CASE STUDY IN THE SUCCESSFUL BROWNFIELD DEVELOPMENT OF AN OIL FIRED POWER PLANT INTO A 520 MW COMBINED CYCLE GAS FIRED PLANT

摘要

The E. M. Graham Station facility, an inactive 62 MW oil fired power plant located in Veazie, Maine, was subdivided and developed into Maine Independence Station, a new 520 MW combined cycle gas-fired plant. The successful development hinged on three key elements: access to existing infrastructure, close proximity of the recently completed Maritimes and Northeast natural gas pipeline, and regulatory flexibility provided by Maine's Voluntary Remedial Action Program (VRAP). Existing infrastructure (i.e., substations and transmission corridors, on-site rail access, 100 acres of undeveloped land, and the adjacent Penobscot River) provided major system and transmission components with minimal capital construction and permitting costs. The new natural gas transmission line situated within 0.5 miles of the site allowed natural gas (a cost efficient and clean burning fuel source) to be easily available to the site. Finally, Maine VRAP allowed remedial activities to be expedited and provided the buyer and seller environmental liability protection from the State of Maine. Project kickoff was in Fall 1997 and power generation commenced in May 2000.