| Weaving the Threads: Perspectives from the American Coal Council's Spring Meeting |
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Peter Spinney
Market and Technology Assessment
NeuCo, Inc.
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I was recently asked to make a presentation at the American Coal Council's Spring Meeting in Clearwater Beach, Florida about regulatory drivers as they affect coal-fired generation. This was part of a panel on "Game Changer Issues" chaired by Scott Stallard from Black & Veatch. While the weather was disappointingly cold, the conference was well-attended and there were many astute observations made about the state of our industry.
Federal Cap and Trade Legislation
The prospect of federal cap and trade legislation for CO2 was a dominant theme, for obvious reasons. Opinions varied about the near-term likelihood of legislation getting passed, but there was clear consensus on both the need for a carbon price signal to spur investment in...
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| Mcilvaine Hot Topic Webcast: Thursday, Feb 25th at 10:00AM/CST |
Peter Spinney
Market and Technology Assessment
NeuCo, Inc.
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I was invited to speak on the Mcilvaine Hot Topic Webcast: Greenhouse Gas Strategies for Coal-fired Plant Operators this Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 10:00AM/CST.
The webcast “Greenhouse Gas Strategies for Coal-fired Plant Operators” will address the current state of development, the economics, the potential GHG reductions achievable, and the advantages or disadvantages of the various options that operators of coal fired power plants have to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of coal.
I will discuss the role of optimization software in improving power plant efficiency and thereby reducing the amount of fuel...
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| The NOx Hits Keep on Coming |
Peter Spinney
Market and Technology Assessment
NeuCo, Inc.
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My January 12 blog post talked about the US EPA’s increasingly aggressive stance on power plant NOx and particulate emissions, as evidenced by their recent proposal for new lower ground-level ozone limits, and by the upcoming April 2010 deadline for PM 2.5 compliance. These moves could put hundreds of additional counties nationwide in violation and require state and local officials to find ways to clamp down on pollution or else be penalized. And compliance won’t be cheap -- the EPA's estimates for the incremental costs associated with the additional reduction in ground-level ozone limits range as high as $90 billion dollars!
Another hit came on January 25, when Westar Energy agreed to pay a $3...
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| And So it Goes…GHG Emissions Update |
Peter Spinney
Market and Technology Assessment
NeuCo, Inc.
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In reading the recent Utilipoint article on “What’s next for Greenhouse Gas”, I would have to say I agree with most of it. Noteworthy is that the US EPA's top two priorities are climate change and air emissions, a reminder of the central role the power generation industry plays in some of the most important public policy issues facing our Nation today. I suspect, however, that the article may have been written before the most recent indications of how seriously the industry, the Obama Administration, and the US Senate are taking the need to get bi-partisan energy legislation passed this year. Check out, for example, the front page of the Boston...
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