Construction underway at steam station

Land at the Dan River Steam Station in Eden is still being excavated and graded for new equipment, according to an update from Duke Energy officials at Tuesday’s Eden City Council meeting.

Duke Energy District Manager Davis Montgomery provided an overview of why new power generation is needed, along with background information on the project. His associate Wayne Smith, who will be in town for the next two years managing the project, filled in all the technical details on how the combustion turbines produce energy.

Montgomery said Duke Energy Carolinas has added an average of 48,000 new customers annually, which indicates a growing demand for energy. Upgrades to the steam station will include retiring two old conventional pulverized coal units and adding a new natural gas fired combined cycle system that will produce 620 megawatts (MW). The old units only produced 67 MW each, and by retiring them, there will be a significant reduction in nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide.

The plant will be designed to operate as an intermediate peaking plant, which means it will not be in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will run in intermediate periods when base load plants can’t meet the load, and it will also come online for energy spikes as needed.

“One of the really good attributes about this particular source of generation is that we can bring it online fairly quickly and shut it down fairly quickly,” Montgomery said. “When the demand is there, we can bring it online, and when it ceases, it will go offline.”

A similar plant being constructed in Rowan County is about one year ahead of the Dan River Steam Station in Eden. Montgomery said that facility will use many of the same plans and designs from that site.

In the past few months, contractors have been working on demolitions, which include taking down existing facilities onsite and relocating some gas and water lines. They have also started the second phase of excavation and getting ready for the foundations that will be constructed early next year. Smith told the crowd Tuesday night that this is a long-term investment for the area that will have a noticeable effect on the city.

“We know with any large construction project like this, it will have a certain amount of impact in the community,” he said. “We are trying to minimize these impacts by meeting with the community, and speaking to any organizations or clubs who want information on the project.”

Smith said the facility will still have several hundred truckloads of deliveries, in addition to the heavy loads like the two large generators that moved last month. It will also be receiving equipment deliveries by rail car. There is an additional heavy haul of a steam generator, which will take place between December of this year and Feb. 2011. Smith said Duke officials will be sure to contact city officials with all the details.

The project will also include extensive control measures to combat sedimentation and erosion. Smith said the site has yet to see any problem with these issues.