Trailblazer Energy Center
Project Journal
MAY ENTRIES
Hold on to those resumes
May 18, 2008
Some people are asking about applying for jobs both to construct and operate the Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center. It’s a little too early to talk about them. Here’s why: Tenaska hopes to make its decision on whether to proceed with the Trailblazer Energy Center in late 2009. An important factor in Tenaska’s decision is passage of federal climate change legislation that could provide benefits for projects that capture carbon dioxide (CO2).
When Tenaska builds a power plant, it hires an EPC—Engineering, Procurement, and Construction contractor. The EPC contractor performs design engineering and manages construction of the project. It also awards construction materials contracts. Tenaska has developed 12 large power plants in the United States, and its construction contractors typically have made a concerted effort to hire workers from the local area.
If Tenaska decides to move forward with the Trailblazer Energy Center, the EPC will not be retained until mid-2009 at the earliest. Construction on the project won’t begin until late 2009 or early 2010, with peak construction anticipated between 2011 and 2012. The earliest applications for permanent employment at the Trailblazer Energy Center could be accepted is 2013 to allow time for training before projected commercial operation in 2014.
To get the word out, the proposed Trailblazer timeline was printed in an informational advertising series in the Sweetwater Reporter.
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ERCOT balances electric transmission needs in West Texas
May 11, 2008
An article about how the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) approves the interconnection of new power generation facilities on its electric transmission system appears in the informational advertising campaign this week.
There is a process in place to balance the needs of transmission users when a new facility applies for interconnection to the ERCOT electric transmission grid.
All proposed facilities must submit an application for interconnection to ERCOT. ERCOT then conducts an interconnection study which evaluates the impact of a new project on transmission facilities in the area. When ERCOT approves a project for interconnection, the facility must operate according to an interconnection agreement. This agreement is designed to give all other transmission users the protections they are afforded under state law and ERCOT protocol. The process is designed to recognize and protect existing transmission needs and allow growth in energy production which is needed by the state’s growing population.
This is an important process, considering the rapid growth in wind generation in West Texas. ERCOT must weigh all the transmission needs in the area and provide a system that allows all users to operate reliably.
ERCOT and the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) are also considering alternative plans for expanding the transmission infrastructure across the state specifically to accommodate the growing wind generation industry. This kind of upgrade would likely benefit the Sweetwater area.
One of Tenaska’s affiliates, Dallas-based Tenaska Power Services Co. (TPS) is watching these developments closely. TPS provides management and marketing services for approximately one-third of the electric capacity produced by wind generator in Texas. Many of the company’s customers are in West Texas.
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Tenaska again ranks at the top of
NRDC Benchmarking Emissions Study
May 6, 2008
BREAKING NEWS – the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a national environmental advocacy organization in Washington, D.C., just released its 2008 Benchmarking Air Emissions study. Tenaska tops the list again in lowest emissions for carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SOX) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) on the list of the 100 largest electric power producers!
Tenaska ranks number one in lowest emissions of CO2, and is listed among the top performers for limiting emissions of SOX and NOx.
You can read about the details on the Tenaska Trailblazer Web site, or at the NRDC Web site.
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Trailblazer Energy Center: An environmental leader
May 4, 2008
This week, Tenaska released some projected emissions numbers on the Trailblazer Energy Center in an article to the Sweetwater Reporter. We compared some of the maximum emissions of the project (as requested in our air permit application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality – TCEQ) with the average emissions of coal plants and all power plants across the nation.
Sulfur dioxide (SOX) emissions for the Trailblazer Energy Center are projected to be less than five percent of the national average for coal-fueled plants, and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are projected to be less than 13 percent of the national average for coal-fueled plants. Take a look at this graph showing the comparison.
What the graph doesn’t show is the state-of-the-art technology the Trailblazer Energy Center would use to keep all emissions low, not to mention that it would be the first new conventional coal-fueled power plant to capture up to 90 percent of the carbon dioxide it produces. You can read about it all the environmental information in the article Tenaska sent to the Sweetwater Reporter this week.
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More information about the Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center and illustrations for press use may be obtained at www.tenaskatrailblazer.com.
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