Ferndale plugs hydro gaps in Pacific Northwest
This article describes a 245-MW combined-cycle project which is the most recent and the largest of its type to start up in the power-hungry Northwest. Low emissions and extensive water treatment systems cleared the way for coastal siting. Because of pressure from such strange bedfellows as the Sierra Club, salmon fishermen, and the Canadian Government, year-round production from Pacific Northwest hydroelectric dams is being curtailed. Recently, nuclear production in the area also plummeted when leaking steam generators forced the early closure of the 1200-MW Trojan nuclear station. And just as the local power supplies are declining, the region's demand for power is increasing. Predominantly because of population growth, the region will need about 2000 MW of new generation by the end of the century. Filling this electricity gap, at least for the immediate future, is a growing assembly of combined-cycle (CC) powerplants. The latest and largest to fire up is the 245-MW Tenaska Washington Partners (Omaha, Neb) cogeneration plant in Ferndale, Wash, which began commercial operation this past April. The facility, powered by two natural-gas-fired combustion turbines and one steam turbine, operates base-load 11 months of the year, and is scheduled to be curtailed each May when local hydro plants are awash in spring run-off. Additional dispatch options developed by Tenaska Power Partners and Puget Sound Power and Light Co will provide the utility with further operational flexibility, if needed. Project developers point to prime location, design features that respond to environmental needs, and solid community relations as the key to success.
- OSTI ID:
- 6845220
- Journal Information:
- Power; (United States), Vol. 138:9; ISSN 0032-5929
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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