As the end of 2024 approaches, recent announcements and a look back at the year shows electric utility interest in natural gas generation remains stronger than ever and this interest is coming from not only public power utilities, but also electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities.
Natural Gas Continues to Play Key Role in Overall Generation Mix
In its 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment released in December, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation said natural-gas-fired generators “are and will remain a critical resource for BPS [bulk power system] reliability in many areas over the 10-year assessment period, especially during winter.”
NERC said that these generators “provide many necessary reliability attributes that are exiting the system as traditional generators retire and inverter-based renewable resources take their place in the resource mix.”
The following highlights developments related to natural gas-fired generation projects in 2024 (announcements related to new projects or the acquisition of natural gas generation projects. The rundown is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather to highlight developments across the public power, cooperative and investor-owned utility sectors in 2024).
PUBLIC POWER UTILITIES
Kerrville Public Utility Board
The Public Utility Commission of Texas over the summer said it had selected 17 projects, including one proposed by Texas public power utility Kerrville Public Utility Board, to advance to the next phase of the Texas Energy Fund In-ERCOT Loan Program application review process.
Its proposed generation project is for a natural gas-fired reciprocating internal combustion engine generation plant that would generate up to 122 MW at peak. “RICE plants are highly efficient, use virtually no water and can continue operating at full capacity during extremely hot or cold weather,” it noted.
Detailed project information, presentation recordings, and a FAQ section are available on KPUB’s website at kpub.com/power.
Santee Cooper
The Board of Directors of South Carolina’s Santee Cooper on Aug. 27 authorized management to submit an application to the South Carolina Public Service Commission related to the potential expansion of the utility’s Rainey Generating Station, located in Iva, S.C.
Specifically, the board authorized management to apply for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to add approximately 180 megawatts of capacity to Rainey Station, which is fueled by natural gas and has a capacity of approximately 1,000 MW.
The project would increase station capacity by nearly 20 percent without requiring additional natural gas to generate the additional capacity and without increasing the emissions rate.
The project involves installing a steam turbine generator and other equipment to capture the waste heat from two existing simple-cycle units and use that heat to generate additional electricity. Construction is expected to take 40 months once the project is approved.
KYMEA
The Kentucky Municipal Energy Agency and the City of Madisonville, Kentucky, over the sumemer announced the development of the KYMEA Energy Center I, a natural gas electric generating facility.
The KYMEA Energy Center I, located in Madisonville, is designed for 75 net megawatts of capacity.
The facility will feature four Wartsila 18V50SG reciprocating internal combustion engine (RICE) generators, each with a nominal capacity of 18.8 MW. “Designed for both continuous and peaking service, the plant will be capable of multiple quick starts and stops per day, ensuring flexibility and responsiveness to the Agency’s energy needs,” KYMEA said.
The facility is expected to operate for at least 30 years.
Created in September 2015, 11 municipal electric utilities entered into an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement creating KYMEA, a joint public agency.
Idaho Falls Power
City officials representing public power utility Idaho Falls Power over the summer broke ground on the city’s latest power generation facility and clean energy research park.
The $36 million investment in the 17.5 MW natural gas peaking plant will provide on-demand energy at times when summer and winter energy usage are at their highest.
“This groundbreaking is more than just the beginning of a construction project,” said Idaho Falls Power General Manager Bear Prairie. “One of Idaho Falls Power’s core missions is to provide reliable power at affordable rates. This peaking plant doubles the local generation capacity in the winter, meaning more stability in energy prices because we will be relying less on buying electricity from neighboring utilities.”
Idaho Falls Power said it will be using natural gas fuel for the peaking plant not only for its lower operating cost, but also for its ability to provide low-emission energy to meet the community’s immediate needs.
The plant has been designed to minimize the release of emissions resulting from natural gas by using the best available emission reduction technology. In addition, the generators will also be able to burn hydrogen, thus enabling future testing and research.
Construction of the plant is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2025.
Grand River Dam Authority
Meanwhile, the Grand River Dam Authority in Oklahoma in May said it had launched design, procurement and construction activities for a new advanced class natural gas-fired project co-led by the GRDA and Black & Veatch.
The Grand River Energy Center Unit 4 is a new fast-start, 426-megawatt advanced J-class Mitsubishi Power 1x0 combustion turbine simple-cycle project near Chouteau in northeast Oklahoma.
It will replace the energy center’s Unit 2, a 492-megawatt coal-fired generator dating to the mid-1980s.
Intended to deliver operational flexibility and fast start-up times to meet the needs of the GRDA’s evolving grid and its customers, the new unit will be installed at the GRDA’s existing GREC power plant site and connect to an existing 345-kilovolt switchyard that Black & Veatch also supported early on.
GREC Unit 4, which will provide peaking power in a wind-dominated Southwest Power Pool region when completed in 2026, will be executed by Black & Veatch under a shared-risk engineering, procurement support and construction management contract, Black and Veatch said on May 21.
Black & Veatch also is providing minor air permitting support and has prepared a cost estimate for the GRDA’s new 345-kV transmission line with related structures.
