Great River Energy’s Pleasant Valley Station officially begins operation
Mower County, MN (May 1, 2001) - Today, Pleasant Valley Station was officially turned over to Great River Energy from building contractor Siemens Westinghouse for commercial operation. The two combustion turbines achieved maximum capacity (176 MW) during testing, but are accredited at just 140 MW until the 161 kV transmission line from the Pleasant Valley to Austin is installed later this year.
Although the units have been commissioned on natural gas and are available to serve Great River Energy customers, there are still multiple activities continuing at the plant site until the station is complete. Final contract performance tests, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) performance tests and continuous emission monitoring relative accuracy test audits (RATA) must be performed. Following these tests, one unit at a time will be commissioned to run on fuel oil. While one unit is tested on oil testing, the other unit will be available to operate on natural gas. This is expected to continue through June.
Other major activities that need to be completed include painting the air inlets, stacks and equipment enclosures, insulating water tanks, backfilling and grading the site and installing plant roads and unloading areas.
It was one year ago when Great River Energy received the last major notification, the MPCA air permit on May 1, 2000, that allowed the project to proceed. Earthwork began on May 2, 2000 and the construction contractors began in mid-June. Ten months (and record rain, snow and cold) later, Great River Energy is producing electricity from the station. Led by Great River Energy’s project management and operations teams, the contractors provided excellent, dedicated craftsman and construction supervision to get the project completed on schedule.
In addition to all the activity for the first two combustion turbines, engineering for the third turbine, a Siemens Westinghouse 501D5A unit (135 MW) is underway and construction for that unit is expected to begin later this summer. The turbine equipment should be delivered in December 2001 and the third unit should be operational in May 2002.
Pleasant Valley Station is located in Mower County, north of Dexter, Minnesota. Great River Energy plans a public dedication of the plant in August.
Minnesota’s second largest utility, Great River Energy is a non-profit generation and transmission cooperative providing electric energy and related services to 29 distribution cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Headquartered in Elk River, Minn., Great River Energy is a Touchstone Energy® cooperative.
