Emery Generating Station, Clear Lake, Iowa

摘要

The 550-MW, oil- and gas-fueled Emery Generating Station is a significant addition to Interstate Power & Light's fleet because its black-start capability can trigger the restoration of system service in the event of a regional blackout. Emery's two GE 7FA combustion turbines are the first in the U.S. with a static starting system that enables them to be started up in island mode. Over the past decade, electricity demand in northern Iowa has increased by 20%. That's a modest rate, but significant enough that the incumbent utility - Interstate Power & Light Co. (IPL), based in Cedar Rapids - realized a few years ago that it would need to expand its capacity. Consequently, system planners at IPL, which is a subsidiary of Alliant Energy (Madison, Wis.), launched the "Power Iowa" initiative, The USD400 million Emery Generating Station (EGS) is the first project completed as part of it. According to Lee Hanson, Alliant's project manager for EGS (Figure 1), more raw generating capacity wasn't the only reason the plant was built. Another was Alliant's need to increase the dispatching flexibility of its fleet. Hence, EGS was designed for intermediate-load service, and its commissioning enables Alliant's baseload and peaking plants to be ramped up and down as needed. A third reason for building EGS was a new Iowa law that allows utilities to secure funding for a new plant before it breaks ground, reducing their capital risks.