future.”

A new website was launched to highlight the centennial and company history. In the 1920s, the website noted, the consolidations of power plants to form PPL was later echoed by many mergers within the industry up to now.

By 1981, PPL’s revenue topped $1 billion for the first time ever and doubled that figure only five years later. A decade later, various regulatory changes and restructuring pushed PPL out of pure regulated monopoly environments into competitive markets.

PPL is currently in the midst of a $15 billion Energy Forward capital investment plan through 2022. It operates close to 8 GW of generating capacity mainly from natural gas, coal and oil-fueled plants.

The company also owns Safari Energy, a solar provider for commercial customers.

DOE Secretary Dan Brouillette announced the launch of the Energy Storage Grand Challenge, an initiative to help create and sustain U.S. leadership in energy storage utilization and exports. The Grand Challenge builds on the $158 million Advanced Energy Storage Initiative announced in President Trump’s fiscal 2020 budget request.

“Energy storage is key to capturing the full value of our diverse energy resources,” Brouillette said. “Through this Grand Challenge, we will deploy the Department’s extensive resources and expertise to address the technology development, commercialization, manufacturing, valuation, and workforce challenges to position the U.S. for global leadership in the energy storage technologies of the future.”

A key goal is securing a domestic critical materials manufacturing chain independent of foreign sources by 2030. The initiative also seeks research & development funding opportunities, prizes, partnerships and other methods to address challenges.

In addition to developing a secure and domestic supply chain for critical challenges, the DOE also wants to establish performance goals, move the technology pipeline from research to system design and, ultimately, private sector adoption by 2030.

The effort would take rigorous system evaluation, performance validation, siting tools and targeted collaborations, among other things.

The Energy Storage Grand Challenge is managed by DOE’s Research and Technology Investment Committee. The RTIC was established last year.

Growth in intermittent clean energy resource deployment is also pushing exponential energy storage investment. A report by Wood Mackenzie last year indicated record growth in storage assets nationwide, expected to top 10 GW by 2024.

Energy Storage Breakthroughs was a key content track at POWERGEN International last year in New Orleans and will be again when POWERGEN 2020 happens December 8-10 in Orlando.

The POWERGEN call for abstracts is now open and seeking sessions on energy storage, gas-fired technologies, coal-fired, renewables, on-site power, microgrids and integration. Click here to find out more and submit an abstract.

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) now has three 30-MW FT8 MOBILEPAC dual-fuel turbines installed at the Palo Seco Power Plant in Toa Baja. The units are made by PW Power Systems (PSPS), while ARB Precision Corp. completed the installations at Palo Seco.

The MOBILEPAC units can be available for emergency power and can run on liquid fuel or natural gas. The movable power package includes two trailers, one with the gas turbine, generator and exhaust system, while the second carries the 15-kV switchgear, control system, protective relays and starting equipment.

“The three generators provide the opportunity for fast response in the event of an emergency or situation where we lose energy in the metropolitan area,” Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vazquez said in a statement. “In eight to 10 minutes we can energize the system and provide electricity to about 40,000 customers.”

Hurricane Maria knocked out power to virtually all of the island two years ago. Since then, Puerto Rico has struggled to rebuild its grid infrastructure.

The three PWPS mega gen-sets can meet electricity demand for hospitals and the major airport, among other facilities, according to PREPA Executive Director Jose Ortiz.

 “Although they are physically located at the Palo Seco plant, the equipment is portable, so they can be moved to isolated areas that, during emergencies, do not have transmission capacity,” he added.

PWPS is a group company of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas, based in Florida. PWPS has exclusively leveraged the technology of Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines to produce emergency gen-sets.

MHI-MME is supplying MET turbocharges for the X-DF engine 12X92DF developed by Winterthur Gas & Diesel Ltd. (WinGD) of Switzerland and being built by CSSC-MES Diesel Co., Ltd. (CMD) of China. Those engines are scheduled for mounting on nine 23,000 TEU-capacity vessels.

The vessels are being built at a shipyard under the China State Shipbuilding Corp. TEU is an acronym for an individual twenty-foot equivalent unit or standardizing shipping container size.

MHI-MME has previously supplied MET turbochargers (pictured) for the X-DF engines. A ceremony to unveil this project’s first completed unit was held Monday at the shipyard.

MHI-MME developed new models of small, lightweight and high-efficiency turbochargers in 2018, aiming to complete the first such turbocharger in 2020. The MET-MBII turbocharger series are available to install the turbocharger on WinGD diesel engines as well as former MET-MB series.