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RelyOn Nutec | |||||||||||||
MålgruppePersonnel who will be working in the wind industry or related fields, and will carry out their duties in a wind turbine environment, usually in physical contact with a wind turbine or offshore wind structure. Personnel that perform job functions that have been risk assessed by their employer or workplace, where training according to one or more modules of the BST standard may mitigate the identified risks.
MålsetningThe objective of GWO Basic Safety Training Refresher is to review and build on previously gained knowledge and skills from BST through theoretical and practical training. This BSTR Training shall enable delegates to support and care for themselves and others working in the industry by possessing the knowledge and skills of First Aid, Working at Heights, Manual Handling and Fire Awareness.
KursinnholdFirst Aid – learn to administer safe and effective First Aid in the wind turbine industry/ WTG environment and to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use an automated external defibrillator (AED). Manual Handling – encourage positive Manual Handling and ergonomic behaviour, encourage delegates to consider alternatives to manual handling through planning and to train delegates ability to perform Manual Handling tasks in a safe manner in the wind turbine industry/environment. Fire Fighting – learn basic firefighting knowledge and skills and be able to prevent fires, evaluate fires and plan accordingly, manage evacuation of personnel and efficiently extinguish an initial fire by using basic hand held firefighting equipment. Working at Heights – learn to use basic personal protective equipment and perform safe work at heights and safe and comprehensive basic rescue from heights in a remote wind turbine environment.
ForkunnskapskravAll delegates must hold a valid and in-date GWO Basic Safety Training (BST) Certificate, or must have training records in WINDA for the relevant Modules. The online component of the course will provide you with the prerequisite knowledge and awareness required ahead of participation in the onsite practical sessions. The e-Learning can be started up to 4 weeks (maximum) prior to the classroom start date. The e-Learning must be completed no later than 48 hours prior to initial classroom attendance date. The latest you can sign up for the Blended Course is 4 days prior to the classroom start date.
EksamenUpon completion of the course, delegates will be awarded with GWO approved Refresher certification for all 4 modules. Certification for each module is valid for 2 years. Prior to expiry delegates must undertake GWO Basic Safety Training Refresher to remain certified.


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This clock kit is based on the same hardware as Ultimate3/3S QRSS/WSPR kit and a special firmware version. A GPS receiver module such as the QLG1 can optionally be connected for precision time-keeping. The display format is customisable; as well as time and date, you can also choose to display GPS data (e.g. location, number of received satellites, etc). |
This is a shack clock and sidereal clock kit which can optionally also be connected to a GPS receiver module such as the QLG1 to provide precise time. Alternatively it can be used standalone or with a different 1 pulse per second (pps) signal source.
This clock's features include:
- GPS date, time and other parameters, using a GPS module such as the QRP Labs QLG1
- Location (latitude, longitude and altitude) and Maidenhead grid square or subsquare
- Display of UT date, time and weekday
- Display of local date, time and weekday
- Display of Greenwich and Local Sidereal Time
- Configurable time zone offset, with display of local date and local time
- 10 alarms, which can be configured to switch on and off 6 different external relays or output signals
- Flexible configuration of the display contents
- Multiple messages can be set up to display sequentially on the display lines, for configurable duration
- Support for 4-line displays
- Two Analogue temperature sensors an optionally be connected to the kit, so that temperature measurements can be displayed (for example, indoor and outdoor temperature).
The contents of the display are completely configurable; the photographs on this page show the default configuration of the clock display.
These are the instructions for the latest PCB revision and Firmware version. Please check your PCB and your firmware revision. If you have an earlier version use the correct documents in the next section.
Assembly manual (PCB "QCU Rev 1" or "QCU Rev 3" or "QCU Rev 4")
Operation manual (firmware c1.03)
Documents: older PCB and Firmware versions
Assembly manual (PCB "U3S Rev. 2", old U3S PCB)
Assembly manual (PCB "Rev. 5", old U3 PCB)
Operation manual (firmware c1.02a)
Operation manual (firmware c1.01 and c1.01a)
Firmware version history
Version | Date | Features |
c1.03d | 28-Oct-2020 | - Bug fix: Incorrect weekday calculation (again) - Bug fix: Fixed occasional issue where sometimes GPS info shows as -- - Bug fix: Alarms functionality, minor improvements and fixes |
c1.03c | 16-Feb-2020 | - Negative altitudes in the #AF tag are now displayed (were previously set to just 0) - Bug fix: incorrect weekday calculation (affects #DA, #D3, #LA, #L3) - Bug fix: incorrect local date month on new year's eve for locations who are behind GMT |
c1.03b | 16-Sep-2019 | - Bug fix: incorrect weekday calculation (affects #DA, #D3, #LA, #L3) - Bug fix: Occasional quick change of #GT and #GS rapidly between small and large numbers |
c1.03a | 09-Sep-2019 | - Bug fix: Typo in day of week, "Saturday" was written "Saturdayday" |
c1.03 | 06-Sep-2019 | - Added #UH, #UM, #US tags for Greenwich Sideral Time - Added #TH, #TM, #TS tags for Local Sidereal Time - Added #AF tag for altitude in feet - Added #DA, #D3 tags for UT weekday in full and 3-letter abbreviation respectively - Added #LA, #L3 tags for Local weekday in full and 3-letter abbreviation respectively - ADC now averages 100 samples to reduce noise (for temperature calculation etc) - Bug fix: Local date now fixed (was showing yesterday) |
c1.02a | 08-Oct-2018 | - Bug fix: T1 & T2 were overriden by relay outputs. Now if the relays 1 and 5 are not configured on any alarms, the inputs can be used for temperature measurement |
c1.02 | 04-Oct-2018 | - Add tags #ND, #NM, #NY for local date days, months and years (taking into account local time offset) - Upgrade Clock firmware to require only .hex installation, as for other QRP Labs kits - Added 10 alarm settings, each with start/stop that can control I/O and relays, and be enabled individually - Add Alarm Local setting, when ON the alarm times use local time (otherwise UT) - Local time offset configuration parameter changed to 3 digits (enough for all world timezones) - Add tags #R0 to #R5 which display 1 or 0 to show the state of the specified relay or I/O signal - Add tag #GD for GPS Ground Speed - Add tag #GC for GPS Ground Course - Add tag #AL to show bell icon if the alarm is enabled - Add tags #DT and #DN for Decimal degrees latitude and longitude - Add tags #ST and #SN for Degrees Minute Seconds latitude and longitude format - While running, Right button now toggles enabled state of alarms - Enable Alarms setting is now an ON/OFF selection - Add lowercase characters, if enabled by new "Lowercase" setting - Six new tags #I0 to #I5 which display raw ADC inputs - 10 new tags #A0 to #A9 which display alarm times - Optional extended tag formatting ##slNN where NN = tag, s = start character, l = length - GPS Checksum validation, same as Ultimate3S, if enabled by new "GPS Checksum" setting - Display "Setting up" message during operator-initiated factory reset - Bug fix: 6th character of Maidenhead locator incorrect in some cases - Bug fix: Line1 Factory reset was missing last two characters - Bug fix: Properly display temperatures of 100 or over |
c1.01a | 01-Dec-2015 | - Just a recompilation under latest AVR Studio on Win 10. No new functionality or changes! |
c1.01 | 31.Aug.2015 | - Support for 4 x 20 LCD. - Local Time Offset entry, in minutes. - #LH and #LM tags for local time hours and local time minutes. - #H2, #AP tags for local time hours in 12-hour format, and "AM"/"PM" display. - Added alarm function: Alarm, AlarmOn params. To cancel Alarm, press Right button. - Bug fix: Factory reset copied 2nd display line on 1st, and did not reset second display line - Bug fix: Factory reset put temperature calibration values to non-Factory values. - Bug fix: If GPS latitude/longitude displayed on top row, it could cause some display corruption of row 2 in some cases. - Bug fix: Long message strings, overwrite the top LCD line when looping through menu. |
c1.00 | 08.Apr.2015 | - Original kit firmware version |
4-line display
The clock firmware from firmware version c1.01 onwards supports a 4-row 20-column LCD. Each line can be configured, just the same way as the standard 16 x 2 LCD module supplied in the kit. The following photograph shows a 4-line clock display by Bob ZL1RS.
Beautiful customised build by Henk PE4H
The photographs below show Henk PE4H beautifully made clock. Like Bob ZL1RS above, Henk also uses a 4-line display. His enclosure includes power supply and QRP Labs QLG1 GPS. A unique step by Henk, was to incorporate lower case characters into the display. The configuration of the clock supports upper case characters only. But Henk read out the EEPROM .eep file, and edited it in AVR Studio 7's hex editor, replacing the desired upper case characters with lower case ones.
Very nice shack clock built by Ed WA4MZS
Ed sent me some photographs of his project (click thumbnail pictures below) and writes:
"The case / cabinet is a Bud PC-11406. Front panel was painted with Rustoleum 'Charcoal Gray' (a close match to the Collins front panels). No lettering, as operation is simple, and at my stage of life, applying dry transfer lettering and getting it straight is a real challenge. The bezel around the display was necessary, as I can't cut a neat looking rectangular hole either (same reason as above). Rough cut the hole, then glued in the bezel, made from 1/8" (3mm) plastic angle stock from the hobby shop. All said, I'm real pleased with how it turned out!"
Clock kit with temperature sensors, by Gareth G4XAT
Gareth fitted indoor and outdoor temperature sensors and had difficulty with the long wire to the external one. The solution may be useful to other constructors. Gareth writes:
"I've finally built and cased the shack clock kit I bought a while back. Very nice it is too…..
I decided to add internal and external temperature for my shack re-fit. On short wires they both worked fine. With one on LONG wires, I was getting –ve numbers?? Strange I thought, so I ordered another sensor. SAME problem. SO I had a look at the data sheet http://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/data-sheets/TMP35_36_37.pdf page 10 where it recommends a 0.1 across the pins. Problem solved. There is still a bit of 'jitter' – I'm wondering if another small cap on the input pin would help with that. Although it's a 10 bit A-to D, 10 mV is naff all, so some smoothing might help. Or software smoothing by multiple averaging, but I guess you might know about that ;-)
Picture shows my two solutions, one inside the 3.5mm stereo jack plug, on at the end of the outside wire prior to a blob of epoxy sealing it forever."
4-line clock in plastic case, by JP KA3BWP
"I used a plastic softball display case available from your nearby craft stores, usually less than $10 USD. US Stores ALWAYS have discount coupons on their websites.
