Brayton Point coal plant in Somerset to close, cut 240 jobs

biz journals ^ | Oct 8, 2013 | Craig Douglas

[FreeAtlanta]

The Brayton Point Power Station, the largest coal-fired power plant in New England, is shutting down amid a prolonged slump in energy prices that is forcing power operators nationally to rejigger their budgets and seek out more affordable production strategies. The closure will result in 240 job losses at the Somerset, Mass.-based facility. Its owner, an affiliate of New Jersey-based private equity firm Energy Capital Partners, said in a statement that steps would be taken to mitigate the effects of the job cuts for Brayton Point’s former workers....

[FreeAtlanta]

Now, the left wing apologist statement...

Brayton Point, which commenced operations in the 1960s , is among a growing list of decades-old power stations made obsolete by the plummeting cost of natural gas and the coal sector’s growing unpopularity among environmentalists. Similar economic and political forces were recently at play when Dominion sought permission to close the Salem Harbor Power Station, which has since been sold to Footprint Power. Footprint intends to build a gas-powered energy station on the premises.

Never mind,

"[I]f somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It's just that it will bankrupt them," - Barack "barky" Obama

"You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers." - Barky Obama

[Mr. Wright]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RevRZaZQpk

[Phillyred]

Fun. So fun! Not good news for Coal-powered....errr I mean electric car drivers. They will soon learn that electricity doesn’t just come out of the wall.

[Red Badger]

... and the coal sector’s growing unpopularity among environmentalists.

That is not a good reason to do ANYTHING..................

[nascarnation]

Frack baby frack......

[FreeAtlanta]

I agree. It is insanity. The wackos have no clue what they really want.

[grania]

I got a call from the Sierra Club yesterday, looking for donations to support the laws for "renewable energy resources". I asked the caller if that included windmills, some which were killing eagles. She said yes.

I said no I wouldn't since I'm pro-eagle. What is the world coming to when the Sierra Club solicits money to aid a technology that kills eagles?

[nascarnation]

If they would hire people to harvest the shredded poultry downstream, for the starving victims of the Baraqqi Depression, it could be a double win.

[FreeAtlanta]

lol, you probably made the callers head spin

[thackney]

Dominion announced March 11, 2013, that it had signed a purchase and sale agreement for Brayton Point merchant generation power station with a subsidiary of funds controlled by Energy Capital Partners, a private equity firm with offices in Short Hills, N.J., and San Diego, Calif. The sale closed on August 29, 2013, following approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Brayton Point Power Station is located on 306 acres of land at the head of Narragansett Bay in Somerset, Massachusetts. The station, one of New England’s largest fossil-fueled generating facilities, consists of four generating units that produce enough electricity to power about 1.5 million homes, using low-sulfur coal, natural gas and fuel oil as its fuel.

Brayton Point consists of three coal-fired units – the 243-megawatt Unit 1, 240-megawatt Unit 2, and 612-megawatt Unit 3 – the 435-megawatt Unit 4, which uses natural gas or oil to generate 435 megawatts, and three diesel-generators with a combined output of 7.6 megawatts.

Brayton Point’s excellent operating record, combined with its large output of electricity, has established the station as an important contributor to reliable electric service in the region. Electricity generated at Brayton Point is sold into New England’s wholesale power market.

Dominion purchased Brayton Point in January 2005.

Dominion invested approximately $570 million to reduce the amount of cooling water the station uses from Mt. Hope Bay, thereby minimizing the thermal impact on the bay. A closed-loop system reduces the required amount of cooling water by more than 90 percent.

Investments in air emissions equipment at Brayton include an ash recovery system that offsets about 170,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year and reduces landfill needs. Other equipment has been or is being installed to reduce significantly sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions.

These modifications will bring the company’s investments in environmental improvements at Brayton Point to approximately $1.1 billion since the station was acquired in 2005.

Net Generating Capacity: 1,537.6 megawatts

Generating Capacity by Unit:

Unit 1 - 243 megawatts
Unit 2 - 240 megawatts
Unit 3 - 612 megawatts
Unit 4 - 435 megawatts
Three Diesel Generators - 7.6 megawatts combined
Commercial Operation: 1963

Unit 1 began operating in 1963, Unit 2 in 1964, Unit 3 in 1969, and Unit 4 in 1974.

https://www.dom.com/about/stations/fossil/brayton-point-power-station.jsp

[FreeAtlanta]

It slices. It dices.

I really don't know how they get around the endangered species act.

[thackney]

harvest the shredded poultry downstream

This is why offshore wind energy, if done without subsidies, is a good idea.

Prime fishing location!

[Wyatt's Torch]

The question is what is picking up the wattage slack? You kind of get the sense that a nat gas plant is picking up the slack but it’s not explicit. The coal to nat gas conversion is the typical energy story given the very low nat gas cost (<$4/mmbtu)

[FreeAtlanta]

” permanently disrupting the ecology and causing sharks to follow any and all “ ... windmills

[thackney]

I’ve had grilled shark. That’s good eatin’.

[GailA]

hey the south has tons of the weed that is extremely fast growing and deadly to surrounding plants called KUDZU they could harvest an burn for bio fuel.

[nascarnation]

LOL yeah it’s working its way north.
You see it along I65 in Kentucky.

Must be due to “global warming” ...

[petnurser]

I live in and grew up in Somerset. This will cause incredible hardship this town. Environmentalists have no concerns at all beyond their goals to destroy the quality of life for all.

[CSM]

Thank you EPA.

[VerySadAmerican]

Apparently electrical rates are about to skyrocket in Texas. I heard on the radio something about generator costs.