Lafayette Utilities System
The Lafayette, La., City Council on March 5 cleared a path for Lafayette Utilities System to build a new natural gas-fired power plant.
Specifically, the city council authorized a budget amendment to include the project in the public power utility’s budget, authorized the necessary rate increase to cover the debt associated with the project, and authorized the preliminary approval to move forward and submit a request to the state bond commission to seek permission for a $400 million bond issuance.
Omaha Public Power District
In July, OPPD detailed plans to have two new natural gas balancing plants up and running by the end of 2024. Combined, they will be capable of producing 600 MW of electricity. They will run on an as-needed basis to balance energy load within OPPD’s 13-county service territory and the region.
“Construction of Standing Bear Lake Station and Turtle Creek Station - OPPD's two new, natural gas balancing stations - is nearly complete with both having completed first-fire milestones,” OPPD spokesperson Rita Rodriguez told Public Power Current on Dec. 18.
“Along with first fire, other testing activities will increase over the next couple months. As the generating units continue to be tested over the next several weeks, they will be prepped to come online to begin generating power in early 2025,” she said.
“We are excited about this next big step as we grow and diversify our generation sources to keep reliable, resilient power flowing to our customers.”
Nebraska Public Power District
Nebraska Public Power District in February said that it had begun the process of adding new generation capacity to NPPD’s resource mix, following board approval of a capital budget item. During a regularly scheduled meeting, NPPD’s Board of Directors approved the budget item.
This started the process of adding generation to serve the rapidly increasing load coming to the state.
The new generation resources are targeted to be installed by 2027 and would include, among other things, 216 MW of dual fuel reciprocating internal combustion engines that would use natural gas as a primary fuel source and have the option to utilize diesel and 420 MW of dual fuel combustion turbines that would use natural gas as a primary fuel source and have the option to utilize diesel.
Lower Colorado River Authority
The Lower Colorado River Authority in April announced plans to double the energy production from the new peaker plant it is building in Central Texas by adding a second generating unit.
“The new plant will help LCRA continue to meet the increasing need for reliable power and support the Texas power grid,” the Texas-based public power utility said on April 9.
The new unit will be built on the same 51-acre site near Maxwell in Caldwell County where construction on the first unit of a new LCRA peaker plant is underway.
Each of the units can supply up to 190 megawatts of dispatchable power to the grid.
TVA
Following a multi-year public process, the Tennessee Valley Authority on April 2 said it had made the decision to retire its Kingston Fossil Plant and build a state-of-the-art energy complex at the site by the end of 2027.
TVA will retire the nine coal-fired units at Kingston by the end of 2027.
To replace that generation, TVA will build an energy complex that will house at least 1,500 megawatts of combined cycle and dual-fuel Aeroderivative natural gas combustion turbines with 100 megawatts of battery storage and up to 4 megawatts of solar generation at the Kingston location.
This will be a first-of-its-kind facility at TVA. The natural gas generation will be in operation prior to Kingston Fossil Plant retirement to maintain reliable, uninterrupted power to customers.
At the start of 2024, TVA announced that 750 megawatts of new generation recently came online at its Paradise Combined Cycle Plant in Kentucky.
The three new state-of-the-art natural gas units designed to withstand temperature extremes are online at Paradise just in time for winter weather, TVA noted. The combustion turbine units are designed to start within minutes when electricity demand increases.
Purchasing Natural Gas Plants
Along with announcing plans to construct natural gas plants, a number of public power utilities are also moving to add natural gas generation to their generation portfolios by purchasing natural gas plants.
FMPA
The Florida Municipal Power Agency on Aug. 9 announced it had taken ownership of natural gas combined cycle generation plant, operated in Bartow, Florida. The facility is immediately available and ready for dispatch.
Now owned and operated by FMPA, the newly named Mulberry Energy Center will supply 115 MW of electricity to 13 Florida communities, including Bushnell, Clewiston, Fort Meade, Fort Pierce, Green Cove Springs, Havana, Jacksonville Beach, Key West, Kissimmee, Leesburg, Newberry, Ocala and Starke.
And in early 2024, FMPA announced that it had taken ownership of an Orlando-area, natural gas combined cycle generation plant. The facility is immediately available and ready for dispatch within the Florida Municipal power pool.
Now owned and operated by FMPA, the newly named Sand Lake Energy Center will supply 120 MW of electricity to 13 Florida communities, including Bushnell, Clewiston, Fort Meade, Fort Pierce, Green Cove Springs, Havana, Jacksonville Beach, Key West, Kissimmee, Leesburg, Newberry, Ocala and Starke.
CPS Energy
Texas public power utility CPS Energy on May 1 announced the closing on the acquisition of Talen Energy Corporation’s approximately 1,710-megawatt generation portfolio located in the South Zone of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market for $785 million, subject to customary net working capital adjustments.
These assets include natural gas plants in Corpus Christi and Laredo, Texas. CPS Energy and Talen previously announced the transaction on March 27, 2024.