The plastic can crack, when you least expect as the one picture shows (I was going to add external menu button switches).
I used smaller drills and progressed in size. For the large hole for the coaxial plug I used the 3/8"(10mm) drill bit with my hand so as not to crack the case. Takes time and patience... but you'll be rewarded. A file or rasp could also be used to enlarge hole.
I used nylon standoffs to secure the GPS and Display module to the cube. For securing the clock to the 4 line display, I used small drop of epoxy on three of "legs" for clock and clipped the upper corner hole for use of nylon screw.
For 5 Volts, I used a MB102 Breadboard Power Supply Module, available on ebay. This board has a small on/off switch so I did not add addition power switch (less is more). I removed all unnecessary pins, USB jack, etc on breadboard power module and clipped the bottom leads and reflowed solder to make as smooth as possible. Since the breadboard power has no holes for mounting, I used three globs of epoxy.
I did not add external switches for programming, as they are easy enough to access on rear of clock PWB. I drilled a smaller hole to access the contract VR...if needed. I left the original first two lines in the program, added Call Sign, Grid square, Long./Lat./Altitude scroll on the 3rd and 4th lines."
4-line clock in plastic case by Rick VE7TK
"I liked the "baseball" case idea from KA3BWP. However, I was unable to find a case locally. Instead I used an air tight refrigerator storage dish made by Inter-Design Kitchen Binz 6.75 in x 5.75 in x 3.75 in (17.2 cm x 14.6 cm x 9.5 cm) at a cost of approximately $12.75 US.
I installed a 4-line display with the top 3 lines static while the 4th line scrolls the Latitude, Longitude, Altitude and Grid Square."
Rick has also supplied a document detailing the programming configuration for his 4-line clock. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD RICK'S PDF! (Thanks Rick!). Rick's website: http://www.ve7tk.com
Clock by Gerard PA2PGU
Clock by Sergey UR4IOR

subset: commoncrawl


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BMC Racing Team
The BMC Racing Team was founded in 2007 by BMC owner Andy Rihs and former American professional Jim Ochowicz. Rihs was the former owner and founder of the Phonak Cycling Team, the hearing aid company he owned. As an avid cyclist himself, Rihs founded BMC and sought to build a dynamic racing team to promote his brand. Ochowicz brought many years of top-level pro team management experience, having been the legendary 7-Eleven and Motorola cycling teams founder. Rounding out the mix was a select handful of other people, including Gavin Chilcott. Chilcott was a former professional rider with 7-Eleven and proved himself to be indispensable as the COO of the BMC Racing Team.
After a couple of seasons ramping up the organization, the team signed several prominent international riders for the 2010 season, including 2009 World Champion and two-time Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans, 2009 US Road Race Champion George Hincapie, 2008 World Champion Alessandro Ballan, and Spring Classics specialists Karsten Kroon and Marcus Burghardt.
In 2010 the team participated in their first Grand Tours, having been invited to compete in the 2010 Tour de France and the 2010 Giro d'Italia. In 2011, the team attained UCI ProTeam status, the most prestigious classification in professional racing.
2011 was a strong season for BMC Racing, with Cadel Evans winning the Tour de France, Tour of Romandie, and Tirreno-Adriatico. Greg Van Avermaet won Stage 6 and the Points Classification of the Tour of Austria and won Paris-Tours and the Tour of Wallonie. George Hincapie won Stage 2 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
In 2012, Evans was unfortunately unable to defend his title at the Tour de France, finishing in seventh overall. Still, teammate Tejay van Garderen had a solid Tour and won the Young Rider Classification. During 2012, the team also won stages of the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España, Tour of Utah, USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and the Criterium du Dauphine during a very successful racing season. In 2012 the team signed Thor Hushovd and Philippe Gilbert, the 2010 and 2012 world-champions, respectively.
2013 proved to be another successful year for the BMC Racing Team. Cadel Evans placed third overall at the Giro d'Italia. Tejay van Garderen won Stage 6 and was the overall race winner at the Tour of California, and the team clinched the Teams Classification. BMC won stages at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Tour of Austria, Vuelta a España, Tour of Wallonie, and took the Mountains Classification at the Tour of Romandie during the 2013 season.
In 2014 the BMC team had another excellent year on the road with Cadel Evans winning a stage at the Tour Down Under, Tejay van Garderen winning Stage 4 of the Volta a Catalunya, Taylor Phinney winning Stage 5 of the Tour of California, and Philippe Gilbert winning the Amstel Gold Race. The team also won several stages of the Tour of Utah and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and the Team Time Trial at the World Championships, among many other victories.
During the 2015 season, the team continued logging victories, winning stages at the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Tour of Austria, and Tour of Romandie, among others. Rohan Dennis dominated at the Tour Down Under, winning Stage 3, Best Young Rider Classification, and the overall race. Phillippe Gilbert won Stages 12 and 18 at the Giro d'Italia, while Greg Van Avermaet won the Overall and Stage 4 of the Tour of Belgium. The BMC was strong at the Team Time Trial, winning that event in Stages the Criterium du Dauphiné, the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, and repeating their 2014 victory by once again winning the TTT at the UCI Road World Championships.
For the 2016 season, the team signed Richie Porte. He scored podiums at the Tour Down Under and Paris–Nice to finish 7th in the World Tour individual classification. Van Avermaet finished 6th overall in the World Tour after winning the Tirreno–Adriatico and GP de Montréal.
In 2017, Van Avermaet won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Harelbeke, Gent–Wevelgem, and the Paris–Roubaix, claiming first place at the World Tour individual classification. Porte finished 12th overall, having won the Tour Down Under and Tour de Romandie. BMC ranked third in the World Tour points classification.
In the 2018 season, the team won stages of the Vuelta a España, the Tour of California, Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour of California, Tour of Utah, and the Tour Down Under. Richie Porte won the Tour de Suisse, while Greg Van Avermaet won the Tour de Yorkshire.
In July 2018, the team announced that CCC, a Polish shoe retailer, would become the team's new title sponsor, a move that would expand CCC's presence in cycling.
Unfortunately, operational challenges related to the Covid initiated global recession severely impacted title sponsor CCC. In September 2020, team management announced that the CCC Team would fold at the end of the season.
A team that genuinely delivered outstanding results, BMC leaves a magnificent and lasting legacy to the sport.


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TDM Adapter for HEQ5 / Orion Sirus EQ-G
All pricing in USD
You do not have to give up your current mount to enjoy the full benefits of a Telescope Drive Master from Explore Scientific. This simple adapter will allow you to attach this revolutionary device to HEQ5/Orion Sirus EQ-G Mounts and take tracking imperfections out of the picture.
Download TDM Monitor Software for FREE! This program can read TDM correction values in real-time via the PC serial port (or via RS232-USB adapter) from USART Port of TDM box.
The installation package contains the LabView runtime environment as well for using this application. In this way, the user can check the tracking error of any mount in real time in his/her warm room (without autoguider support). Before installation, it is recommended to read "ReadMeFirst.txt" file.
Item Number | 721050 |
Limited Warranty is one year, which converts to the Explore STAR Transferable Extended Life of the Product Warranty when product is registered within 60 days of purchase. Click Here to register.
CA Residents: Prop 65 WARNING(S)


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Today I'm thrilled to be a part of the blog tour for Ally Malinenko's upcoming contemporary novel, This Is Sarah! Read on below for an excerpt from the book, and be sure to add it to your TBR list!
This Is SarahBy Ally Malinenko
Publisher: BookFish Books
Synopsis: When Colin Leventhal leaned out his bedroom window on the night of May 12th and said goodbye to his girlfriend, he never expected it would be forever. But when Sarah Evans goes missing that night, Colin's world unravels as he transforms from the boyfriend next door to the main police suspect. Then one year later, at her memorial service, Colin makes a phone call that could change everything. Is it possible that Sarah is still alive? And if so, how far will he go to bring her back?
As Colin struggles with this possibility, across the street, Sarah's little sister, Claire learns how to navigate the strange new landscape of life without her sister. While her parents fall apart, Claire remains determined to keep going, even if it kills her.
THIS IS SARAH serves as a meditation on loss, love, and what it means to say goodbye.
** Excerpt **
I get up early to run, because it's easier in the morning. There's no one up yet at five am, and the streets belong to me. I don't even bring music anymore. I only want to hear the steady thwack of my sneakers on the pavement, the rustle of leaves in the breeze and the huff of air coming out of my lungs. It sets up a rhythm that allows my brain to shut off for a while so my mind stays empty.
Not thinking feels good. It's one of the few things that still feels good.
I crest the hill at the top of Cedarhurst and pick up speed going down. My lungs feel clean and clear, and I think about sprinting the last five or six blocks back to my driveway. My energy seems a little low, but I figured I can probably push it.
The sound of my feet hitting the pavement intensifies and I pump my arms hard, small tears forming in my eyes from the wind. I clear my mind. I am no longer Colin. I'm just muscle, tissue and bone; a complex and delicate machine pushing its way against gravity and inertia, covering distance on this rock floating in the darkness of an ever-expanding space.
When Claire pulls her bike alongside me I nearly jump out of my skin. Where the hell did she come from? She pedals hard, riding off the seat, her blonde hair whipping back. She passes me and looks back and smiles. As the distance between us grows, I'm overcome with loss, and a sort of panic, like I need to catch up to her. I'm not sure what it is, but I watch her move away from me, her blonde hair streaming, her legs working the pedals and every muscle in my body screams to catch her.
Suddenly Claire is everything in the world, everything beautiful, alive, peaceful, and good, and it's all getting away from me.
The farther she gets from me, the closer she gets to the monsters and all I want in the world is for Claire to always be safe.
Jesus Christ, I just want to be able to save one of them.
She looks back at me once and smiles before pumping the pedals again. In that moment, that small bright moment, her hair and her smile reflecting the early morning sun, she looks just like Sarah. Just like Claire looked that day in the hallway.
Suddenly I feel so hollow and empty, carved out like the husk of some dead cicada. I watch her get away from me and feel more lost than ever before. She rounds the bend and disappears from my line of sight, something inside of me snaps and I stumble forward. My feet now clumsy, my balance thrown off, until I stop, bent, heaving, coughing, spitting foam, my heart wild inside me. In my head, an image forms of Sarah when I made her laugh so hard she nearly choked on her sandwich at the diner.
That was Sarah.
