Alberta Fires Up Largest Gas-Fired Power Plant

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - The largest gas-fired power plant in Alberta has been officially commissioned in east Calgary.

The Shepard Energy Center is capable of generating over 800 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power the homes of more than half of Calgary's 1.2 million residents. The combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) project, which cost an estimated $1.2 billon, was developed by ENMAX Corporation (Calgary, Alberta) and Capital Power Corporation (TSX: CPX) (Edmonton, Alberta). Originally announced in 2007 by Enmax, the project gathered steam after Capital Power took a 50% stake in 2012.

"We delivered Shepard as planned without a lost-time injury in the more than 4.3 million hours of work required to complete the project," said Gianna Manes, ENMAX President and CEO. "With this crucial infrastructure added to Alberta's electricity system, we will bring reliable electricity to Albertans for decades to come."

ENMAX claimed the plant is 30% more efficient than conventional coal plants and added that Shepard emits less than half the CO2 emissions per megawatt hour (MWh) of a conventional coal plant, as well as fewer carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide gases. The facility's cooling towers use 14 million liters of reclaimed water daily from the city of Calgary's Bonnybrook Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The company is investing in newer gas-fired plants to replace older coal-fired plants that will have to be retired in the coming 15 years. Those closures will account for around 60% of its power generation in Alberta.

The Shepard Energy Center uses two Mitsubishi G Class 240-MW natural gas-fired combustion turbine generators and one 320-MW steam turbine generator.

ENMAX and Capital Power are also working together on Alberta's next large natural gas-fuelled generation facility, the building of two new units - Genesee 4 & 5 -- at the existing Capital Power-owned Genesee Generating Station, located 50 kilometers west of Edmonton. It will have a total capacity of up to 1,060 MW and will be built in two phases. Construction on the first unit will kick off this summer with both units due for commissioning between 2018 and 2020.

"Congratulations and thanks to the team at ENMAX for their excellent work on completing Shepard on time and on budget with zero lost time incidents, which is a major accomplishment in the Alberta market," commented Brian Vaasjo, President and CEO of Capital Power. "We look forward to continuing to work with ENMAX to deliver Genesee 4 & 5, Alberta's next large natural gas-fueled generation facility near the end of the decade."

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