About Great River Energy Great River Energy is a not-for-profit electric cooperative owned by its 28 member cooperatives. We generate and transmit electricity for those members, located in the outer-ring suburbs of the Twin Cities up to the Arrowhead region of Minnesota and down to the farmland region in the southwestern portion of the state. |
| General Member cooperatives: 28 Employees: More than 850 Headquarters: 12300 Elm Creek Boulevard Maple Grove, Minnesota 55369-4718 Phone: 763/445-5000 Fax: 763/445-5050 |
Financial Highlights (for 2010) Revenue: $847.2 million Total assets: $3.3 billion Electric plant investment (net): $2.6 billion Long-term debt: $2.7 billion Great River Energy share of taxes paid: Personal property and real estate: $19.7 million Generation tax (North Dakota): $2.0 million Coal severance tax (North Dakota): $4.5 million Payroll, sales and other taxes: $15.5 million Total taxes paid $41.7 million |
14,292,742 megawatt-hours (MWh)
(11,754,808 megawatt-hours sold to members)
| Generation Capability* Summer Plant Capability** |
Megawatt(MW) |
Coal Creek Station, Underwood, N.D. |
1,131 MW |
Lakefield Junction Station, Martin County, Minn. |
500 MW |
Pleasant Valley Station, Mower County, Minn. |
422 MW |
Stanton Station, Stanton, N.D. |
188 MW |
Elk River Peaking Station, Elk River, Minn. |
183 MW |
Cambridge Station, Cambridge, Minn. |
177 MW |
Genoa 3, near LaCrosse, Wis.*** |
143 MW |
St. Bonifacius Peaking Plant, St. Bonifacius, Minn. |
59 MW |
Elk River Energy Recovery Station, Elk River, Minn. |
33 MW |
Rock Lake Peaking Plant, Pine City, Minn. |
20 MW |
Maple Lake Peaking Plant, Maple Lake, Minn. |
19 MW |
Arrowhead Emergency Generation Station, Colvill, Minn. |
18 MW |
Elm Creek Wind Purchase, Southwestern Minn. |
99 MW (nameplate) |
Endeavor I Wind Purchases, Northern Iowa |
100 MW (nameplate) (beginning April, 2011) |
Prairie Star Wind Purchase, Southeastern Minn. |
101 MW (nameplate) |
Trimont Wind Purchase, Southwestern Minn. |
100 MW (nameplate) |
Ashtabula II Wind Purchases, Northeastern North Dakota |
51 MW (nameplate) (beginning August, 2010) |
Wind Energy Purchases, Southern Minn. |
18 MW (nameplate) |
*Excludes power purchases totaling 92 MW (summer rating) from the Western Area Power Administration and other power purchases. **Summer Net Dependable Capacity based on annual performance testing and per North American Electric Reliability Corporation Generating Availability Data System. ***Genoa 3 is not owned by Great River Energy but one-half of the plant capacity is purchased by Great River Energy. | |
Transmission Assets |
|
| Voltage |
Mileage |
69 kV or less |
2,981 |
115 kV |
422 |
161 kV |
46 |
230 kV |
523 |
345 kV |
75 |
500 kV |
70 |
Total AC transmission |
4,117 |
±400 kV DC |
436 |
Total transmission line |
4,553 |
Total transmission substations |
105 |
The ±400-kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission system delivers electricity from Coal Creek Station in central North Dakota to the Dickinson converter terminal near Delano, Minn. Availability: Since its commissioning in the late 1970s, the availability of the HVDC system has been better than 99 percent. The system has been one of the most reliable HVDC systems in the world.
Load Management |
|
| Load Type |
No. Controllable |
Space heating |
78,745 |
Water heating |
105,713 |
Air conditioning & heat pumps |
152,469 |
Ground-source heat pump |
1,542 |
Irrigation |
2,990 |
Curtailable commercial and industrial |
1,354 |
Maximum load management summer control capability: |
360 MW |
Maximum load management winter control capability: |
320 MW |
Member Co-op Summary
Number of member/consumers: 645,000
Sales to members: 11,754,808 MWh
Total distribution line: 86,800 miles
Average density: 7.4 consumers/mile
Distribution substations: 550
Combined annual revenue: $1.25 billion
Electric plant in service (net): $1.8 billion
Average kilowatt-hour per consumer: 18,700/year
Distribution employees: 1,700
Systemwide load characteristics:*
Residential: 57.1%
Seasonal: 2.3%
Commercial and industrial: 40.6%
*Based on energy sales
Baseload Generation
Coal Creek StationLocation: Underwood, N.D.
Generating capability: 1,131 MW
Start of operation: Unit 1-1979; Unit 2-1980
Plant site: 3,370 acres
Lignite consumption: Up to 950 tons per hour; 7.5 million tons per year
Water source: Missouri River
Water consumption: Up to 14,300 gallons per minute; 15,000 acre/ft. per year maximum
Steam generators (boilers): Produce 3.7 million pounds of steam per hour.
Furnace size: 96’ x 43’ x 205’
Height of steam generator building: 295 feet
Chimney height: 675 feet
Turbine/generators: General Electric tandem compound reheat turbines with double-flow low-pressure sections; 18 stages; 3,600 rpm.
Generator is 22,000 volts. Stator and rotor weigh 500 tons.