Sarah and me, in a moment we won't have again. A moment that was once real but now feels like it belonged to another life. Neither of us foresaw it ending this way.
The year before or the week before or the day before. We never saw it coming.
If I knew when she stood on that driveway, staring up at me, with me hanging out of the window looking down at her, if I knew, I would have told her everything.
About Ally Malinenko
Ally Malinenko is the author of the poetry collection The Wanting Bone (Six Gallery Press) and the children's fantasy Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb (Antenna Books). She lives in Brooklyn with her husband.
Website | Twitter | BookFish Books


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Coal plant conversion projects
This article is part of the Coal Issues portal on SourceWatch, a project of Global Energy Monitor and the Center for Media and Democracy. See here for help on adding material to CoalSwarm. |
This article is part of the FrackSwarm portal on SourceWatch, a project of Global Energy Monitor and the Center for Media and Democracy. To search by topic or location, click here. |
This article is part of the CoalSwarm coverage of coal plants |
Sub-articles: |
There is a growing trend in the utility industry to convert existing coal-fired power plants to burn other fuel types, such as biomass and natural gas, though whether such conversions are environmentally beneficial remains controversial. This trend is driven by a number of factors, including state-level renewable portfolio standards; federal incentives and looming environmental regulations; consumer demand and environmental awareness; and an economic climate that is making coal less attractive.[1] Although conversion costs can be expensive, utilities already have the facilities sited and water supply and transmission lines established. Converting existing facilities can often cost less than installing the emissions control systems required to keep an antiquated coal plant running.[2]
- 1 Biomass conversions
- 2 Natural gas conversions
- 3 Coal plant conversion projects
- 3.1 Alabama: Gadsden and Barry Steam Plants
- 3.2 Alabama: Gaston Steam Plant
- 3.3 Alabama and Tennessee: TVA considering shutting down aging John Sevier Fossil Plant and Widows Creek Fossil Plant
- 3.4 California: Mt. Poso Cogeneration Plant
- 3.5 Colorado: Arapahoe Station and Cameo Station
- 3.6 Colorado: Valmont Station
- 3.7 Delaware: Dover Municipal Power Plant
- 3.8 Delaware: Edge Moor Power Plant
- 3.9 Florida: Central Power & Lime Power Plant
- 3.10 Florida: Scholz Generating Plant
- 3.11 Georgia: McDonough Steam Generating Plant
- 3.12 Georgia: Mitchell Steam Generating Plant
- 3.13 Georgia: University of Georgia Physical Plant
- 3.14 Hawaii: Hu Honua Station
- 3.15 Illinois: The Eastern Illinois University Power Plant
- 3.16 Illinois: University of Illinois Abbott Power Plant
- 3.17 Indiana: Gallagher Generating Station
- 3.18 Indiana: IPL to retire Eagle Valley and two units at Harding Street; replacing capacity with new natural gas plant
- 3.19 Indiana: Jasper 2 Power Plant
- 3.20 Indiana: Perry K Steam Plant
- 3.21 Indiana: Whitewater Valley Generating Station
- 3.22 Kentucky: Big Sandy Plant Units 1 and 2
- 3.23 Kentucky: TVA announces plans to retire Paradise Fossil Plant units 1 and 2 and build natural gas plant
- 3.24 Louisiana: Big Cajun II Power Plant
- 3.25 Massachusetts: Somerset Power Generating Station
- 3.26 Michigan: MSU Simon Power Plant
- 3.27 Minnesota: Black Dog Generating Station
- 3.28 Minnesota: Otter Tail Power will convert Hoot Lake Plant to natural gas
- 3.29 Minnesota: Riverside and High Bridge Plants
- 3.30 Minnesota: Minnesota Power to convert Syl Laskin to natural gas
- 3.31 New Hampshire: Schiller Station
- 3.32 New Jersey: Deepwater Generating Station
- 3.33 New Jersey: England Generating Station
- 3.34 New Jersey: Howard Down Generating Station
- 3.35 New York: Cornell University Central Heating Plant
- 3.36 North Carolina: Progress Energy plants
- 3.37 Ohio: R.E. Burger power plant
- 3.38 Ohio: Big Sandy Plant Unit 1 and Muskingum River Plant Unit 5 may convert to gas
- 3.39 Oregon: Boardman Plant
- 3.40 Pennsylvania: Penn State University to Convert Plant to Natural Gas
- 3.41 Utah: Utah Smelter Power Plant
- 3.42 Virginia: Dominion to convert Altavista, Hopewell, and Southampton plants to biomass
- 3.43 Virginia: TVA to shutter the coal-fired Allen Fossil Plant and built a combined-cycle natural gas plant
- 3.44 Washington, DC: Capitol Power Plant
- 3.45 Wisconsin: Bay Front Station
- 3.46 Wisconsin: Blount Street Station
- 3.47 Wisconsin: Capitol Heat and Power Plant
- 3.48 Wisconsin: Charter Street Heating Plant
- 3.49 Wisconsin: Edgewater Generating Station
- 3.50 Wisconsin: Stoneman Generating Station
- 3.51 Wisconsin: Valley Power Plant
- 3.52 Wisconsin: Waupun Correction Central Heating Plant
- 3.53 Wyoming: Naughton Power Plant
- 3.54 Ontario, Canada
- 3.55 Ontario shutting 4 plants, considering conversion for remaining 11 plants
- 4 Resources
Biomass conversions
The majority of conversion projects to date are centered on switching to biomass fuel sources. Biomass generally includes any organic material that is not a fossil fuel. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) defines biomass as "any plant-derived organic matter. Biomass available for energy on a sustainable basis includes herbaceous and woody energy crops, agricultural food and feed crops, agricultural crop wastes and residues, wood wastes and residues, aquatic plants, and other waste materials including some municipal wastes."[3]
Support for biomass within the environmental community is mixed, and there are no easy generalizations about its environmental pluses and minuses. Supporters identify biomass as an improvement over coal, touting benefits that include significant reductions in the emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. In addition, biomass materials are often described as "carbon-neutral," because they release the same amount of carbon when burned as they remove from the atmosphere while growing. In theory, the CO2 released during the combustion of biomass materials will be recaptured by the growth of these same materials, creating what is described as a "closed-carbon cycle".[4] Fossil fuels, by contrast, emit vast quantities of carbon dioxide that were captured through photosynthesis millions of years ago and would otherwise remain trapped underground.[5]
However, many environmentalists are firmly against the use of biomass to offset coal-generated power. Critics point out that no combustion technologies actually mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and that the focus of a new energy policy should be on energy conservation and zero-emissions technologies like wind and solar.[6] Further, while biomass technologies may be touted as carbon-neutral, in practice this may not be the case. Studies suggest that in reality, the carbon released by burning would take decades to remove from the atmosphere, because of the length of time necessary to replenish harvested tree and plant material and re-sequester the equivalent amount of CO2.[7]
Biomass also presents other issues. In terms of emissions, it releases approximately the same amount of particulate matter as coal and fifty percent more carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide[citation needed]. A Massachusetts study found that 135MW of biomass energy generation would produce 482 tons of nitrogen oxides, 617 tons of carbon monoxide, 165 tons of particulate matter, and 2.2 million tons of CO2.[7] The cultivation and clearcutting of biomass materials on a large scale also bear major implications for wildlife habitats, biodiversity, water supplies, as well as a potential depletion in the terrestrial carbon sink.[8][9] Ecologists point out that even using waste wood or so-called marginal lands would still disrupt natural habitats. For biomass to be an effective energy source on a large scale, it would have the potential to "decimate biodiversity in an attempt to save the planet," according to ecologist Mike Palmer of Oklahoma State University.[10] Ultimately, critics argue that the environmental impacts of biomass are not well enough understood to justify moving forward with large-scale projects, and that in fact there may be disastrous implications for any significant reliance on biomass power generation.
In June 2010 a six-month study commissioned by Massachusetts state environmental officials was released and found that biomass-fired electricity would result in a 3 percent increase in carbon emissions compared to coal-fired electricity by the year 2050 if those trees were harvested in New England forests. The study's authors arrived at the 3 percent figure by comparing how much carbon is emitted into the atmosphere through the burning of wood, called "carbon debt", with the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere from the regrowth of trees, or "carbon dividends." The study made a series of recommendations, which included forcing currently operating biomass facilities to report where they get their supply of wood and requiring them to purchase wood from forests with approved forest management plans.
The report also recommends additional environmental protections at locations where trees are being cut down for biomass plants, including "requiring enough coarse woody debris is left on the ground, particularly at nutrient poor sites, to ensure continued soil productivity, as well as sufficient standing dead wildlife trees remain to promote biodiversity."[11]
Natural gas conversions
Although some coal-fired power plants are reported to have been converted from coal to natural gas, a 2010 study by the Aspen Environmental Group for the American Public Power Association reports that such "conversions," when examined, are replacements rather than retrofits:[12]
- The electricity industry can theoretically switch to natural gas either by retrofitting existing coal-fired units to burn natural gas or by closing the coal plants and building new gas-fired plants. Aspen's research uncovers no instances of coal plant retrofits to natural gas and, in fact, virtually all of the public references to conversion of coal to natural gas or repowering turn out instead to be replacements. The reason is economics. Even the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), when it looked at this issue switching the Capitol Building power plant to natural gas, noted that not only was switching all U.S. coal-fired generation infeasible due the gas supply and infrastructure required, but that it would be more cost-effective to construct new gas-fired units than to retrofit existing coal-fired units to burn natural gas. Combined-cycle gas-fired generation costs roughly $1 million per MW, installed.
