FirstEnergy to deactivate two coal power plants in Pa

Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station in Masontown, Pa

[Related story ‘FirstEnergy won’t convert’ added at 4:33 p.m.]

FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) says it plans to deactivate two coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania, citing the cost of compliance with current and future environmental regulations, along with a continued low market price for electricity. 

The company announced that its Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station in Masontown, Pa., and Mitchell Power Station in Courtney, Pa., will be deactivated by Oct. 9. The total capacity of the plants is 2,080 megawatts, representing about 10% of the company’s total generating capacity, and about 30% of the estimated $925 million cost to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.
FirstEnergy said about 380 plant employees and generation-related positions are expected to be affected. The company has 16,495 employees, according to FactSet.
Following the deactivation of the Hatfield’s Ferry and Mitchell power stations, FirstEnergy’s fleet will consist of 56% coal, 22% nuclear, 13% renewables and 9% gas/oil. It will have a generating capacity of more than 18,000 megawatts.
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The company said with the latest deactivations, in addition to the nine plants it announced for deactivation last year, nearly 100% of the power generated by FirstEnergy will come from resources that are either non- or low-emitting.
FirstEnergy’s $4.4 billion acquisition of Allegheny Energy Inc. in early 2011 made it one of the largest electricity producers in the U.S. The company serves customers in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia.


Related environmental news stories: 
FirstEnergy to Deactivate Two Coal Plants, Citing Environmental Regulation Costs
FirstEnergy to shut two Pennsylvania coal power plants 

First Energy won’t convert coal-fired power plants to dual firing for now


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Energy research project at Phila. Navy Yard in jeopardy


The Energy Efficient Buildings Hub, an ambitious Pennsylvania State University research venture that was hailed as a cornerstone of the Navy Yard redevelopment when it was founded in 2010, is in danger of getting its plug pulled, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports today.

Sen. Diane Feinstein (D- Calif) who chairs the U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees energy and water development recommended at a June 25 hear that funds be cut for the Philadelphia center “because of poor performance and failure to meet technical milestones.”

But Inquirer reporter Andrew Maykuth writes that advocates of the project suspect that politics is at play, as Feinstein’s state includes several national laboratories that are competing for the same pot of federal energy money. 

Read the full story at: Navy Yard Hub project in jeopardy


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Energy research project at Phila. Navy Yard in jeopardy Read More »

Climate change nothing to sneeze at: Ask your nose


"As if the increased threat of catastrophic weather events weren’t enough, climate change also has to mess with us in ways less apocalyptic but arguably more frustrating on a daily basis. Like by making our allergies way worse."

Writing in Grist, Claire Thompson explains that "more CO2 in the atmosphere stimulates plant growth and pollen production, and as a result, allergy doctors across the country are reporting increases in patient visits — new ones who have never before experienced symptoms as well as longtime sufferers getting more miserable each year. "

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“The link between rising carbon dioxide and pollen is pretty clear,” Lewis Ziska, a weed ecologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, tells USA Today.

His lab tests show that pollen production rises along with carbon dioxide. It doubled from 5 grams to 10 grams per plant when CO2 in the atmosphere rose from 280 parts per million (ppm) in 1900 to 370 ppm in 2000. He expects it could double again, to 20 grams, by 2075 if carbon emissions continue to climb. The world’s CO2 concentration is about 400 ppm.

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Gas drilling royalty group opposes bill on Corbett's desk


An organization of landowners who have royalty agreements with natural gas drilling companies are asking Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett to veto a bill that they fear
will lead to a goal prized by the gas industry–forced pooling.

The Associated Press reports today:

The National Association of Royalty Owners said last-minute changes made during the weekend to a Senate bill could allow drilling companies to use decades-old mineral leases to force current landowners to accept Marcellus Shale drilling under their property. Trevor Walczak, vice president of the association’s Pennsylvania chapter, said Corbett shouldn’t sign the bill in its current form, though the group normally favors oil and gas drilling.

Walczak said the impact of the bill could ultimately be similar to so-called forced pooling. That’s when a drilling company can force some landowners to accept drilling if many surrounding ones have agreed to leases.

The new legislation would only apply to people with existing oil and gas leases. It would means heirs to leases signed decades ago for traditional drilling could be forced to accept horizontal shale gas drilling, which can extend thousands of feet from a well, even under land owned by neighbors, who also would be forced to accept the drilling,

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George Jugovic, an environmental attorney with Penn Future also criticized the legislation, saying that it seeks to bind landowners to decades-old leases "whenever it benefits the company," instead of requiring new individual contracts for the shale gas drilling. Jugovic said the legislation could be "the first step toward pooling."

