Natural gas-fired power plants not going away in region

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Hello all,

Hydraulic fracturing “fracking” of natural gas is leading to a boom in the construction of power plants. 

That was the word from a recent story in the Wall Street Journal  (paywall) that outlined the surge  in gas-fired plants in the territory of our regional grid operator PJM. 

This comes as coal-fired plants continue to shut down, with signs that  similar challenges are faced by nuclear plants. 

New Calpine plant in Dover.

Nearby examples of the trend are the Wildcat Point power plant, a 30-minute drive west of Newark near Rising Sun, MD,  and the generation site in Dover. 

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Wildcat Point is part of Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, a wholesale generation partner for Greenwood-based Delaware Electric Cooperative.

 The Dover plant is part of independent energy giant Calpine, which also owns gas-fired generators at the Hay Road complex near Wilmington.

About 89 percent of the electricity generated within Delaware now comes from natural gas-fired plants. Out-of-state nuclear plants also provide a large chunk of the supply.

The fracking boom has sent natural gas prices plummeting and regardless of sentiments to the contrary, coal-fired plants will become fewer in this region. – Doug Rainey, publisher.

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