Kewaunee Power Station to close

[SloGlo]

http://ndreport.com/dominion-to-close-decommission-kewaunee-power-station/

[RDTroja]

Yikes.

I did their first refueling in 1976 and it was one of the cleanest, best run places I have ever been. If it wasn't in such a cold place I would have tried to return every year. Nice people, pretty area (in the summer) and a very good atmosphere to work in. Too bad it was such a small unit... more output probably would have made it worth running longer.

Very sad to see it close.

[Cellman]

I'm having a hard time understanding how it makes sense to decomission Kewaunee. The plant has 20 years left on its license, The SG's are only like 10 - 15 years old. Everything I've seen suggests the plant is in excellent condition.

I could see mothballing if they can't charge enough for the power the plant provides. But a decom doesn't add up. NextEra just spent a couple billion to uprate Point Beach right down the street.

Green Bay's Pulliam coal plant is ancient, and only like 377 MW. Several of the 8 units have already been shut down. If / when natural gas prices go back up, the Fox Energy center gets real expensive. That leaves Kewaunee as one of the only sources of "cheap" electricity for the Green Bay and Fox Valley metro area.

Any chance this is some kind of bluff on Dominions part to solicit a sale or negotiate a renewal of the purchase agreement with WPS? I mean why decomission something that works? Does it cost that much more to retain the operating license if a plant is shut down?

[GLW]

......I mean why decomission something that works?....

Shoreham,...

Maine Yankee,...

Connecticut Yankee,...

Yankee Rowe,...

"Something that works" is open to interpretation, Dominion seemed to explain themselves fairly well in the article.

...Does it cost that much more to retain the operating license if a plant is shut down?

Yes, yes it does,...

[Marlin]

I'm having a hard time understanding how it makes sense to decomission Kewaunee. The plant has 20 years left on its license, The SG's are only like 10 - 15 years old. Everything I've seen suggests the plant is in excellent condition.

I could see mothballing if they can't charge enough for the power the plant provides. But a decom doesn't add up. NextEra just spent a couple billion to uprate Point Beach right down the street.

Green Bay's Pulliam coal plant is ancient, and only like 377 MW. Several of the 8 units have already been shut down. If / when natural gas prices go back up, the Fox Energy center gets real expensive. That leaves Kewaunee as one of the only sources of "cheap" electricity for the Green Bay and Fox Valley metro area.

Any chance this is some kind of bluff on Dominions part to solicit a sale or negotiate a renewal of the purchase agreement with WPS? I mean why decomission something that works? Does it cost that much more to retain the operating license if a plant is shut down?

   Trojan went down due to cheap hydro power, among many other things. With an increasing cheap supply of natrual gas coming on line more plants may follow and some new plants may not be built (at least not the old traditional ones).

[GLW]

Trojan,...

Zion,...

somebody will have to jump in on FSV, I don't know it's story and I never worked there,..

[RDTroja]

Trojan,...

Zion,...

somebody will have to jump in on FSV, I don't know it's story and I never worked there,..

FSV was a Gas Reactor (HTGR) and never worked right to begin with. It was decommissioned 13 years after going commercial because it was not economical due to continuous problems. Same goes for  Peach Bottom Unit 1 which was a proof of concept plant. It produced some electricity, but not much and was never really intended to be a long term generator.

[HydroDave63]

somebody will have to jump in on FSV, I don't know it's story and I never worked there,..

One possible consolation prize is the turbine generator. Zion's made for a nice synchronous condensor, and FSV's former main generator is now the HRSG T/G on the tail end of the original 2x1 GE 7FA combined-cycle setup. So, there are some options if MISO decides they need reactive support near metro load, or repower the site similar to the FSV model.

[GLW]

FSV was a Gas Reactor (HTGR) and never worked right to begin with. It was decommissioned 13 years after going commercial because it was not economical due to continuous problems. Same goes for  Peach Bottom Unit 1 which was a proof of concept plant. It produced some electricity, but not much and was never really intended to be a long term generator.

Peach 1, Dresden 1, IP 1, Millstone 1 AIUI are all in a similar category,...

small, lots of problems, economically nonviable, multi-unit sites ------> SAFSTOR,...

[GLW]

   Trojan went down due to cheap hydro power, among many other things. With an increasing cheap supply of natrual gas coming on line more plants may follow and some new plants may not be built (at least not the old traditional ones).

See what happens when you hang at GWB's barbeque's?!?!?1

You start to talk like him,...

[Marlin]

See what happens when you hang at GWB's barbeque's?!?!?1

You start to talk like him,...

My spel chek ain't wurkin 

[slattmandu]

Nicest plant I have ever worked at!  I worked in the cheese, Springs and Falls for 16 years. Wow I am shocked that plant always runs so well. Only long outage was 96-97 resleeve of S/G tubes outage (9 months) I am aware of. Even the SGRP went pretty flawless in 2001. WWWWWWOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HydroDave63]

Depending on the price (doesn't everything?), Kewaunee cold make a nice addition to NSP's fleet.... 