The environmental impacts of natural gas are better understood than those of biomass. Natural gas combustion produces almost 45 percent fewer carbon dioxide emissions than coal, emits lower levels of nitrogen oxides and particulates, and produces virtually no sulfur dioxide and mercury emissions. The lower levels of these emissions mean that the use of natural gas does not contribute significantly to smog or acid rain formation. In addition, because natural gas boilers do not need the scrubbers required by coal-fired power plants to reduce SO2 emissions, natural gas plants create much less toxic sludge. [13]
However, natural gas is still a fossil fuel. Although its carbon content is lower than that of coal, it nonetheless releases harmful CO2 into the atmosphere when burned.[14] Its extraction from shale, the most significant new source of natural gas, can have harmful impacts on water, land use, and wildlife, if the process is not managed properly. As with biofuels, many enviromentalists do not see natural gas as a longterm solution for the nation's fuel needs. In July 2009, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. published a column acknowledging the "environmental caveats" that come with converting coal plants to natural gas. He and other environmental advocates, however, do support natural gas as a short-term solution to reduce the environmental burden of coal until renewable solar, wind, and geothermal technologies can be implemented to their full potential.[15]
Although natural gas combustion produces lower greenhouse gas emissions than coal, leakage of natural gas during production and transport may have significant greenhouse gas effects. Natural gas is composed mainly of methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide when released into the atmosphere. Methane in the atmosphere is eventually oxidized, producing carbon dioxide and water. In the atmosphere methane has a half life of seven years (if no methane was added, then every seven years, the amount of methane would halve). The radiative forcing of methane is 72 times that of carbon dioxide (averaged over 20 years) or 25 times that of carbon dioxide (averaged over 100 years).[16]Carbon dioxide receives the lion's share of attention over greenhouse gases because it is released in much larger amounts. Still, it is inevitable in using natural gas on a large scale that some of it will leak into the atmosphere. Current USEPA estimates place global leakage of methane at 3 trillion cubic feet annually[17], or 3.2% of global production[18]. Direct emissions of methane represented 14.3% of all global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in 2004 [19].
It was reported in July 2012 that for the first time ever natural gas power generation in the United States matched the power generated by coal. Coal and natural gas generation by both provided approximately 32% of total monthly generation for the U.S, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration.[20]
Coal plant conversion projects
Below is a list of existing, in progress, and proposed coal plant conversion projects.
Alabama: Gadsden and Barry Steam Plants
As of March 2009, when Georgia Power announced state approval to convert its Mitchell plant to biomass, Alabama Power, another Southern Company affiliate, was also considering a switch to biomass at its coal-fired Gadsden and Barry plants. By 2011 the Gadsden plant had the capability to produce steam and electricity using coal or natural gas, or both, and by 2011 was using mainly natural gas. The plant also was an experimental site for burning wood biomass and switch grass fuels, but as of 2012 the plant does not burn biomass.[21]
Alabama: Gaston Steam Plant
In May 2012, Alabama Power disclosed that it plans to have its four smaller generating units at Gaston Steam Plant, representing 1,000 megawatts, converted to run on natural gas by 2015. The project will involve building a gas pipeline to tie into the Transcontinental pipeline, about 30 miles south of the plant. Gaston's largest unit, 880 megawatts, will remain coal-fired. That unit has pollution control devices, and will likely require additional measures to meet new standards of mercury and other air toxics.[22]
Alabama and Tennessee: TVA considering shutting down aging John Sevier Fossil Plant and Widows Creek Fossil Plant
In August, 2009, Tennessee Valley Authority President Tom D. Kilgore said that TVA is studying whether it should close its John Sevier Fossil Plant near Rogersville, Tenn., and the oldest six units of the Widows Creek Fossil Plant near Stevenson, Alabama. A federal judge has ordered TVA to install pollution equipment on the plants by the end of 2013, at an estimated cost of more than $1 billion. However, the company has not yet budgeted any money for the improvements. In 2010 TVA is planning to begin building an $820 million gas-powered plant to replace the generation at its John Servier Plant. It is unclear whether TVA will convert any of the plants to other fuel sources.[23] The agency has already reduced power production from the oldest six units at Widows Creek. Environmental groups want TVA to shut down or convert to cleaner fuels the oldest and least efficient of its coal plants, including Widows Creek, John Sevier, and Johnsonville plants.[24]
On April 14, 2011, TVA and North Carolina settled a 5-year-old lawsuit - North Carolina v. TVA - over TVA emissions from its coal-fired plants. As part of the agreement, TVA agreed to phase out 18 units of its coal plants, including six units at the Widows Creek Fossil Plant, taking all but two offline.[25][26] In May 2012, TVA began considering a switch to natural gas for the plant, linked up to a proposed natural gas pipeline from Tennessee through Alabama to Georgia.[27]
California: Mt. Poso Cogeneration Plant
Mt. Poso Cogeneration Plant is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Red Hawk Energy near Bakersfield, California. The plant provides power to nearly oil recovery fields.
Mt. Poso Cogeneration Plant is currently being converted to burn 100% biomass - agricultural and residential green waste from nearby areas. The conversion is expected to be completed by Sept. 2010.[28]
Colorado: Arapahoe Station and Cameo Station
In August 2008, Colorado regulators approved Xcel Energy's plan to shut down two coal plants: the Arapahoe Station (Denver) and the Cameo Station (east of Grand Junction). According to Western Resource Advocates, "The utility's decision to shut down the plants has been praised as the nation's first voluntary effort to cut coal power generation in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In its decision to support Xcel's plan, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) cited public health benefits and shared concerns about carbon emissions as major selling-points in the company's groundbreaking proposal. The verdict marks a collective effort to move the state and its utilities toward the carbon reduction goals outlined in Governor Bill Ritter's Climate Action Plan."[29]
Xcel plans to replace the combined 229 MW of coal power with 850 MW of wind power and a 200 MW utility-scale solar power plant with storage capacity by 2015. Another key component of Xcel's proposal, to build a 480 MW natural gas plant at the Arapahoe station, has been postponed pending approval by the Colorado PUC.[29]
Colorado: Valmont Station
Xcel and the City of Boulder are in negotiations to renew Valmont Station's contract with the city. The agreement must be renewed every five years and is slated to expire in August 2010.[30] Many Boulder residents are pushing for the plant to stop burning coal and either shut down entirely or convert to biomass fuels, such as beetle-killed timber, forest slash, and invasive shrubs.[31][32]
On July 14, 2009, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission held a hearing to solicit public comment on renewing the plant's permit. More than 200 people attended a rally before the meeting to oppose allowing the plant's continued use of coal. About 50 people addressed the Commission, asking its members to deny the permit because the plant emits more than 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.[33]
Delaware: Dover Municipal Power Plant
On November 22, 2011, NRG Dover said the 18MW Dover Municipal Power Plant will be converted to natural gas by May 2012, funded through a state-assisted, $26.5 million project of the Energy Efficiency Investment Fund.[34]
Delaware: Edge Moor Power Plant
On July 1, 2010, Calpine Corporation's Edge Moor Power Plant near Wilmington, Delaware began burning natural gas exclusively. All coal power will be discontinued.[35]
Florida: Central Power & Lime Power Plant
In 2011 Florida Power (an affiliate of Arroyo Energy and JPMorgan Chase) proposed to convert the Central Power & Lime Power Plant in Brooksville, Florida from a 150 megawatt coal power plant to a 70 to 80 MWg woody biomass-fueled power plant. The project will require internal structural modifications to the pulverized coal boiler to convert it to a biomass-fired grate-suspension boiler. The existing steam turbine electric generator will be retained to generate electrical power. On December 16, 2011, the Florida DEP gave notice of its intent to issue an air permit for the project.[36]
Florida: Scholz Generating Plant
As of March 2009, Southern Company affiliate Gulf Power was also evaluating co-firing biomass at its Scholz Generating Plant.[37]
Georgia: McDonough Steam Generating Plant
In August, 2009, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that Georgia Power is moving ahead with plans to replace the McDonough Steam Generating Plant in Smyrna, Ga., with a natural gas-fired plant.[38]
Georgia: Mitchell Steam Generating Plant
On March 19, 2009, the Georgia Public Service Commission approved a request from Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power to convert the coal-fired Mitchell Steam Generating Plant to burn surplus wood waste. When the transition is completed, Mitchell will be the first biomass plant in Southern Company's fleet and "the largest biomass facility in the United States" at 96 MW, according to COO Tom Fanning.[37]
Georgia: University of Georgia Physical Plant
In March 2010 school director Ken Crowe stated that biomass may be in the coal plant's future. "There is a lot of discussion about what we will do with the coal plant over the next 10 years," Crowe said. "We have had at least one major study that basically asked the question, if we were going to replace it with something that was a more renewable fuel source, what are the most likely alternatives? "I'm totally supportive of moving toward a wood-based fuel if it can be proven to be a reliable source of fuel, a cost-effective source of fuel, and if it can integrate reasonably into our existing system here."[39]
Hawaii: Hu Honua Station
In August 2008, the Hu Honua Bioenergy facility opened on the Big Island of of Hawaii. The 24 MW plant was previously coal fired, but is planned to burn locally-grown sustainable crops and plant waste that would otherwise be sent to landfills. The plan is to supply about 7-10 percent of the island's power, or enough for about 18,000 homes. According to the developers of the plant, the conversion will help Hawaii meet its goal of having 20 percent of its energy production come from renewable resources by 2020. Neither the state nor the county governments have officially approved this project and the plant has not been in operation since January 1, 2005.[40][41]
Illinois: The Eastern Illinois University Power Plant
The Eastern Illinois University Power Plant is a coal-fired plant built in 1925. In 2009 the University submitted permits for a new biomass facility to replace the coal plant, including possible wind turbines. The new plant will be a "biomass gasifier" that will fill University heating and cooling needs by burning nontreated wood chips obtained as lumber industry by-products. The proposal is the largest project in campus history in terms of the dollar amount.[42]
Illinois: University of Illinois Abbott Power Plant
In May 2010, the University of Illinois pledged to stop using coal within seven years as part of a plan to reduce energy use and cut carbon emissions: the Illinois Climate Action Plan, finalized that month. The plan was developed by the campus Sustainability Council. It was submitted to the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, signed by more than 600 schools. The UI is the first Big Ten school to formally submit a climate plan.[43]
To meet its goals, UI is considering alternative fuels that could be used by University of Illinois Abbott Power Plant or another central generation facility, officials said. University buildings – which account for 85 percent of the campus's energy use – are primarily heated by steam produced at Abbott. The plant also produces electricity as a byproduct, with the UI buying additional electricity from private suppliers. Abbott runs primarily on natural gas and coal, with the fuel mix decided by market costs, according to UI officials. The sustainability team concluded that Abbott's natural gas capacity can provide almost enough steam to meet campus demand by itself and should be able to do so in a few years if conservation trends continue. The campus burned 94,171 tons of coal in fiscal 2009, although that figure has dropped 30 percent in fiscal 2010 so far, said Tom Abram, sustainability coordinator in UI Facilities and Services.[43]
Indiana: Gallagher Generating Station
On December 22, 2009, the EPA announced the agency had reached a settlement with Duke Energy for New Source Review (NSR) violations of the Clean Air Act at Duke's Gallagher Generating Station. A jury had found Duke liable for NSR violations at the plant, and the settlement obviated the need for a remedy trial, which had been scheduled for early 2010.