Cooling towers: Three cooling towers, each 42 feet high and
225 feet in diameter, equipped with eight fans with 28-foot diameter.
Electrostatic precipitators: Remove more than 99.5 percent of fly ash.
Flue gas desulphurization (scrubbers): Capable of removing more than 96 percent of the SO2 from 100 percent of the reduced DryFiningTM flue gas flow.
DryFining system: In 2009, Coal Creek Station installed a coal drying system that reduces the moisture and refines lignite using waste heat from the plant. As a result of the moisture reduction and refining, efficiency and emissions performance are improved.
Location: Stanton, N.D.
Generating capability: 188 MW
Start of operation: Unit 1 - 1966; Unit 10 - 1982
Plant site: 250 acres
Powder River coal consumption: 2,500 tons per day
Number of boilers: 2
Number of turbine generators: 1
Chimney height: 255 feet
Transmission voltage (AC): 230,000
Location: Elk River, Minn.
Generating capability: 33 MW
Initial operation: Units 1 & 2 in 1951; Unit 3 in 1959
Fuel used: Since construction in the early 1950s, Elk River Energy Recovery Station has used multiple energy sources, including coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear, tire-derived fuel and wood chips. Since 1989 it has been converting the energy from refuse-derived fuel (RDF), a renewable energy source.
RDF consumption: up to 1,000 tons per day.
Landfill waste reduced: 300,000 tons per year.
CO2 emissions avoided: 140,000 tons per year.
Electrical production: 170,000 MWh per year.
Peaking Facilities
Lakefield Junction StationLocation: Martin County, Minn.
Generating capability: 500 MW (summer)
Fuel source: Natural gas; backup, fuel oil
Turbine generators: Six combustion turbines manufactured by General Electric (6xMS7001EA)
Start of operation: 2001
Project site: 150 acres
Location: Mower County, Minn.
Generating capability: 422 MW (summer)
Fuel source: Natural gas; backup, fuel oil
Turbine generators: Three combustion turbines manufactured by Siemens Westinghouse (2xV84.3A2, 1x501D5A)
Start of Operation: Units 11 and 12 - 2001; Unit 13 - 2002
Project site: 160 acres
Location: Elk River, MN
Generating Capacity: 183 MW (summer)
Fuel source: Natural gas; backup, fuel oil
Turbine generator: One combustion turbine manufactured by Siemens (SGT6-5000F4)
Start of operation: 2009
Project site: 20 acres
Location: Cambridge, Minn.
Generating capability: 177 MW (summer)
Fuel source: Fuel oil (Unit 1), and natural gas (Unit 2)
Turbine generators: Two combustion turbines, Unit 1 manufactured by GE (MS5001) and Unit 2 manufactured by Siemens (SGT6-4000F)
Project site: 23 acres
Location: St. Bonifacius, Minn.
Generating capability: 59 MW (summer)
Fuel source: Fuel oil
Turbine generator: Two aero-derivative combustion turbines manufactured by Pratt & Whitney coupled to a single generator
Location: Pine City, Minn.
Generating capability: 20 MW (summer)
Fuel source: Fuel oil
Turbine Generator: One combustion turbine manufactured by GE (MS5001)
Location: Maple Lake, Minn.
Generating capability: 19 MW (summer)
Fuel source: Fuel oil
Turbine generator: One combustion turbine manufactured by GE (MS5001)
Location: Cook County, Minn.
Generating capability: 18 MW
Fuel source: Fuel oil
Engines: Nine 2-MW Cummins emergency diesel generators
Start of operation: May 2009
Project site: 20 acres
Wind Energy
Elm Creek WindLocation: Southwestern Minn.
Purchase: 100 MW (nameplate)
Turbine: 66 General Electric (GE Wind) 1.5 MW wind turbines
Location: NW Iowa
Purchase: 100 MW (nameplate) (beginning April, 2011)
Turbine: 40 Clipper Liberty 2.5 MW wind turbines
Location: Southeastern Minn.
Purchase: 100 MW (nameplate)
Turbine: 61 Vestas 1.65 MW wind turbines
Location: Southwestern Minn.
Purchase: 100 MW (nameplate)
Turbine: 67 General Electric (GE Wind) 1.5 MW wind turbines
Location: NE North Dakota
Purchase: 51 MW (nameplate) (beginning August, 2010)
Turbine: 34 General Electric (GE Wind) 1.5 MW wind turbines
Other wind energy purchases: 18 MW (nameplate) from three Minnesota wind farms.
Location: Jackson, Dodge and Murray counties.
Program guidelines: Wellspring Wind Energy is sold to co-op members who voluntarily choose the amount of renewable energy they want to buy. Wellspring subscribers help to bring additional renewable energy resources online.
Participants: 6,611 co-op members.
A joint venture between Great River Energy and Headwaters Incorporated.
Location: Underwood, N.D.
Production capability: 58 million gallons of ethanol, 170,000 tons of distillers grains and 1.2 million gallons of corn oil per year.
Start of operation: February 2007
Heat source: Coal Creek Station
Corn consumption: 20 million bushels per year
Elk River Resource Processing Plant is the facility where the municipal solid waste used to make refuse-derived fuel for powering Great River Energy’s Elk River Energy Recovery Station is processed.
Location: Elk River, Minn.
Production: Up to 400,000 tons of municipal solid waste is transformed into RDF each year.
