The power plant is to be located close to significant wind farm generation, and will serve to stabilise the grid when the output from the wind farms change unexpectedly because of weather changes.
The new power plant will incorporate 18 Wärtsilä 20V34SG generating sets, along with mechanical, electrical and control auxiliaries, switchgear and exhaust emission controls. Additionally, Wärtsilä will provide installation and commissioning support, as well as factory training.
The power plant, which is expected to achieve commercial operation in early 2011, will generate enough electricity to meet the peak load requirements of 55,000 homes.
The contract for the power plant was signed in November with Golden Spread Electric Cooperative (GSEC), a consumer-owned public utility providing power to 16 member distribution cooperatives that serve 208,000 retail consumers.
Article continues below…President of Wärtsilä North America Frank Donnelly said “The quick start and rapid response characteristics of this plant will assist in assuring high grid reliability while providing competitive energy to GSEC members.”
The ‘quick start’ engines are designed to achieve full operation in less than 10 minutes, whereas traditional gas-fired generation can take from one to four hours to start.
President and General Manager of the generation cooperative Mark W. Schwirtz said “The growing summer electricity demand and the large amount of wind generation that is located in the region, were the main drivers in GSEC’s choice of quick start generation technology.”