COOPERATIVES
East Kentucky Power Cooperative
On Nov. 14, East Kentucky Power Cooperative announced plans to add a new 745-megawatt natural gas combined cycle unit at Cooper Station in Pulaski County, effectively tripling the plant’s capacity to provide power and meet future energy demands.
EKPC forecasts growing power demand will exceed the capacity of its current fleet by 2030. During the past two winters, EKPC has set new all-time peak demand records during extreme cold events when large amounts of electricity are used for heating. The new unit will bolster the regional transmission grid in southern Kentucky, it said.
EKPC plans to convert existing coal-fueled units at Cooper Station and at Spurlock Station in Mason County to enable them to use both coal and natural gas as fuel.
With these converted facilities, EKPC will ensure continued compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas rule and protect its most dependable electric-generating resources. If EKPC takes no compliance action, the units must close by 2032.
The co-firing projects will protect nearly half of EKPC’s existing generating capacity while reducing carbon dioxide emissions. EKPC plans to convert all four units at Spurlock Station and Cooper Unit #2.
EKPC also said it plans to construct an innovative new 214-megawatt natural gas power plant at a 100-acre site near Liberty, Ky, in Casey County.
Featuring 12 natural gas-fueled engine/generator sets, the plant will be capable of rapidly starting and ramping up and down. This flexibility means the facility can support energy demands during peak usage hours or when solar facilities experience a reduction in output. The plant is expected to be in operation by late 2028.
Oglethorpe Power
In July, Oglethorpe Power announced that its 38-member electric cooperatives and Board of Directors approved the construction of two new natural gas projects in Georgia: a two-unit combined-cycle plant in Monroe County and a simple-cycle combustion turbine unit at an existing facility in Talbot County.
Following a successful permitting process, Oglethorpe Power said it would break ground on a new combined-cycle plant in Forsyth in Monroe County, Georgia. This two-unit, approximately 1,200-megawatt facility will be built on land already owned by Oglethorpe Power, adjacent to the Smarr Energy Facility, an existing natural gas-fired simple-cycle combustion turbine plant operated by Oglethorpe Power.
“This new state-of-the-art combined-cycle asset will be among the highest-performing, lowest-emitting and most efficient natural gas plants in the state,” it said.
Oglethorpe Power has a long history of partnership with Monroe County. In addition to the company’s operation of the Smarr Energy Facility, Oglethorpe Power is a committed co-owner of Plant Scherer Units 1 and 2. The generation from the new combined-cycle asset will be an addition to Oglethorpe Power’s existing energy portfolio to serve its members’ growing load. Oglethorpe Power has no plans to close or release ownership of its existing assets.
In Talbot County, following successful permitting, Oglethorpe Power will begin construction on a new combustion turbine unit at an existing plant in Box Springs, Georgia.
This new approximately 240-megawatt unit, which will be the seventh unit at the Talbot Energy Facility, will be the most efficient natural gas peaking plant in the company’s fleet. The unit will also feature dual-fuel capability, enhancing Oglethorpe Power’s year-round resiliency.
INVESTOR-OWNED UTILITIES
Evergy
Missouri-based Evergy on Oct. 21 announced it will invest in two new 705-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas plants that will be built in Kansas. The plants are expected to begin operating in 2029 and 2030.
The two new plants will provide flexible generation that pairs well with the abundant renewable resource potential in Evergy’s service area and will meet stringent emissions standards, it said.
The plant in Sumner County is expected to begin providing electricity in 2029, and the plant in Reno County is expected to be in service in 2030.
The natural gas plants will represent a major investment in the state’s energy infrastructure that will serve customers for 40 years, Evergy said.
Entergy
Entergy Louisiana in March filed a request with the Louisiana Public Service Commission for approval to build a 112-megawatt floating natural gas power station equipped with black-start capability and the ability to rapidly start up and ramp down.
Investor-owned Entergy said the proposed $411-million Bayou Power Station would sit on a barge across from a substation in Leeville and would play a crucial role in supporting areas like Port Fourchon, Golden Meadow, Leeville, and Grand Isle through a microgrid system.
Southwestern Electric Power Co.
On Dec. 18, Louisiana-based Southwestern Electric Power Co. announced the ongoing development of several new generation projects, pending regulatory approval.
Included among those projects are two new Proposed Natural Gas Projects:
- 450-MW Hallsville Natural Gas Plant: SWEPCO is initiating a project at the site of the retired H.W. Pirkey Power Plant. This facility is expected to begin operations in 2027, pending regulatory approval from utility regulators in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, as detailed in filings submitted on Dec. 17. The Hallsville Natural Gas Plant will feature two General Electric combustion gas turbine generators and will utilize existing water intake structures and site infrastructure to minimize project costs.
- 1,053-MW Welsh Natural Gas Conversion Project: On Dec. 17, SWEPCO also submitted filings for a fuel conversion project at the Welsh Power Plant, located northwest of Cason, Texas. Pending regulatory approval, this initiative will convert the existing coal-fired boilers of Units 1 and 3 to burn natural gas, with Unit 1 conversion anticipated in 2028 and Unit 3 in 2027.