The settlement requires Duke Energy to repower Units 1 and 3 at Gallagher with natural gas or shut them down, and to install scrubbers at Units 2 and 4, reducing sulfur dioxide emissions 86 percent when compared to 2008 emissions. Duke will also pay a $1.75 million penalty and spend $6.25 million on various environmental mitigation projects.[44]
Indiana: IPL to retire Eagle Valley and two units at Harding Street; replacing capacity with new natural gas plant
In May 2013, Indianapolis Power & Light, a subsidiary of AES, announced that the Eagle Valley Station will be retired, with a 650 MW combined cycle gas plant to be constructed at the same site by 2017. At the same time IPL announced plans to retire or refuel two of the three coal-fired units at the Harding Street Station (Units 5 and 6, but not Unit 7).[45]
Indiana: Jasper 2 Power Plant
In July 2009, the Jasper Municipal Electric Utility announced it was considering converting its coal-fired power plant to burn waste wood. The 15MW plant has been shut down for all but a few weeks this year, because it has become too expensive to operate. A conversion project would cost an estimated $11 million, but the city could see a profit of about $1 million each year.[46]
Indiana: Perry K Steam Plant
Perry K Steam Plant is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Citizens Energy Group in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 2011 it was announced that the plant would convert to natural gas by 2014.[47]
Indiana: Whitewater Valley Generating Station
In 2011 Richmond Power & Light of Indiana said it plans to switch its 100-MW Whitewater Valley Generating Station in Richmond, Indiana to burn gas produced from solid waste by the spring of 2013. Only one of Whitewater Valley's two units -- a 66-MW unit installed in 1972 -- is expected to be retrofitted for gasification; the other 34-MW unit will be shut down within the same timeframe. The conversion is estimated to cost $150 million to $160 million. The city is signing a contract with Cate Street Capital of Delaware, which is expected to finance and operate the new venture.[48]
Kentucky: Big Sandy Plant Units 1 and 2
On June 9, 2011, AEP announced that, based on impending EPA regulations as proposed, AEP's compliance plan would retire nearly 6,000 megawatts (MW) of coal-fueled power generation; upgrade or install new advanced emissions reduction equipment on another 10,100 MW; refuel 1,070 MW of coal generation as 932 MW of natural gas capacity; and build 1,220 MW of natural gas-fueled generation.[49]
Included in the plan:[50]
- Big Sandy Plant, Louisa, Ky. - Units 1 and 2 (1,078 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2014; Big Sandy Unit 1 would be rebuilt as a 640-MW natural gas plant by Dec. 31, 2015.
Kentucky: TVA announces plans to retire Paradise Fossil Plant units 1 and 2 and build natural gas plant
On November 14, 2013, TVA announced that it would retire Paradis Fossil Plant units 1 and 2. The board also approved construction of a new gas-fired plant at a cost not to exceed $1.12 billion. The time frame for the retirements was left to the discretion of the CEO.[51][52]
Louisiana: Big Cajun II Power Plant
In September 2009, NRG Energy announced it was replacing some coal at Big Cajun II with switchgrass and sorgham. The company said the project could eventually lead to commercial-scale biomass fuel projects as a means of dealing with potential greenhouse gas regulations.[53]
Massachusetts: Somerset Power Generating Station
In November, 2009, NRG Energy announced that it will close the Somerset Power Generating Station on January 2, 2010. A company spokesman cited "market forces" and a "requirement that we close down or repower [by] September of 2010." NRG plans to convert the plant from burning coal to a plasma gasification process, which breaks down coal into its component parts before converting it into energy. No timetable for that conversion has been announced.[54]
Opponents of the Somerset plant, including the Conservation Law Foundation, the Massachusetts Clean Air Coalition, and the Toxics Action Center, expressed optimism that the conversion to gasification would prove to be infeasible. "Shutting down Somerset for an indefinite period shows that this old coal-fired plant is not necessary for reliability and undermines the likelihood that the coal gasification project will move forward," said Shanna Cleveland, staff attorney for CLF.[55]
Michigan: MSU Simon Power Plant
The T.B. Simon Power Plant was among the 500 largest coal plants in the United States. Rated at 61 megawatts, its three units were built in 1955, 1966, and 1974.[56] The plants were built with dual fuel capability such that they could be fully fired by either coal or natural gas. As of April, 2016 the university was able to complete its conversion project such that they burn no more coal.
A website for the plant, which provides electricity and steam for the campus, describes the plant as follows: The steam produced by the Power Plant provides energy for heat in the winter, cooling (through the use of chillers) in the summer, and also turns turbines that spin generators to produce electricity year round. Five steam turbine generator sets, one gas turbine generator set and one heat recovery steam generator are all housed in the power plant. Campus chilled water is served from a central chilled water plant, (not at the central power plant) and from individual chillers located around campus. The T.B. Simon Power Plant is a co-generating facility, generating electricity from the steam as it flows out to heat the campus. The co-generation system operates at approximately 60 percent efficiency, as compared to a conventional electric plant operating at 30 percent efficiency. Maintaining its own power plant allowed MSU's main campus to avoid losing power during the Northeast Blackout of 2003, which affected 50 million people across Canada and the United States.[57]
Minnesota: Black Dog Generating Station
In September 2010, Northern States Power Company's Black Dog Generating Station was shut down following a fire and subsequent explosion at the plant's 108-megawatt Unit 3 burner. Workers at the plant noticed smoldering in a coal hopper and notified Burnsville emergency services. Response crews were on the scene when contents of the bin fully ignited, resulting in an explosion that blew out some 200 feet of the plant's west-facing wall. Three firefighters sustained minor injuries, none of the plants employees were hurt. The power plant will remain offline as officials from Xcel, the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Burnsville Fire Department determine the cause of the blast. Company officials stated that services will not be interrupted because power is being routed from an alternate source to serve customers.[58]
Xcel currently has a proposal pending with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to retire Black Dog's two remaining coal-fired boilers (units 3 and 4), converting them to natural gas combined-cycle units by 2016.[58]
Minnesota: Otter Tail Power will convert Hoot Lake Plant to natural gas
In January 2013, the Minnesota PUC approved a plan to convert the plant to natural gas by 2020. In addition, Otter Tail will install pollution controls at the plant by 2015.[59]
Minnesota: Riverside and High Bridge Plants
In September 2003, Xcel Energy announced plans to convert its Riverside and High Bridge coal plants to natural gas. The move came in response to an emissions reduction bill passed in 2001 by the Minnesota Legislature, allowing any utility company in the state to convert its coal plants to natural gas and then recover the costs of conversion through rate increases.[60] The facilities were part of a $1 billion upgrade of Xcel power plants in Minnesota. The new 570 MW High Bridge Plant went online in May 2008 and the new 511 MW Riverside Plant in April 2009.[61][62]
Minnesota: Minnesota Power to convert Syl Laskin to natural gas
On January 30, 2013, Minnesota Power announced that it will convert the Syl Laskin Energy Center to a natural gas peaking plant by 2015.[63][64]
New Hampshire: Schiller Station
In October 2003, the Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSCNH) filed a plan to convert Unit 5 of the coal-fired Schiller Station to burn woody biomass. The $75 million dollar project broke ground in December 2004 and went online in December 2006.[65][66][67]
The unit burns 400,000 to 450,000 tons of wood per year to power approximately 50,000 homes. Using biomass in this unit reduces coal use at the plant by over 30 percent, or about 130,000 tons per year.[65][66] However, the Schiller Station still burned 421,670 tons of coal in 2008, two years after the plant began operating.[68]
Compared to the previously coal-fired Unit 5, emissions estimates for the biomass burner are 70 percent lower for nitrogen oxides, 95 percent lower for sulfur dioxide, and 90 percent lower for mercury.[66] These reduced emissions help the Schiller Station meet the requirements of the New Hampshire Clean Power Act.[65]
New Jersey: Deepwater Generating Station
On July 1, 2010, Pepco Holdings' Deepwater Generating Station near Pennsville, New Jersey began burning natural gas exclusively. All coal power will be discontinued.[69]
New Jersey: England Generating Station
In June 2012 RC Cape May Holdings LLC said it will shut down one coal-fired unit at the B.L. England plant in Marmora and retrofit a second coal-fired unit to a natural gas turbine and will re-fuel a third, oil-burning unit with natural gas. The agreement resolves violations of the Clean Air Act that occurred when the plant was under the ownership of Atlantic Electric, Conectiv, and Pepco Holdings Co., who did not make pollution-control upgrades as required by the federal Clean Air Act when adding significant upgrades to operational features of the plant.[70]
The agreement calls for the cessation of operation of coal-fired Unit 1 by fall 2013; until that occurs, the company must take steps to minimize emissions from this unit. Unit 2, which currently burns coal, and Unit 3, which burns fuel oil and only operates during peak demand periods, are to be converted to natural gas by May 2016. Unit 2 is to be shut down by May 2015 to allow for the conversion.[70]
New Jersey: Howard Down Generating Station
According Bill O'Sullivan, administrator of air quality for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Howard Down Generating Station, a 25 MW coal plant operated by Vineland Municipal Electric in New Jersey, was scheduled to replace its last coal-fired generator with natural gas in 2010.[71]
New York: Cornell University Central Heating Plant
In December 2009, Cornell University switched its facility to primarily natural gas. By mid-2011 Cornell will eliminate all coal use on campus, helping it meet its Climate Action Plan, which seeks to reduce the school's effective greenhouse gas emissions from 319,000 metric tons (CO2 equivalent emissions) to net zero level by 2050 through "green" development, energy conservation, alternative energy sources, and carbon offsetting. Natural gas, while still a fossil fuel, is said by the university to be a step forward in achieving this goals.[72]
North Carolina: Progress Energy plants
Progress Energy Corp. announced in August 2009 that it will shut down the three-unit 397-megawatt Lee Steam Plant near Goldsboro, N.C., and apply for regulatory approval to replace the coal generation with 950 megawatts of natural gas-fired generation.[73][74] North Carolina State regulators approved the plan on October 1.[75]
On December 1, 2009, Progress Energy Carolinas announced that by the end of 2017 it would permanently close all of its North Carolina coal plants without sulfur dioxide scrubbers. The 11 units at L.V. Sutton, Cape Fear, Weatherspoon, and Lee total almost 1,500 megawatts and represent about a third of the utility's coal-fired power generation in N.C. The retirement plan includes the following:
- Lee is still scheduled for retirement in 2013.
