tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post6686333470836868249..comments2023-04-07T05:19:44.951-04:00Comments on Yes Vermont Yankee: Cold Weather Winners and Losers on the Vermont Grid Meredith Angwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-15209337573832595202013-01-29T10:19:48.948-05:002013-01-29T10:19:48.948-05:00I have a follow-up question about Gentilly-2 and t...I have a follow-up question about Gentilly-2 and the seemingly dumb decision to close it.<br /><br />I say "seemingly dumb", because it's not so clear to me. . .<br /><br />What I mean is this - in the world of business finance, it occurs to me that it might be worth it to "lose" a short-term windfall (e.g. temporary demand spike for power during the winter), in order to save costs the other 9 or 10 months of the year.<br /><br />Keeping a power plant (or any business) open entails a lot of costs, and the profits you make in a couple months might easily be swallowed up by the operations costs to keep the plant around?<br /><br />Also, it occurs to me that there might be excess demand this year, but maybe they know that because of generation capacity scheduled to come online either in Canada or the US during 2013, that there would end up being surplus power by NEXT winter, and so they decided it made sense to close the plant (although, if that was the case, you'd think they'd keep it open until like March, get those "windfall" profits, then close it)?<br /><br />Things aren't always so simple as they appear at first glance, is all I'm saying.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-18084082275806129482013-01-27T10:03:16.660-05:002013-01-27T10:03:16.660-05:00Rod, thank you for the cost update. I have also f...Rod, thank you for the cost update. I have also followed with interest the back-and-forth comments between you and Steve Skutnik on his blog post at Neutron Economy. Exactly how much did you guys bet on the natural gas prices, anyway? You win if you count New England prices, he wins at the Henry Hub. I have found this contrast very interesting.<br /><br />Mike. People ask me all the time: "So if the grid prices are so low, how come my electric bill hasn't changed?" My answer: because the utilities have NO incentive to lower their prices unless forced do so by Public Service Boards. Those Boards (and Commissions and so forth) are supposed to look out for the consumer. They don't. They are falling down on the job, IMHO. Meredith Angwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-18823065956321208272013-01-26T13:31:32.130-05:002013-01-26T13:31:32.130-05:00Meredith,
Well, the natural gas prices is severel...Meredith, <br />Well, the natural gas prices is severely damaging the nuclear industry...much like the Iraqis, Iranians and Saudis were during their price war years of 1980-1990.<br /><br />And we got a corrupt collusive energy market throughout NE both with electricity and natural gas. Have you had those massive reductions in your electric bills as the market has seen? <br />Mike Mulliganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06503388974475495672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-63206770424171247112013-01-26T10:35:07.848-05:002013-01-26T10:35:07.848-05:00According to the Energy Information Agency (which ...According to the Energy Information Agency (which is very good at reporting what has happened and less reliable at predicting what will happen in the future) natural gas prices in New England have exceeded $30 per MMBTU for the past week or more.<br /><br />http://www.eia.gov/special/alert/east_coast/<br /><br />Gas prices are so high that the report even indicates that oil might be burned instead.<br />Rod Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652375336090790205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-63346805690075773292013-01-26T07:21:28.402-05:002013-01-26T07:21:28.402-05:00Thank you for all your comments.
