{"id":4570,"date":"2018-10-29T14:51:11","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T20:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/?p=4570"},"modified":"2018-10-29T14:52:45","modified_gmt":"2018-10-29T20:52:45","slug":"breathe-easier-in-february-henderson-muni-to-retire-two-sebree-units","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/?p=4570","title":{"rendered":"Breathe easier in February. Henderson Muni to retire two Sebree units."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>October 26, 2018-By Robert Walton, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.utilitydive.com\/news\/kentucky-coal-plant-to-close-latest-among-accelerating-shutdowns\/540622\/\">UtilityDive.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4571\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/DSCF3022.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4571\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4571\" src=\"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/DSCF3022-1024x685.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/DSCF3022-1024x685.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/DSCF3022-300x201.jpg 300w, http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/DSCF3022-768x514.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4571\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Henderson Municipal Utilities operates two units in this complex that also hosts the Louisville Gas and Electric Company &#8216;s Reid Station. File Photo \u00a9 2018 BlairPhotoEVV.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dive Brief:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Henderson Municipal Power and Light in Kentucky will close its coal plant early next year and turn to the open market for its power needs, as the aging plant&#8217;s energy production is consistently more expensive than available supplies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Henderson&#8217;s <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.powermag.com\/kentucky-coal-plants-future-in-doubt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">300 MW coal plant, Station 2<\/a>, is operated by Big River which sells the excess energy. However,\u00a0power from the plant <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/wfpl.org\/the-decline-of-u-s-coal-power-looks-a-lot-like-henderson-kentucky\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">costs approximately 33 times more<\/a>\u00a0than alternative generation and it ran infrequently, local news station WFPL\u00a0reported earlier this year.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In a letter earlier this month,\u00a0the Midcontinent ISO (MISO)\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sierraclub.org\/sites\/www.sierraclub.org\/files\/blog\/HMPL12_Att%20Y_Approval_2018-10-08.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">approved the shutdown<\/a>\u00a0of Units 1 and 2 effective Feb.\u00a01, 2019, after determining the generation was not necessary as a system support resource.<\/span><br \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dive Insight:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Coal-fired generators continue to close down, and Henderson&#8217;s power plant is only the most recent example. According to the Sierra Club,\u00a0the plant is the <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/maryannehitt\/status\/1055514313774063616\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">277th\u00a0coal generator that has shut down or announced plans to do so since 2010<\/a>. And new research finds closures are accelerating.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) on Thursday <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/ieefa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Record-Drop-in-U.S.-Coal-Fired-Capacity-in-2018_October2018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">released an analysis<\/a>\u00a0estimating 15.4 GW of coal-fired capacity will close this year, including 44 units at 22 plants. This year at least 11 GW have retired and the final tally is predicted to eclipse the previous record of 14.7 GW retired in 2015.\u00a0IEEFA\u00a0estimates another 21.4GW of coal-fired capacity will close over the next six years.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2565\" style=\"width: 334px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/DSC9825web.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2565\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2565\" src=\"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/DSC9825web.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"324\" height=\"488\" srcset=\"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/DSC9825web.jpg 324w, http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/DSC9825web-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2565\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A literal &#8220;mountain&#8221; of coal ash sits along the Green river just south of the Big Rivers\/Henderson Municipal coal plant near Sebree, KY. \u00a9 2010 \u00a0BlairPhotoEVV<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;The competitive environment for coal-fired power in the generation marketplace is becoming ever more challenging,&#8221; Seth Feaster, IEEFA data analyst and author of the report, <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/ieefa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Record-Drop-in-U.S.-Coal-Fired-Capacity-in-2018_October2018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said in a statement<\/a>.\u00a0He pointed to the declining cost of renewables and natural gas prices that &#8220;are expected to remain low for the foreseeable future.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There have been exceptions. Just last week,\u00a0FirstEnergy announced it would <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.utilitydive.com\/news\/firstenergy-west-virginia-coal-plant-staves-off-2019-deactivation\/540161\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">delay closing its 1,300 MW coal-fired Pleasants Power Station<\/a> in West Virginia. The plant had been slated to close next year, but will instead continue operating into 2022. That decision, however, had less to do with coal&#8217;s long-term viability and more with the bankruptcy proceeding of FirstEnergy Solutions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">IEEFA\u00a0estimates that in July the U.S. coal fleet stood at about 246 GW, but by the end of 2024 that capacity could be reduced 15%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;Cost is the biggest force in the decline of coal, as renewables and gas-fired generation are proving cheaper and more flexible,&#8221; the analysis said, also warning the electric generation industry is &#8220;well into a fundamental transition that is gaining momentum and will probably accelerate as technology disruptions occur.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As for the Henderson plant, MISO informed Big River three weeks ago that &#8220;the decision to retire is considered final and the existing interconnection rights for the generators will be terminated as of the retirement date.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 26, 2018-By Robert Walton, in UtilityDive. Dive Brief: Henderson Municipal Power and Light in Kentucky will close its coal plant early next year and turn to the open market for its power needs, as the aging plant&#8217;s energy production &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/?p=4570\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4570"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4574,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4570\/revisions\/4574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}