Susquehanna-Roseland Power Line, A $1.4 Billion Project, Switched On

The long-anticipated Susquehanna-Roseland power line was fully energized this week for the first time.

The 150-mile-long, 500-kilovolt line links PPL Electric Utilities’s switchyard at its Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, to Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.’s switching station in Roseland, Essex County, New Jersey.

It cost $1.4 billion and is designed to bolster electricity reliability for the power grid run by Pennsylvania-based PJM Interconnection that serves 61 million people in all or parts of 13 states plus the District of Columbia.

“It’s all about reliability,” PPL Electric Utilities spokesman Paul Wirth said. “It prevents overloads on other power lines and gives electricity another path to travel, especially during period periods when it’s extremely hot or extremely cold.

Read more:

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2015/05/susquehanna-roseland_power_lin_4.html

Details Emerge On Jessup Natural Gas Plant

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lackawanna County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jessup may soon be home to one of the state’s largest natural gas power plants.

Chicago-based Invenergy LLC plans to place its Lackawanna Energy Center on 80 acres bounded by Valley View Drive and Sunnyside Road, according to a permit application the company filed with the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Invenergy plans to begin construction in June and finish by 2017, Invenergy spokeswoman Alissa Krinsky said in an email. The company will employ a workforce of 600 during the two-year construction phase.

During regular operations, the plant will provide about 30 jobs, she said.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/details-emerge-on-jessup-natural-gas-plant-1.1779840

Wind Energy’s Viability Trumpeted In Volatile Market

English: Taken by Neutronic (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pennsylvania’s 700 commercial wind turbines loom large along ridges, but their number and size belie their contribution to electricity generation.

Despite government subsidies, technological advancements that improved the turbines’ efficiency, and environmental advantages over burning fossil fuels, wind energy provided just 1.5 percent of the state’s electricity last year and less than 4 percent of the nation’s.

“In Pennsylvania it’s pretty anemic,” said Gregory Reed, a University of Pittsburgh professor who directs the Electric Power Initiative and is associate director of the school’s Center for Energy.

State law requires 18 percent of electricity must come from alternative fuel sources and renewables such as wind, solar and hydropower by 2021.

Read more: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/5415886-74/wind-pennsylvania-energy#ixzz2w5Fb48vJ
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook

Many Weapons In ‘War On Coal’ Deployed Long Before Obama Took Office

The coal industry can be excused for thinking there’s a massive, organized, palm-rubbing effort to make its life difficult — the war on coal, in short.

It’s a “war” that’s been decades in the making, with few regulations actually originating with the Obama administration.  Yet the current swarm of actions also underscores the extent to which the White House can influence which rules get written, enforced or buried by delays and litigation.

“It’s not a war on coal for warring on coal’s sake,” said David Spence, associate professor of law, politics and regulation at the University of Texas.

Rather, it’s kind of a perfect storm of actions that have been simmering for a long time.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/many-weapons-in-war-on-coal-deployed-long-before-obama-took-office-698992/#ixzz2blfnoFXX

Limerick Shutdown Affects Mid-Atlantic Power Supply

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When an explosion Wednesday morning caused operators to cut power to one of two nuclear reactors at the Limerick Generating Station, it had an impact on the power supply to the entire mid-Atlantic region.

One of two reactors was shut down at 8:39 after an electrical problem caused by an explosion in a transformer cut power to a turbine cooling system, officials said.

And, while only a portion of Berks County lies within the 10-mile emergency zone around the Montgomery County nuclear plant, losing just one unit affected some businesses throughout Berks and the region, said Ray Dotter, spokesman for the PJM Interconnection, the King of Prussia-based agency that regulates the regional electric supply.

Each Limerick reactor generates enough electricity to power 1 million homes. That power has to be made up somewhere, Dotter said.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=399805