| Recent Developments Affecting US Coal-Fired Power Generation: When is Rains it Pours |
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Peter Spinney
Market and Technology Assessment
NeuCo, Inc.
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Between two substantial events affecting rules regarding emissions regulations by the US EPA, unprecedented low natural gas prices, and what appears to finally be a sustained economic turn-around and associated impacts on electricity demand, it has truly been an eventful New Year for the power generation industry. Let me focus on CSAPR now, and will opine on the other topics in the days to come.
Arguably the most newsworthy and certainly the most surprising, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a ruling on December 30, 2011 to stay the controversial Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), which was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2012. It required 28 Eastern and Midwestern states to reduce SO2 and NOx emissions, accompanied...
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| Rumors of Coal's Death Greatly Exaggerated |
Peter Spinney
Market and Technology Assessment
NeuCo, Inc.
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Earlier this week, a column from the Public Utilities Fortnightly Spark website got me thinking about an issue I haven't focused on in a while -- the role of natural gas prices in shaping the economics of coal-fired power generation. I’ll chalk it up to my lack of focus being preoccupied with trying to figure out CSAPR; our ever-morphing friendly ghost. But the upward pressures on natural gas prices -- which largely determines the financial performance of coal-fired generation in wholesale power markets -- combined with a variety of other emerging developments, suggests that coal will continue to play a vital role in our country's energy future.
The observation on natural gas prices that caught my eyes was:
“Even with recent large natural...
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| Top 7 Reasons Why You Need to Attend the CSAPR Webcast |
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Robin L. Tam
Marketing Associate
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If you haven’t signed up for the November 3rd CSAPR Webcast, here’s a list of reasons why you should attend. With the rule’s new twists & turns, we want you to takeaway an honest understanding on how this rule will impact your plant & the industry.
Here are the Top 7 reasons why you need to attend: (that’s right…Lucky #7)
1. Overview: We’ll discuss the implications of the rule & what it means for your plant.
2. Solution: The way we see it, BoilerOpt® is the #1 solution to fighting CSAPR. Register to learn...
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| CSAPR Update: The Kinder, Friendlier Ghost |
Peter Spinney
Market and Technology Assessment
NeuCo, Inc.
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The close of the time period for petitioning the US EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Reduction (CSAPR) rule was accompanied by an EPA announcement with proposed changes to the rule, and 8 states filing petitions contesting it (in addition to Texas which had already filed a petition). These changes have the effect of making the rule less onerous than the original, which was issued last July to take effect on January 1, 2012. The start time for the state budgets and maximum assurance levels and allowance trading remains in place for January 2012, despite a 30-day comment period on the proposed changes.
Some small adjustments were made affecting a number of state-level CSAPR budgets and unit allocations, in effect relaxing the required reductions between...
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