- Sutton is slated for closure in 2014. Progress hopes to replace it with a natural gas-fired power plant.
- Cape Fear and Weatherspoon will be shut down between 2013 and 2017. The company is considering converting 50 to 150MW of the total capacity to burn wood waste.
The closure plan was filed in response to a request by the N.C. Utilities Commission, which ordered Progress to provide its retirement schedule for "unscrubbed" coal-fired units in North Carolina. The request was a condition of the commission's approval of Progress' plan to replace Lee's coal-fired generation with a 950-MW natural gas plant.[76][77]
Ohio: R.E. Burger power plant
On April 1, 2009, First Energy announced that it is retrofitting the R.E. Burger power plant in eastern Ohio to produce electricity from woody biomass instead of coal, which would make it one of the largest such facilities in the U.S. The conversion will cost about $200 million. FirstEnergy had faced an April 2 deadline to either close the plant, install $330 million in pollution controls, or convert to biomass.[78]
The project will produce over 300 MW of electricity, enough to power 190,000 houses. It is scheduled for completion in 2012.[79]
In November 2010 First Energydecided not to pursue the biomass option. The company cited the reason as an economic one, stating it was too expensive to undertake. The boilers will be permanently shut down by December 31, 2010.[80]
Ohio: Big Sandy Plant Unit 1 and Muskingum River Plant Unit 5 may convert to gas
On June 9, 2011, AEP announced that, based on impending EPA regulations as proposed, AEP's compliance plan would retire nearly 6,000 megawatts (MW) of coal-fueled power generation; upgrade or install new advanced emissions reduction equipment on another 10,100 MW; refuel 1,070 MW of coal generation as 932 MW of natural gas capacity; and build 1,220 MW of natural gas-fueled generation. The cost of AEP's compliance plan could range from $6 billion to $8 billion in capital investment through the end of the decade. AEP's current plan for compliance with the rules as proposed includes permanently retiring five of its coal-fueled power plants.[49]
In addition, six other plants which will reduce their power output:[81]
- Big Sandy Plant, Louisa, Ky. - Units 1 and 2 (1,078 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2014; Big Sandy Unit 1 would be rebuilt as a 640-MW natural gas plant by Dec. 31, 2015;
- Clinch River Plant, Cleveland, Va. - Unit 3 (235 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2014; Units 1 and 2 (470 MW total) would be refueled with natural gas with a capacity of 422 MW by Dec. 31, 2014;
- Conesville Power Plant, Conesville, Ohio - Unit 3 (165 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2012; Units 5 and 6 (800 MW total) would continue operating with retrofits;
- Muskingum River Plant, Beverly, Ohio - Units 1-4 (840 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2014; Muskingum River Unit 5 (600 MW) may be refueled with natural gas with a capacity of 510 MW by Dec. 31, 2014, depending on regulatory treatment in Ohio;
- Tanners Creek Plant, Lawrenceburg, Indiana - Units 1, 2 and 3 (495 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2014; Unit 4 (500 MW) would continue to operate with retrofits; and
- Welsh Power Plant, Pittsburg, Texas - Unit 2 (528 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2014; Units 1 and 3 (1,056 MW) would continue to operate with retrofits.
Oregon: Boardman Plant
On January 14, 2010 it was announced that Portland General Electric will be closing its 601 MW Boardman Plant twenty years ahead of schedule. The plant will close in 2020 instead of 2040. The plant was originally going to invest more than a half billion dollars in pollution controls (scrubbers) by 2017 to comply with EPA and state clean air regulations, then keep it running until 2040.
Instead, the company wants regulators to allow it to make a $45 million investment by 2011 to partially clean up its emissions of mercury and oxides of nitrogen, then operate the plant until 2020.[82] The Oregon Sierra Club and Friends of the Columbia Gorge argue, that while a 2020 close date is better than a 2040 closure, it is still more economical for the plant to shut its doors in 2014. [83]
On February 1, 2010 it was announced that PGE was considering using biomass to continue operating the plant after it ends its use of coal in the future. PGE is said to be considering if it can replace all of the millions of tons of coal it burns every year at Boardman with plant based material that has been pre-treated through a process called torrefaction. While still in experimental phases, torrefaction produces a substance similar to coal, and is also energy intensive to produce. Critics on the other hand cite that no commercial size torrefaction facilities exist and it is still not clear how much carbon will be used in the process of torrefaction.[84]
Pennsylvania: Penn State University to Convert Plant to Natural Gas
Penn State's West Campus Steam Plant consumes about 7,500 tons of coal per year, and produces about 20,000 MWh per year, or 7% of the campus's electricity demand - as well as about 175 tons of steam per hour, which is used for heating campus buildings. Built in 1929, the plant holds four boilers, and burns coal from Clarion County, Pennsylvania. (Several solar panels on the roof of the Office of Physical Plant building only produce enough electricity to power several rooms within that building.)
Penn State buys 89% of its electricity from Allegheny Energy, which in turn gets 95% of its electricity production from coal-fired power plants. In an interview in 2003, Paul Ruskin, the spokesperson for the Office of Physical Plant, stated that "we would like to have totally non-polluting sources, but they're not out there yet."[85][86][87]
On January 21, 2011 Penn State announced that they would be converting their steam plant to burn natural gas. Burns and McDonnell was awarded a contract of $25 million to $35 million to convert the college's coal-fired steam plant to natural gas in a move university officials stated would reduce carbon emissions. The university has been considering its options for upgrading the coal-fired plant since 2009 in anticipation of stiffer EPA regulations.[88]
Utah: Utah Smelter Power Plant
In December, 2010, Kennecott Utah Copper announced that it would repower units 1-3 of its Utah Smelter power plant to run on natural gas. However, unit 4 of the plant will continue to be powered by coal. [89]
Virginia: Dominion to convert Altavista, Hopewell, and Southampton plants to biomass
In Feb. 2011, Dominion Virginia Power said it could reopen its 63 MW Altavista Power Station as a biomass electricity plant by 2013, and is starting the approval process. In Fall 2010, Dominion placed the Altavista station on "cold reserve status," meaning it could be restarted if needed. At the time, Dominion was studying whether to convert the plant to a biomass facility. The study suggested that a biomass facility would be competitive economically against natural gas plants. If the town of Altavista grants Dominion's special use permit request, the company said it will seek a new air permit and approval from the State Corporation Commission.[90]
In April 2011, Dominion Resources announced that its subsidiary Dominion Virginia Power, has decided use biomass instead of coal in three of its power stations: Altavista Power Station, Hopewell Power Station and Southampton Power Station. The plants will mainly use waste wood left from timbering operations as a source of fuel. If approved by the local authority and the regulators will begin production from the converted units in 2013. The units can presently produce 63 megawatts (MW) power each and are only used when demand is at its peak. After conversion, these units will produce 50 MW each.[91]
Virginia: TVA to shutter the coal-fired Allen Fossil Plant and built a combined-cycle natural gas plant
In April 2014, the TVA board of directors voted to retire the Allen Fossil Plant, and build a new, combined-cycle natural gas plant nearby. The new gas plant will be 1,000 MW and operable by the end of 2018.[92]
Washington, DC: Capitol Power Plant
On February 26, 2009, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid directed the Architect of the Capitol, Stephen T. Ayers, to switch the Capitol Power Plant to run on natural gas.[93] The letter came just four days before a planned protest at the plant, where several thousand demonstrators gathered to protest global warming.[94] The announcement was viewed by many as a victory for grassroots activism, but the rally went forward to call attention to coal issues around the country.[95]
In April 2009, Ayers responded that he was shifting the plant's fuel source to natural gas. As part of the transition, he requested $10 million to redesign and convert the second burner to use natural gas, a process that could be complete as early as November 2010. Ayers noted that the plant would continue to use coal as a backup fuel during abnormally cold weather or equipment outages. [96]
Wisconsin: Bay Front Station
In October 2008, Xcel Energy announced plans to spend over $55 million to convert the last remaining coal-fired unit at its Bay Front Power Plant to biomass. The conversion will enable the facility to use 100 percent biomass in all three boilers. Xcel submitted an application to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in February 2009. If approved, construction could begin in 2010 and operation in late 2012.[97][98]
The facility primarily burns waste wood from area forest harvesting operations. The existing biomass incinerators burn about 200,000 tons of waste wood each year. When the project is completed, the plant will use another 185,000 to 250,000 tons per year and will be capable of generating enough electricity for 40,000 homes. According to Xcel, the project will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by approximately 50 percent, sulfur dioxides by over 85 percent, and particulate matter by 90 percent.[97][98]
Wisconsin: Blount Street Station
In March, 2011, Blount Street Station stopped burning coal and converted to natural gas as its primary fuel.[99]
Wisconsin: Capitol Heat and Power Plant
In August 2008, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle announced that two aging coal plants, the Charter Street Heating Plant and the Capitol Heat and Power Plant, both located in Dane County, will be shut down and replaced with cleaner systems. The decision followed legal action and grassroots protests and lobbying by members of the Sierra Club, students at the University of Wisconsin, and other activists. August 2008[100]
In 2010, Capitol Heat and Power stopped burning coal. Instead, the downtown Madison plant will use natural gas to heat and cool office buildings in the area.[101]
Wisconsin: Charter Street Heating Plant
In February 2009, Governor Jim Doyle announced that the University of Wisconsin's Charter Street Heating Plant will phase out coal. Under the plan, one of five boilers at the plant will be converted to burn biomass, including cornstalks, switch grass, and wood chips, in an effort to generate 25 percent of the state's energy from renewable resources by the year 2025. Four coal boilers will be converted to burn natural gas. The project, which is estimated to cost $200 million to $300 million, will eliminate the burning of over 100 tons of coal per year.[102][103]
Wisconsin: Edgewater Generating Station
In July 2012 Wisconsin Power & Light said it will shut down three aging, coal-fired electricity generating units by the end of 2015. Plans included:[104]
Close the 60-megawatt Edgewater Generating Station Unit 3 generator in Sheboygan;
Either close Edgewater Generating Station Unit 4 or convert it to burn natural gas by the end of 2018; and
Add scrubbers to Edgewater Generating Station Unit 5 to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions.
