EXTRA...

Canal power plant tax deal with town ends soon

TODAY's quotes: “The number of days that the canal plant was operational in 2011 was significantly lower than in years prior to the short-term upgrades." - Paige M. Kane, GenOn.
“Offshore wind holds incredible potential for our country. We’re moving full-steam ahead to accelerate the siting, leasing and construction of new projects.” - Ken Salazar, DOI.

How much is the canal power plant worth?

What is the cost to Cape Cod health

Read about the recent Cape Cod meeting about the $360 million cost of keeping this plant open.

You can see it for miles as you head off Cape, and it is a significant polluter of our air which is among the nation's worse according to the American Lung Association, but it pays 5 percent of all the taxes in Sandwich, the most conservative town on this sandspit.

The GenOn canal power plant's 5-year agreement with Sandwich expires at the end of next year, and town official are already preparing for negotiations on a new deal.

Whether that GenOn $2.5 million fee will go up or down probably depends mostly on the cost of oil which the plant uses rather than the less expensive natural gas.

The Sandwich Enterprise reports that because the cost of oil is significantly higher than natural gas it has placed a strain on the power plant’s ability to compete with other suppliers.

Unit #1 at the canal plant is representative of the most efficient fossil fueled plants of the 1970 era. It's an oil fueled super-critical steam unit optimally designed to best operate between half load and full load. Boiler steam is produced at 3,600 psi at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit to drive the nominally rated 560 megawatt (MW) capacity Westinghouse turbine/generator.

Meanwhile, back at the wind farm

At the same time the Obama administration made fresh moves this week to boost the prospects for offshore wind energy after a tough year in the U.S. for the renewable energy source.

MarketWatch reports that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said at a press conference on Thursday, “Offshore wind holds incredible potential for our country. We’re moving full-steam ahead to accelerate the siting, leasing and construction of new projects.”

No big offshore wind turbines reside in the U.S, even while plenty of them now crank out oodles of renewable, emission-free power in Europe.  The short list of probable offshore wind farms in the U.S. recently fell from two to one.

The current front runner in America remains Cape Wind off the coast of Cape Cod, with Cape Wind President Jim Gordon vowing in a recent interview to start construction in 2013 after a more than 10-year legal battle.

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