1 / 33

Generation Choices

Generation Choices. June 20, 2013 Mac McLennan President and CEO Minnkota Power Cooperative. 130,000+ Customers. Headquarters Grand Forks, N.D. Young Station Center, N.D . Minnkota headquarters in Grand Forks 352 employees 177 Grand Forks 175 Young Station

iren
Download Presentation

Generation Choices

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Generation Choices June 20, 2013 Mac McLennan President and CEO Minnkota Power Cooperative

  2. 130,000+Customers

  3. HeadquartersGrand Forks, N.D. Young StationCenter, N.D. • Minnkota headquarters in Grand Forks • 352 employees • 177 Grand Forks • 175 Young Station • Primary source of generation is the Milton R. Young Station near Center, N.D. • Minnkota supplies electricity to 11 distribution cooperatives, three in eastern N.D., and eight in northwestern Minn.

  4. Generation Distribution Transmission

  5. Types of Generation • Baseload power is available for 24-7 demand • High-capacity generating plants • Plants cost less to operate when at full efficiency • Peaking power is available when demand is highest • Higher cost to operate, but quick start-up to reactto demand changes • Intermittent power is available when supply allows • Cannot be relied upon to react to level of demand

  6. Our Generation Facilities • 1,086 nameplate megawatt capacity • Coal 605 MW 73% • Young Station – 477 MW • Coyote Station – 128 MW • Wind 359 MW 19% • Hydro 122 MW 8% • (A megawatt is the capacity to serve about 800 homes)

  7. Class Activity on Energy Choices • Discuss in small groups what energy resource(s) you would use to meet significant future demands • Choices: lignite, nuclear, hydropower, natural gas, wind, fuel cells and/or solar

  8. Class Activity on Energy Choices Nuclear Hydropower Natural gas Wind Solar Lignite

  9. Nuclear • Advantages • No CO2 emissions • Relatively low-cost fuel • Disadvantages • Large capital cost • Radioactive waste • Almost impossible to solve waste disposal problems through Congress • Last U.S. nuclear power plant licensed in the 1970s

  10. Hydro • Advantages • No fuel cost • Low-cost energy to consumer • No air emissions • Disadvantages • Affects fish and wildlife habitat • Alters the natural flow of rivers • Virtually no resources left to develop(some dams being removed) • Montana’s Yellowtail Dam finished in 1967

  11. Natural Gas • Advantages • Moderate capital costs • Less emissions than lignite-produced electricity • Currently, natural gas is low-priced • Disadvantages • Potential resource adequacy • Costs have been historically volatile • Natural gas sold to electric utilities increased from $2.62 per dekatherm in 1999 to $12.80 per dekatherm in 2008 – currently at about $4.50 per dekatherm

  12. Wind • Advantages • Renewable • No air emissions • Disadvantages • Has intermittent production • Turbines take a lotof space • Equipment aesthetically unpleasing to some and kills birds • Because of intermittent nature, requires back-up generation sources

  13. www.minnkota.com

  14. Langdon Minot Petersburg Wilton Ashtabula Valley City Edgeley Questionon Diversity Hyde Pipestone Chamberlain Crosswind

  15. Wind Comparison (Each site normalized to 1 MW)

  16. Solar • Advantages • Renewable • No air emissions • Disadvantages • Expensive • Intermittent production

  17. Lignite • Advantages • Abundant fuel source • Relatively inexpensive fuel source • Reliable • Increasingly clean • Disadvantages • Low Btu content • High moisture content • Cannot economically rail • New federal emissions regulations cause uncertainty

  18. Classroom Activity • What percentage of the electricity in the United States is generated by:(take one minute to do) • Coal _______ • Nuclear _______ • Gas _______ • Hydro _______ • Petroleum _______ • Renewables _______

  19. Classroom Activity • Coal42% • Gas 25% • Nuclear 19% • Hydro 08% • Other 06% Based on 2011 information from Department of Energy

  20. North Dakota • 7thlowest retail electricity prices in the nation • Average retail price 7.7 cents • Power rates are very lowbecause of low-cost coal(82 percent) generation • Coal costs are nearly 40 percent below the national average because mine-mouth plants use local low cost lignite and do not pay for “transportation” costs Wind Coal Coal 82% Source: 2011 Energy Information Administration 6/21/12

  21. Minnesota Natural Gas Other • 19thlowest retail electricityprices in the nation • Average retail price 9.23 cents • Power rates are relatively lowbecause of high proportion oflow-cost coal generation & modest nuclear exposure • 52 percent of in-state utility generation from coal-fired stations • About one-sixth of state’s electricity imported from North Dakota Coal Nuclear 24.8% Nuclear Coal 62.1% Source: 2011 Energy Information Administration 6/21/12

  22. South Dakota • 14thlowest retail electricity prices in the nation • Average retail price 8.4 cents • Relatively high distribution costs are largely offset by low cost coal generation and hydroelectric generation Other Hydro Coal Source: 2011 Energy Information Administration 6/21/12

  23. Montana • 12thcheapest retail electricity prices in the nation • Average retail price 8.3 cents • Power rates are low because of high proportion of low cost coal (62 percent) & hydro (32 percent) Hydro Coal Source: 2011 Energy Information Administration 6/21/12

  24. Iowa • 7thcheapest retail electricity prices in the nation • Average retail price 7.7 cents • Power rates are low because of high proportion of low cost coal (72 percent) & nuclear (7 percent) Other Coal Source: 2011 Energy Information Administration 6/21/12

  25. This Region Depends On Coal-Based Electricity • Coal must remain a part of America’s future • New technology is required • Time is important • Sharing of risk • Federal • Industry

  26. Importance of Coal-Based Electricity • Affordable, reliable electricity is important to families and businesses • Important for low-income families • Important competitive factor for region’sfarms & businesses • Important economic development incentive

  27. Importance of Coal-Based Electricity • Coal-based industry provides affordable, reliable electricity • North Dakota is one of 7 states meeting U.S. air quality standards • 30 million tons of lignite consumed per year

  28. Challenges of Resource Planning • Regulatory Uncertainty • Each generation source has advantages and disadvantages • Large investments • Generation sources expected to last 50 years or longer

  29. Other considerations • Public wants affordable, reliable electricity • Regulators want economical and environmentally compatible sources • Environmental activists have demonstrated a proclivity to sue • No comprehensive federal energy policy

  30. So as a fellow CEO….I hope you would agree that an “all of the above” energy policy is best!

  31. ???

  32. Thank you for your dedicationin educating studentson the lignite industry!

More Related