Wisconsin: Stoneman Generating Station
In June 2008, DTE Energy announced plans to purchase the E.J. Stoneman Power Plant from Integrys and convert its 50MW of coal capacity to burn wood waste.[105] At the time of the announcement, DTE hoped begin the conversion in 2009.[106] Commercial operation of the 40 MW biomass facility began on Oct. 8, 2010.[107]
Wisconsin: Valley Power Plant
In early May 2011, We Energies announced that it planned to take the initial steps toward converting the Valley Power Plant to natural gas from coal.
In March 2011, Clean Wisconsin and Sierra Club filed petitions with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, contending that the Valley Power Plant's air permit, issued by the DNR, violates the Clean Air Act.[108]
Wisconsin: Waupun Correction Central Heating Plant
In March 2011, the State of Wisconsin announced that the Waupun Correction Central Heating Plant in Waupun, Wisconsin would be converted to a natural gas burning facility. The plant provides power to the Waupun maximum security prison. A time line for the conversion was not immediately set. The cost of the conversion was estimated at $7 million by the Governor Walker's proposed budget for 2011-2013.[109][110]
Wyoming: Naughton Power Plant
In its April 2012 filing, PacifiCorp announced its intention to stop burning coal at Naughton Power Plant unit 3. PacifiCorp is debating converting the plant to natural gas, primarily to serve summer peak load in Utah and Wyoming.[111]
Ontario, Canada
Thunder Bay
As a result of a commitment to completely phase out the province's coal plants by 2014, the Ontario government is converting the 310-megawatt Thunder Bay coal plant to natural gas. The following other plants were scheduled as of 2007:[112][113]
- Lakeview - 1,140 megawatts
- Atikokan - 215 megawatts
- Lambton - 1,975 megawatts
- Nanticoke - 3,938 megawatts
Ontario shutting 4 plants, considering conversion for remaining 11 plants
In September 2009, Ontario Power Generation announced it will shut down four of its 15 coal-fired power plants in late 2010. The closures include two of eight units at Nanticoke Generating Station, and two of four units at Lambton. The four plants represent about 2,000 megawatts of total generation capacity. The closure of the four units, in addition to the 2005 closure of Lakeview Generating Station in 2005, will reduce the Canadian province's coal capacity by 40 percent. OPG said it would continue to assess converting its remaining 11 units to other types of fuel such as biomass, beginning with the conversion of Atikokan Generating Station by 2012.[114][115]
- ↑ "Xcel to Kick Coal and Boost Biomass," earth2tech, September 30, 2008.
- ↑ Mark Niquette, "Coal plant to reinvent itself with cleaner fuel," Columbus Dispatch, April 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Glossary of Biomass Terms," NREL, accessed July 2009.
- ↑ Biomass Definition: Frequently Asked Questions, State Environmental Resource Center, accessed July 2009.
- ↑ "Biomass Energy Basics," NREL, accessed July 2009.
- ↑ Mike Ewall, "The Burning Issues with Biomass," Energy Justice, accessed July 2009.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Harmful Impacts of Biomass Energy Generation: Undermining the Fight Against Global Warming," Massachusetts Environmental Energy Alliance, accessed July 2009.
- ↑ Biomass Briefing, July 2009, Massachusetts Envrionmental Energy Alliance, July 2009.
- ↑ "Fixing a Critical Climate Accounting Error" T. Searchinger et al, Science, October 2009.
- ↑ Biomass Déjà Vu," Conservation Magazine, April-June 2009.
- ↑ "Mass. study: Wood power worse polluter than coal" Steve LaBlanc, Associated Press, June 10, 2010.
- ↑ Stacey Feldman, "Natural Gas Boom Not Worth Costs and Risks, Study Warns" One Climate July 11, 2010.
- ↑ Natural Gas and the Environment, NaturalGas.org, accessed July 2009.
- ↑ "How Natural Gas Works," Union of Concerned Scientists, accessed July 20, 2009.
- ↑ Robert F. Kennedy Jr., "How to end America's deadly coal addiction," Financial Times, July 19, 2009.
- ↑ IPCC Fourth Assessment Report
- ↑ nytimes.com: Curbing Emissions by Sealing Gas Leaks
- ↑ Wolfram Alpha query: "World Natural Gas Production"
- ↑ US EPA: Climate Economics
- ↑ "Natural gas power generation matches coal's for first time" Steve Gelsi, The Wall Street Journal, July 12, 2012.
- ↑ Dana Beyerle, "Alabama Power's switch to natural gas an asset for Goodyear," Times Montgomery Bureau, December 19, 2011.
- ↑ Thomas Spencer, "Alabama Power to connect Shelby plant to natural gas line," The Birmingham News, May 12, 2012.
- ↑ Dave Flessner, "TVA May Shutter Aging Coal Plants," Chattanooga Times Free Press, August 24, 2009
- ↑ "TVA may shutter aging coal-fired plants," Chattanooga Times Free Press, August 24, 2009.
- ↑ "TVA Phasing out Hundreds of Jobs at Coal Plants" ABC, April 14, 2011.
- ↑ "Consent Decree," North Carolina v. TVA, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville, accessed April 20, 2011
- ↑ Ben Benton, [http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/13/TVA-natural-gas-pipeline-jackson-county-for-region/?print "Natural gas pipeline considered for tri-state region,"} Times Free Press, May 13, 2012.
- ↑ The Conversion, Mt. Poso Cogeneration Company website, accessed April 2009.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Clean Energy Accomplishments," Western Resrouce Advocates, accessed April 2009
- ↑ "Xcel franchise negotiations likely to drag into next year," Colorado Daily, June 3, 2009.
- ↑ Judith Mohling, "Peace Train: Convert Valmont plant to clean energy," Colorado Daily, July 11, 2009.
- ↑ Anne Butterfield, "Selfishly seeking clean energy," Daily Camera, July 12, 2009.
- ↑ "Public packs Valmont power plant hearing," Colorado Daily, July 14, 2009.
- ↑ "Dover plant switching to gas" Delaware Online, Nov. 23, 2011.
- ↑ "Calpine | Investor Relations | Press Release - April 21, 2010"
- ↑ "Emission Sources: NSR/PSD Construction Permits - Central Power & Lime Biomass Project," Florida DEP, accessed September 2012.
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Joseph Romm, Biomassive plans: Southern Company embraces the only affordable way to 'capture' emissions at a coal plant today, Grist, March 19, 2009.
- ↑ Dave Flessner, "TVA May Shutter Aging Coal Plants," Chattanooga Times Free Press, August 24, 2009
- ↑ "Coal may not be in future for University:Renewable fuel source essential" Michael Prochaska, RedandBlack.com, March 28, 2010.
- ↑ "Hawaii Swaps Coal Power Plant for Biomass," ecogeek, February 9, 2008.
- ↑ "Project Overview," Hu Honua Bioenergy LLC, accessed July 2009.
- ↑ Kimberly Teplitzky,"Eastern Illinois University Switches Off Coal", Sierra Student Coalition, October 2, 2009.
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 Julie Wurth, "UI promises to stop coal use by 2017, take other steps to lower energy use" The News Gazette, May 25, 2010.
- ↑ "Duke Energy to Spend $93 Million to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations" EPA Press Release, December 22, 2009.
- ↑ "HOMENEWSIPL ANNOUNCES PLANS TO BUILD STATE-OF-THE-ART POWER PLANT," IPL press release, May 1, 2013. Note that in its press release the company referred to "six existing units" at the Eagle Valley Station.
- ↑ "Coal-to-wood switch suggested for Ind. power plant," Associated Press, July 22, 2009.
- ↑ "Citizens to convert downtown steam plant from coal to gas" Indianapolis Business Journal, November 16, 2011.
- ↑ "Indiana muni to switch 100-MW coal plant to solid waste gasification," Platts, Aug 2, 2011.
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 "AEP would shutter 5 coal plants to meet EPA rules" Coal Tattoo, June 9, 2011.
- ↑ "AEP Shares Plan For Compliance With Proposed EPA Regulations," AEP press release, June 10, 2011.
- ↑ TVA Board Meeting Presentation, November 14, 2013, page 54.
- ↑ Steven Mufson, "Tennessee Valley Authority to close 8 coal-fired power plants," Washington Post, November 14, 2013
- ↑ "Utility Replaces Some Coal With Switchgrass," New York Times, October 1, 2009.
- ↑ Marc Munroe Dion, "Somerset's NRG plant closing down," The Herald News, 11/4/09
- ↑ "Environmental and Community Activists Hail Shut Down of Polluting Plant," Conservation Law Foundation press release, November 5, 2009
- ↑ Michigan and coal
- ↑ "Physical Plant: Power and Water," Michigan State University, accessed March 2009
- ↑ 58.0 58.1 Dorothy Davis, "Explosion shuts down Xcel's Black Dog power plant in Minnesota" PennEnergy, Sep. 22, 2010.
- ↑ Dan Kraker, "Western Minn.'s Hoot Lake plant to stop burning coal," MPR News, January 31, 2013
- ↑ "Xcel plans to convert to cleaner fuel," Minnnesota Public Radio, September 2003.
- ↑ "High Bridge Plant," Xcel Energy, accessed July 2009.
- ↑ Riverside Plant, Xcel Energy, accessed July 2009.
- ↑ "Minnesota Power outlines its EnergyForward resource strategy," Minnesota Power press release, January 30, 2013
- ↑ "News Release: Clean air victory in northern Minnesota as Minnesota Power announces phasing out coal at two Minnesota plants," Fresh Energy, January 30, 2013
- ↑ 65.0 65.1 65.2 "Wood chips burning plant, Schiller Station, Portsmouth, New Hampshire", Power Technology website, accessed June 28, 2009.
- ↑ 66.0 66.1 66.2 Lisa Arsenault, "Schiller Station gets ready for powerful switch", Portsmouth Herald, May 9, 2006.
- ↑ Dr. Robert Peltier, "PSNH's Northern Wood Power Project repowers coal-fired plant with new fluidized-bed combustor", POWER Magazine, August 15, 2007.
- ↑ "New England power plants that use coal and where the coal comes from", Appalachian Voices, accessed March 30, 2009.
- ↑ "Calpine | Investor Relations | Press Release - April 21, 2010"
- ↑ 70.0 70.1 "Coal-fired B.L. England power plant to switch to natural gas," New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, June 25, 2012.
