Life Extension Project for Saskatchewan Coal-Fired Power Plant Scheduled

---

Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). SaskPower is performing equipment studies for a life extension project (PEC 55000188) at the Poplar River Power Station (Plant 1019945). The 591 megawatt (MW) power station is situated adjacent to the town of Coronach, Saskatchewan.

The plant consists of two units; Unit 1 includes a 294 MW Hitachi turbine and generator set, with a Combustion Engineering tangential-fired dry bottom boiler, and came online in 1981. Unit 2, which started operation in 1983, has a Babcock & Wilcox opposed-fired boiler, and a 297 MW Hitachi turbine and generator set.

The life extension project is planned for Unit 2, and is scheduled for kick-off in the spring of 2005. The scope of work for the project involves upgrading of the turbine by installing the high-pressure cartridge, and replacement of the rotor and stator to the generator. Repair and inspection will also be done to the boiler and auxiliary system. The unit is scheduled to be shutdown for a ninety-day duration to perform the work.

Lignite coal is used as the primary fuel at the plant. It has the lowest heat content moisture. The coal is transported to the station from Luscar Limited's (Edmonton, Alberta) Poplar River Coal Mine (Plant 2003241) by train. Each unit at the plant consumes about two million tons of lignite coal a year. Luscar operates ten mines in western Canada, producing lignite coal for domestic markets.

The Poplar River Power Station is owned and operated by SaskPower (Regina, Saskatchewan). SaskPower is the principal supplier of electricity to Saskatchewan. The company is a vertically integrated electric utility, providing a complete range of services, and is a leader in the field of electricity generation, transmission and distribution.