[MrHazmat]

Depending on the price (doesn't everything?), Kewaunee cold make a nice addition to NSP's fleet.... 

Is yur spel chek  brok 2

[HydroDave63]

Is yur spel chek  brok 2

Rather than invent some mind-bending double-entendre, I'll confess to using a late 20th century old IBM brand keyboard, serial not USB.  

[Radwraith]

This is a shame! I met my Wife there and I am sorry to see it go! I am surprised though: For the consumer; Electrical prices are throught the roof! Hard to understand where "Economically nonviable" comes from. I wonder what the rest of the story is...

[ski2313]

Hard to understand where "Economically nonviable" comes from.

Their existing purchase power agreement with the transmission utilities expires in March 2013.. and with the current price of natural gas apparently they aren't even close on price. Single unit site, low mWe output relative to the industry, with the same basic overhead as any other site.. (bad scale of economy meets unfavorable market conditions = shutting down). It's a shame too because it's an extremely well run plant backed by a good work force. It's not he O&M costs that are causing this.

[HydroDave63]

Hard to understand where "Economically nonviable" comes from.

Their existing purchase power agreement with the transmission utilities expires in March 2013.. and with the current price of natural gas apparently they aren't even close on price. Single unit site, low mWe output relative to the industry, with the same basic overhead as any other site.. (bad scale of economy meets unfavorable market conditions = shutting down). It's a shame too because it's an extremely well run plant backed by a good work force. It's not he O&M costs that are causing this.

An excellent synopsis! The irony being the short-sightedness of Dominion. Even coming out of the recession of 2001-03, nat. gas doubled in price in an 18 months period, and over the past decade, has averaged around $5/MMBtu, which on modern combined cycle plants shows up as $35-$50 wholesale power. Not to mention that in a severe cold snap, most states' Public Utility Commission (or equivalent) require that the highest gas supply priority is residential for heating, not generation. Right about the time that baseload nuke is needed most, it won't be online. Hopefully someone with a clue and some megabucks shows up in time!

[GLW]

Hard to understand where "Economically nonviable" comes from.

Their existing purchase power agreement with the transmission utilities expires in March 2013.. and with the current price of natural gas apparently they aren't even close on price. Single unit site, low mWe output relative to the industry, with the same basic overhead as any other site.. (bad scale of economy meets unfavorable market conditions = shutting down). It's a shame too because it's an extremely well run plant backed by a good work force. It's not he O&M costs that are causing this.

An excellent synopsis! The irony being the short-sightedness of Dominion. Even coming out of the recession of 2001-03, nat. gas doubled in price in an 18 months period, and over the past decade, has averaged around $5/MMBtu, which on modern combined cycle plants shows up as $35-$50 wholesale power. Not to mention that in a severe cold snap, most states' Public Utility Commission (or equivalent) require that the highest gas supply priority is residential for heating, not generation. Right about the time that baseload nuke is needed most, it won't be online. Hopefully someone with a clue and some megabucks shows up in time!

Well, perhaps you guys should pack your bags and your VISIO / PowerPoint presentations and head off to Virginia to illustrate the errors of their ways to Dominion. I do not believe anybody in Dominion's Executive Management suite is reading this thread for insight into what to do with a wee bit less than 3% of their power generation capacity.

They may be thinking more along the lines of 3% of capacity versus "who knows how much?" liability,...

It's been for sale, there are no takers AIUI,...

[Fermi2]

And a regulatory cesspool.

[RDTroja]

Depending on the price (doesn't everything?), Kewaunee cold make a nice addition to NSP's fleet.... 

I see that as a perfect example of a Freudean Slip. Cold is right.

[Ksheed]

I know, I know, this thread is dead. However, I read an article today that goes along with it. So, I'm posting it here rather then starting a new topic about the same thing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/12/us/rural-wisconsin-community-laments-nuclear-power-plants-closure.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

[SloGlo]

What was once a companionable, mutually beneficial relationship between the community and the power plant has turned into a fight that some residents have likened to a nasty divorce


having worked kewaunee a couple times, its sad too here these problems as it was a grate,place two work and stay in the town. butt, irs a classic  company town scenario, compounded bye the nuclear calendar. back inna day,  company towns turned too dust rapidly. nothing happens quick when its nuclear.

[SloGlo]

"What was once a companionable, mutually beneficial relationship between the community and the power plant has turned into a fight that some residents have likened to a nasty divorce"


having worked kewaunee a couple times, its sad too here these problems as it was a grate,place two work and stay in the town. butt, irs a classic  company town scenario, compounded bye the nuclear calendar. back inna day,  company towns turned too dust rapidly. nothing happens quick when its nuclear.