Author Archive for: KMEA

The city of Ottawa recently completed the replacement of the catalyst on the Cooper units 6 & 7 at the power plant.   

The city made the decision to replace the catalyst for a couple reasons.  First, the old catalyst was creating back pressure and causing increased heat on the turbo exhaust.  Secondly, because of the location of the old catalyst the emissions reduction was narrowly meeting the 70% reduction standard. 

The new DCL catalyst/mufflers were purchased through and installed by Wheeler World in Ohio for under $375,000. 

KMEA is excited to announce the APPA/KMEA Public Power Manager Certificate Program.  KMEA will sponsor up to three individuals to attend and participate in the APPA public power manager certificate program.  This program is intended to develop individual leaders’ skills, skills development, coaching practice, and team building within the utility industry.

The KMEA (Kansas Municipal Energy Agency) and KMGA (Kansas Municipal Gas Agency) held their respective Board of Directors meetings on May 1, 2024. These meetings saw great attendance from representatives of 49 cities for the KMEA meeting and 29 cities for the KMGA meeting.

During the KMGA meeting, Mike Meyer reviewed the 2023 financials, Paul Mahlberg gave a presentation on Future Natural Gas Supply, Terri Pemberton presented the general Counsel Report, and Dixie Riedel presented the Gas Director’s Report.

Piles of coal parked at the entrance of Baltimore Harbor are the gateway to one of the biggest fossil fuel plants in the mid-Atlantic region.

After years of public debate and litigation brought by the Sierra Club, the 1,283-megawatt Brandon Shores coal-burning power station is expected to close in 2025 under an agreement with its owner. If the plant retires, it will be another step in the nation’s decisive shift away from coal generation.

But Brandon Shores is also seen by some grid officials as a poster child for the threat to electric reliability posed by the quickening pace of closures of fossil fuel plants. And it illustrates the distance U.S. climate policy has to go to both usher polluting plants off the grid while guaranteeing electricity can be generated and shipped from elsewhere to meet rising demand. It’s a dynamic underscored by EPA’s power plant rule release last week, which calls for coal generating plants and large new natural gas plants to capture most carbon emissions by 2032 or get on a retirement schedule. The rules could be eased in grid emergencies.

The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) has been awarded a $1.9 million Block Grant from the Department of Energy (DOE). The grant is part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Under the Program, States may make subawards to local governments (counties and cities) who did not directly receive federal grants under the Program.

The KCC intends to support with this Program through subgrants to local governments to help fund projects to replace traffic signals and/or street lighting with energy efficient lighting technology with a particular focus to rural, underserved and disadvantaged communities in Kansas.