- ↑ Michael Miller, "New Jersey's coal-fired power plants come clean ahead of pollution crackdown," Press of Atlantic City, July 8, 2010
- ↑ Rebecca James, "Cornell aims to be coal-free in 2011," Ithica Journal, January 10, 2010
- ↑ Dave Flessner, "TVA May Shutter Aging Coal Plants," Chattanooga Times Free Press, August 24, 2009
- ↑ "Progess Energy Plans to Shut Down Coal-Fired Power Plant," Progress Energy press release, August 18, 2009
- ↑ "Progress plan to replace NC coal unit approved," Reuters, October 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Progress Energy Carolinas Plans to Retire Remaining Unscrubbed Coal Plants in N.C.," PRNewswire, December 1, 2009.
- ↑ Tina Casey, "Progress Energy Joins Stampede Away from Coal," Reuters, December 2, 2009.
- ↑ Mark Niquette, "Coal plant to reinvent itself with cleaner fuel," Columbus Dispatch, April 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Coal-plant conversion job impact too early to estimate, OPG says," Daily Commercial News and Construction Record, June 15, 2009.
- ↑ "Ohio Utility Cancels Plans to Burn Wood at Plant" Associated Press, November 18, 2010.
- ↑ [http://www.eaglecountryonline.com/news.php?nID=1881 "Return to News AEP Shutting 3 of 4 Units At Tanners Creek"] Eagle Country Online, June 10, 2011.
- ↑ "PGE moves to close Boardman by 2020", OregonBusiness.com, accessed January 15, 2010.
- ↑ "PGE moves to close Boardman by 2020", Oregon Beyond Coal Campaign, accessed January 19, 2010.
- ↑ Matthew Preusch, "http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/coal-burning_power_plant_in_bo.html" Boardman coal-burning power plant may have a future after all: biomass>OregonLive.com, accessed February 1, 2010.
- ↑ The Buzz On Electricity, Daily Collegian, Sept. 23, 2003.
- ↑ Steam Plants Keep Penn State Warm, Daily Collegian, Jan. 18, 2005.
- ↑ Pennsylvania Electric Costs Capped, Daily Collegian, Oct. 17, 2005.
- ↑ "University coal-fired plant being converted to gas" PowerGenWorldwide.com, January 21, 2011.
- ↑ "Kennecott to Curb Coal Burning in Salt Lake Valley" The Associated Press, December 15, 2010.
- ↑ "Dominion could repower coal-fired unit to burn biomass" Power-Gen, Feb. 14, 2011.
- ↑ "Dominion Unit Converts to Biomass" Zack's, April 4, 2011.
- ↑ "TVA announces decision about Memphis' Allen Fossil Plant," Memphis Business Journal, Aug 21, 2014.
- ↑ "Pelosi and Reid Switch the Capitol Power Plant to 100% Gas," MarketWatch, 2/26/09
- ↑ "Thousands rally for legislation on climate change," Associated Press, March 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Pelosi/Reid call to switch Capitol Power Plant off of coal!," It's Getting Hot in Here, February 26, 2009.
- ↑ Jordy Yager, "Capitol Power Plant to stop use of coal," The Hill, May 1, 2009
- ↑ 97.0 97.1 "Xcel Energy plans to convert coal unit to biomass," Biomass Magazine, October 3, 2008.
- ↑ 98.0 98.1 "Xcel Energy Files Application For Largest Biomass Plant in Midwest," WQOW, February 24, 2009.
- ↑ "In March, Blount Street plant to make gas its primary fuel" Judy Newman, January 18, 2010.
- ↑ "Stopping the Coal Rush", Sierra Club, accessed December 2007. (This is a Sierra Club list of new coal plant proposals.)
- ↑ "A century of coal-burning ends at downtown power plant" Dee J. Hall, Madison State Journal, March, 13, 2010.
- ↑ "Doyle: No coal at UW by 2012," Badger Herald, February 8, 2009.
- ↑ "UW-Madison to convert heating plant to burn gas, biomass," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 6, 2009.
- ↑ Judy Newan, "Wisconsin Power & Light unveils $1.4 billion plan to clean up energy production," Wisconsin State Journal, July 27, 2012.
- ↑ "Cassville's E.J. Stoneman Coal Plant to be Converted to Burn 100 Percent Wood Waste," Clean Wisconsin, June 2, 2008.
- ↑ "DTE Energy Services Signs Purchase Agreement for Stoneman Power Plant," DTE Energy, May 29, 2008.
- ↑ "DTE Stoneman Station (Cassville, Wis.)," Dairyland Power Cooperative, accessed September 2012.
- ↑ "We Energies Indicates Move Toward Natural Gas at Valley Power Plant" Clean Wisconsin Press Release, May 5, 2011.
- ↑ "CGP Boiler Conversion" State of Wisconsin Capital Budget, 2011-2013.
- ↑ "Additional Details of the Capital Budget released by Governor Walker" Robert Rosati, March 15, 2011.
- ↑ Bob Jenks, "CUB Applauds Coal Shut Down, Demands Better Analysis of Coal Investment," Citizens Utility Board, April 18, 2012.
- ↑ "Ontario coal plants may run longer," Electricity Forum News, accessed 8/31/09
- ↑ "One up, one down at OPG Ontario Nanticoke coal plant," Reuters, August 31, 2009
- ↑ "Early Closure of Four Coal Units Significant Milestone to Improving Air Quality and Lives," Ontario, September 2009.
- ↑ "Ontario to cut back coal power 40 per cent," Toronto Star,] September 4, 2009.
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External Links
- Yimin Zhang et al, "Life Cycle Emissions and Cost of Producing Electricity from Coal, Natural Gas, and Wood Pellets in Ontario, Canada," Environ. Sci. Technol. 2010, 44, 538-544
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- "Ensuring a Clean, Modern Electric Generating Fleet while Maintaining Electric System Reliability," M.J. Bradley & Associates LLC, August 2010
- "Coal‐Fired Electric Generation Unit Retirement Analysis," ICF International for The INGAA Foundation & INGAA, May 18, 2010
- "Growth from Subtraction," Credit Suisse, September 23, 2010


text:
Java is very much in full retreat.Professor Ronald Loui has an interesting article on the rise of scripting languages (In Praise of Scripting: Real Programming Pragmatism) in the July 2008 issue of IEEE Computer. It claims scripting languages such as Perl, Python, and Javascript have dramatically fulfilled their early promise, provide many benefits, and are poised to take over the lead from Java. However, the academic programming language community is stuck in theory and hasn't recognized the ascendence of scripting languages.
-- R. Loui
I agree that scripting languages are on the rise. Most people would agree that they provide rapid development, higher levels of abstraction, and brevity that helps the programmer. The article also describes how scripting languages can be a performance win, since they can allow experimentation and implementation of efficient algorithms that would be too painful in Java or C++. So even if C++ is faster on the micro-benchmark level, a programmer using a scripting language may end up with faster algorithms overall. I've argued somewhat controversally that Arc is too slow for my programming problems, so I remain unconvinced that basic performance can be ignored entirely.
As for the claim that Java is in full retreat, it strikes me as wishful thinking. (I'd believe "slow decline" though.) It will be interesting to check back on this claim in 5 years.
I personally believe that CS1 [freshman computer science] Java is the greatest single mistake in the history of computing curricula.The article suggests good languages for teaching introductory computer science are gawk, Javscript, PHP, and ASP, but Python is emerging as a consensus for the best freshman programming language. This is the hardest part of the article for me to swallow. The idea of writing real programs in Awk never occurred to me, and I remain skeptical even though the author claims it works well. For those who would suggest Scheme as an introductory programming language, it was displaced as a dominant freshman language by Java a decade ago, and is apparently no longer considered an option.
-- R. Loui
I can't argue with the author's claim that student learning is enhanced by experimenting, writing code, and getting hands-on experience, and that scripting languages make this faster and easier.
Python and Ruby have the enviable properties that almost no one dislikes them, and almost everyone respects them.In Why your favorite language is unpopular I discussed how the Change Function model can explain the success of programming languages based on maximizing the crisis solved and minimizing the perceived pain of adoption. I can apply this model applies to scripting languages as well:
-- R. Loui
Magnitude of crisis solved by Tcl/Tk: High - How to add a scripting language to a C program. How to add a GUI to a C program without painful X11 and Motif code.
Total Perceived Pain of Adoption: Low - Link Tcl in with your C program and add a few hooks. Create the GUI with trivial scripts.
Magnitude of crisis solved by Perl: High - How to quickly write CGI scripts. How to solve problems too complex for shell scripts. How to process files. How to develop quickly and iteratively.
Total Perceived Pain of Adoption: Low - Apart from looking like line noise, Perl is easy to get started with, is well integrated with Unix, has the definitive regex implementation, and has libraries for almost everything.
My point is that these languages solved specific painful problems and had low pain of adoption. As a result, they were much more successful than beautiful, powerful languages that were less able to directly solve painful problems or were more painful to adopt.
The real reason why academics were blindsided by scripting is their lack of practicality.A major thrust of the article is that academics are too concerned with theoretical issues of syntax and semantics, rather than pragmatic issues of what a language can achive quickly, inexpensively, and practically. Academics are said to be too tied to theoretical concepts such as object-oriented programming and strong typing, and are missing the real-world benefits of scripting languages.
-- R. Loui
(Interestingly, Rob Pike made a similar argument against academics in the context of operating systems software (Systems Software Research is Irrelevant), stating that academic research is irrelevant and the real innovation is in industry. Since I have friends doing academic OS research, I should add a disclaimer here that I don't necessarily agree.)
One measure of pragmatics raised by the paper is how well does a language work with other Unix tools. I think the importance of this is underappreciated. In particular, I view this as a significant barrier to adoption of Arc. Running Arc as a shell script instead of a REPL is nontrivial (as is the case with many Lisp and Scheme implementations). Running an external program from Arc is clunky, even though it is often necessary to actually get things done (Kens' law), and real pipes are missing from Arc entirely.
Java's integration with Unix also has painful gaps - where's getpid()
for instance? Why is JNI so difficult compared to calling native code from C#? I blame Sun's pure-Java platform independence ideology, and I'm surprised it hasn't hurt Java more.
On the other hand, Python and Perl provide a remarkable degree of integration, which I view as a key factor in their success. Likewise, Visual Basic is highly integrated with the Windows environment and highly successful there.
In conclusion, Loui's paper raises numerous interesting points about the success of scripting languages. I expect that the reasons for the rise of scripting languages will only get stronger, and languages that don't support the scripting model will have an increasingly harder time gaining adoption.
Note: quotes above are from the preprint and may not match the published article.


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