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports:

Gov. Tom Corbett has 10 days to sign the bill and is evaluating it, a spokesman said Monday. One of his top aides and Republican leaders did help push its passage, said Rep. Garth Everett, R-Lycoming County.

Everett drafted the amendment and has — along with industry officials and Republican leaders in Harrisburg — tried to distance it from pooling law. This is different because it doesn’t force people to have gas drilling if they haven’t signed up for gas drilling, supporters said. It applies only to people who have old gas leases that are silent about whether their land can be combined with other land.

Related environmental news stories:
Pittsburgh embracing LEED-certified green building 
Gas drilling royalty owners oppose new Pa. bill 
Bill allowing easier pooling of gas well drilling leases draws criticism 

 

Gas drilling royalty group opposes bill on Corbett's desk Read More »

Pittsburgh embracing LEED-certified green building

David L. Lawrence Convention Center i n Pittsburgh, Pa.

In Pittsburgh, the construction of environmental-friendly buildings, designed for sustainability, is growing by leaps–and square footage.

Pittsburgh Business Times reports that, when it  compiled its first list of LEED-certified/green projects and buildings six years ago, the 25th-largest project on
the list was 12,000 square feet.

This year, in order to make the top 25, a project needed 200,000 square feet.

Business Times says this is not only evidence of the tremendous growth in the
number of projects seeking certification "but also the acceptance and leadership
roles taken by contractors and architects in the area and the Green Building Alliance."
LEED-ing to Green Pastures has lists of the top 15 LEED projects in 2008 and 2010.

Business Times also provides a slideshow of the top 25 LEED buildings in 2013  

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Pre-summer votes on environmental bills in NJ Senate

The New Jersey Legislature holds final voting sessions today before summer adjournment.

There are no important pieces of energy and environment legislation on the Assembly’s board list, but the Senate has scheduled votes today on the following bills:

A-2675  Caride, M. (D-36); Russo, D.C. (R-40);
Rumana, S.T. (R-40); Webber, J. (R-26)
Re appropriates $3 million from “Dam, Lake, Stream,
Flood Control, Water Resources, and Wastewater Treatment Project Bond Act of
2003” to fund State flood control projects.
Related Bill: S-1781
      
A-3422  Benson, D.R. (D-14); Caride, M. (D-36);
Fuentes, A. (D-5); Gusciora, R. (D-15)
Prohibits electric power suppliers from making false
and misleading claims to potential customers; limits suppliers’ calls to
customers to once annually where no business relationship exists.
Related Bill: S-2308
  
A-4149  Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3); Dancer, R.S. (R-12);
Amodeo, J.F. (R-2)
Authorizes New Jersey Racing Commission to grant
special permit for horse racing on beach.
Related Bill: S-2892
     
A-4232  Fuentes, A. (D-5); Singleton, T. (D-7)
Creates pilot program to allow certain county utilities
authorities to fund certain local infrastructure.
Related Bill: S-2844
     
ACR-197  Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3); Russo, D.C. (R-40)
Urges BPU to coordinate with PJM Interconnection to
facilitate development of New Jersey Energy Link in phases; recommends that BPU
and EDA conduct economic studies to determine benefits of project.  Related Bill: SCR-159
     

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S-1781  Sarlo, P.A. (D-36); O’Toole, K.J. (R-40)

Re-appropriates $3 million from “Dam, Lake, Stream,
Flood Control, Water Resources, and Wastewater Treatment Project Bond Act of
2003” to fund State flood control projects.
Related Bill: A-2675
    
 S-2121  Sarlo, P.A. (D-36); Smith, B. (D-17)
The “Green Building and Infrastructure Tax Credit
Act”; provides tax credits for certain green buildings.
Related Bill: A-3199
    
S-2308  Greenstein, L.R. (D-14)
Prohibits electric power suppliers from making false
and misleading claims to potential customers; limits suppliers’ calls to
customers to once annually where no business relationship exists.
Related Bill: A-3422
    
S-2680  Sacco, N.J. (D-32); Kyrillos, J.M. (R-13);
Handlin, A.H. (R-13); Prieto, V. (D-32) 
Allows development on piers in coastal high hazard
areas in certain urban municipalities.
Related Bill: A-3933
     
S-2716  Lesniak, R.J. (D-20); Green, J. (D-22);
Watson Coleman, B. (D-15)
Extends moratorium on the imposition of Statewide
non-residential development fees until 2016; establishes the “New Jersey
Residential Foreclosure Transformation Act.”*
Related Bill: A-4251
      
S-2844  Norcross, D. (D-5)
Creates pilot program to allow certain county utilities
authorities to fund certain local infrastructure.
Related Bill: A-4232
     
S-2899  Norcross, D. (D-5)
Authorizes New Jersey Racing Commission to grant
special permits for horse racing on beach and for steeplechase race meeting;
allows wagering on such races.
    
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