Midwest Generation Considering Fuel Switch at Collins

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Houston, Texas). Midwest Generation LLC (Chicago, Illinois) an independent power generating division of Edison Mission Energy is seeking regulatory approval from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, to convert two units at its Collins Station, Illinois, from natural gas to coal-fired generation. Midwest Generation filed for an air quality permit in October 2001, but the project has been delayed while they await permit approvals. In some cases this process can take up to a year. If approved, construction could start by next summer.

The 30-year-old Collins Station in Morris, Illinois, is planning on switching natural gas/oil-fired Unit 4 and Unit 5 (521 megawatts each), with (2) Opposed-Fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers, and (2) Westinghouse turbine/generators to burn either high-sulfur Illinois coal or low-sulfur Western coals.

Coal-fired power stations supply half of the electricity used in America, but are responsible for 80% of the emissions of carbon dioxide: the so-called "greenhouse gases". Most of these coal-fired stations are more than 30 years old, and are approaching the end of their commercial lives. To comply with the Clean Air Act many in the power industry are faced with installing expensive emission control equipment or are considering the possibility of closing the older plants. Over the past year the Bush Administration has voiced support for clean coal technology as one answer to meeting future energy needs.

If approved, the construction phase of the fuel conversion project could last from 2 to 3 years; meaning Units 4 & 5 would be capable of burning coal in 2005 or 2006.