Bob, you are c...Thank you for all your comments. <br /><br />Bob, you are completely correct, and others have figured this out also. On my FB page, one Canadian described the people who shut down G-2: "Morons." <br /><br />Kind of sums it up. <br /><br />I need to do another blog post on this, but meanwhile, there are two other blogs continuing the conversation.<br /><br />Canadian Energy Issues; Money down the drain, possibly forever: Hydro Quebec pines for Gentilly 2's Revenue Generating Potential<br /><br />http://canadianenergyissues.com/2013/01/25/money-down-the-drain-possibly-forever-hydro-quebec-pines-for-gentilly-2s-revenue-generating-potential/<br /><br />Neutron Economy: Where's the real bottleneck for natural gas? Distribution <br /><br />(this post has been picked up by Peak Oil website, also). <br /><br />http://neutroneconomy.blogspot.com/2013/01/wheres-real-bottleneck-for-natural-gas.html<br /><br />Meredith Angwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-24132551563954629552013-01-26T07:00:32.862-05:002013-01-26T07:00:32.862-05:00Meredith, With less nuclear power to rely on, HQ h...Meredith, With less nuclear power to rely on, HQ has less power to export. Let's do the math. Closing the Gentilly-2 plant cut power generation capacity by 675 MW. HQ has reduced power exports by 600-700 MW. You think these are related?Robert Hargraveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06846491141058940965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-78671066946605864932013-01-25T09:15:36.482-05:002013-01-25T09:15:36.482-05:00In reply to Simon: coal won't make up for G-2&...In reply to Simon: coal won't make up for G-2's lost output, it will be gas. Gas GHGs per kWh generated are on average 550 grams. So take G-2's capacity (CANDU 6 = 700 MW), and replace it with a 700 MW gas plant running as baseload (>80 percent).<br /><br />I get 2.6 million tons of CO2 per year.<br /><br />700 MW x 8760 hours in a year x 80 percent x 0.00055 metric tons of CO2 per kWh = 2,698,080 metric tons per year.Steve Aplinhttp://www.canadianenergyissues.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-990112266266187922013-01-25T09:06:50.732-05:002013-01-25T09:06:50.732-05:00Thank you all for your comments!
Mike: what is pa...Thank you all for your comments!<br /><br />Mike: what is past is prologue. Continued low prices for electricity depend on continued low prices for gas. The ISO-NE report shows local gas prices have risen from below $2 MMCF to above $6 in about 9 months. Grid prices are going to follow, in my opinion. I am aware that predicting the future is risky, but I think gas prices remaining so low is extremely unlikely. <br /><br />Howard and Simon: your comments started my morning SO WELL! Thank you! <br /><br />Simon, I have to run off in about ten minutes, but I have asked some people about your "G-2 closing and carbon footprint" question and I hope someone will answer it soon.Meredith Angwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-80247713467845373212013-01-25T08:39:30.790-05:002013-01-25T08:39:30.790-05:00The twitter post brought a question from one of my...The twitter post brought a question from one of my followers, would be nice to blog about it... How much coal was burned to compensate the closing of Gentilly (not selling to US) and how much radiation sent in the air and on the ground, because we all know that burning coal produce more radiation than a well maintained nuclear power plant.Simon Filiatraulthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16412350223094493858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-43067035362924454502013-01-25T07:44:01.136-05:002013-01-25T07:44:01.136-05:00Thanks for this Meredith, I fought against the clo...Thanks for this Meredith, I fought against the closure of Gentilly, by trying to educate people, but when you are convinced that all nuclear is evil, without any basis in science, you are surely to loose. I blogged for a long time in Quebec about energy, made a conference on energy and nuclear. Now I bought a Geiger counter and documenting that radiation is everywhere around us and not evil. http://radio-activity-studies.blogspot.ca/<br /><br />I retweeted this post, I put it on facebook, doing what I can. You have nuclear friend of north, hope you know that!<br /><br />I will consider this post one of the best anniversary gift I got for my birthday tomorrow!<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />Simon Filiatrault<br />https://twitter.com/SimonFiliSimon Filiatraulthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16412350223094493858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-13563381854328982322013-01-24T16:49:30.560-05:002013-01-24T16:49:30.560-05:00Two hours since post, and no comments??
This is a...Two hours since post, and no comments??<br /><br />This is a great post an needs to be turned into a letter to the editor. A short one: How much did Vermont Utilities make from Vermont Yankee today? or something like that.Howard Shaffernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-84026983232468490742013-01-24T16:49:26.026-05:002013-01-24T16:49:26.026-05:00 L2012 Wholesale Electricity Prices in New England... L2012 Wholesale Electricity Prices in New England Fell to Lowest Level Since 2003. Lower Natural Gas Prices and Lower Demand Combine to Push Electricity Prices Down to a 10-Year Low Holyoke, MA—January 23, 2013—Wholesale electricity prices in New England fell by nearly 23% last year to their lowest levels since 2003, according to ISO New England Inc., the operator of the region’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets.<br /><br />Preliminary figures show that year over year, the average price of wholesale electric energy fell 23% in 2012, from $46.68 per megawatt-hour (MWh) in 2011 to $36.09/MWh last year. Further, the 2012 price was almost 26% lower than the average price of $48.59/MWh set in 2003, the year that competitive markets in their current form were introduced in New England.Mike Mulliganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06503388974475495672noreply@blogger.com