Kemper

The world is on a quest for solutions to decarbonize its economy. More than 70 countries and over 1,200 companies have set a net-zero target, according to the United Nations. To limit warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, emissions of hundreds of gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) would need to be prevented and removed from […]

New coal-fired generating plants are not showing up in the U.S. Elderly plants are retiring in large numbers. But other parts of the world continue to develop coal generation. Advances in combustion and

NextEra Energy on May 21 said it would acquire several assets from Southern Co., including Southern’s ownership interest in two natural gas-fired power plants in Florida, in a deal valued at about $6.5 billion. Southern in a statement Monday said the sale would help the company reduce debt, which has dogged Southern as its subsidiary […]

Shareholders of Mississippi Power will have to absorb the majority of outstanding costs resulting from the scuttled Kemper County coal gasification project, as the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) on February 6 approved a settlement for the remaining liabilities associated with the much-touted “clean coal” plant. Mississippi Power in a statement said it “is pleased […]

 The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week reportedly closed an investigation concerning costs and delays at Mississippi Power’s now-abandoned Kemper integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project without recommending an enforcement action. Mississippi Power on December 1 also reached an amended settlement agreement with key stakeholders on the remaining costs associated with the $7.5 billion […]

A settlement Mississippi Power reached on August 21 with stakeholders of the Kemper County facility will ensure customers won’t be subjected to rate increases associated with the now-abandoned gasification portion of the project. While that will affect revenues, the resolution could soften controversy surrounding the project and avoid protracted legal and financial turmoil, the company […]

  Operations and start-up of the lignite gasification portion of the Kemper County Energy Facility, marred by exorbitant delays and cost overruns, will be suspended immediately, Mississippi Power announced on June 28. The Southern Co. subsidiary plans to continue running a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant that was completed as part of the $7.5 […]

Mississippi Power’s Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project is now expected to be in service by the end of June, but the company expects it will need post in-service improvements. It also said timing of when it will file a case to address the recovery of costs not currently reflected in rates is uncertain. […]

Southern Co. announced yet another lag beyond a new in-service date for its Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project. Along with concerns about delays and mounting cost increases afflicting the plant’s coal gasification component are how it will be used in the face of cheap gas prices. The company’s subsidiary Mississippi Power last […]

Southern Co.’s Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project, stricken by steep cost increases and an in-service date delayed again to mid-March, isn’t economically viable in the face of projected long-term natural gas prices, the company said. Southern Co. subsidiary Mississippi Power reported that integrated operation of the facility’s two gasifiers and combustion turbines […]

Southern Co. has once again moved back the in-service date for the Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant under construction in Mississippi, this time to December 31, the company said in its quarterly report released on November 4. Though the plant has experienced ongoing construction delays for a variety of reasons, the most […]

Mississippi Power has pushed back the in-service date of its much-delayed Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant by a month, to October 31, 2016. Initial production of syngas at the plant began on July 14, and testing continues of gasifier B and related lignite feed and ash systems. “The schedule extension provides for […]

Southern Co.’s Kemper County energy facility—the only carbon capture and storage (CCS) integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant that is under construction—is producing syngas using lignite. The plant marked its most significant milestone to date on July 14, said Southern Co.’s Mississippi Power. It means that the first-of-its-kind technology to convert locally mined lignite […]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is conducting a formal investigation concerning costs and delays plaguing Mississippi Power’s Kemper integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant. Southern Co., Mississippi Power’s parent company, revealed the investigation in a recent 10-Q financial filing. The company said that while it is fully cooperating with the SEC, it believes the […]

In what has become a regular occurrence with the Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle power plant, Mississippi Power announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 1 that costs have risen from the most recent projections and further delays in its in-service date are possible. Though the $18 million in […]

Mississippi Power’s lignite-fired Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant is seeing yet another delay and $110 million in new costs, a filing with state regulators shows. The company’s December 2015 monthly status report for the nation’s first commercial power plant that will capture and store carbon dioxide anticipates that it will now […]

Mississippi Power has revealed a new cost increase of $110 million for its Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) facility. But, the company said that it has tested one of two gasification units—reaching what it says is the project's "most significant milestone yet"—and that it does not expect any new delays. Testing the gasifiers […]

Seven gasification projects will receive about $7.5 million in funding from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Energy Technology Laboratory. The projects will reduce the cost of coal conversion and mitigate the environmental impacts of fossil-fueled power generation, the DOE said in a statement on July 14. The projects fall under two subtopic areas: development […]

South Mississippi Electric (SME), an electric cooperative that has been Mississippi Power Co.’s (MPC’s) long-time backer in the development of the Kemper energy facility, has pulled out of the project, citing delays in project schedule and increased participation costs as reasons for its withdrawal.  The cooperative that generates and transmits electricity for 11 member cooperatives […]

The total costs of Mississippi Power’s Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant—the nation’s only large-scale integrated carbon capture and sequestration project (CCS) under construction—have now almost doubled to $4.02 billion. A review of the Kemper facility’s construction schedule and costs completed this month by Mississippi Power management prompted the company to push back […]