Spiritwood-Energy-Park-161x161Spiritwood (CSi)– For decades, coal-fueled power plants have followed a traditional, tried-and-true design: coal is mined and then combusted to produce steam, which is used to generate electricity. Great River Energy’s Spiritwood Station began producing electricity for the regional grid and steam energy for a neighboring business on Nov. 1, 2014.

When Great River Energy planned Spiritwood Station, the Maple Grove, Minn.-based wholesale power cooperative discovered improvements at every step in the process.

Most conventional coal-fueled power plants are 30 to 35 percent efficient. Spiritwood Station, which is a combined heat and power plant, will be approximately 60 percent efficient.

 Great River Energy President and CEO David Saggau, says “Spiritwood Station proves that consumers can recognize the economic benefits from coal-fueled electricity generation without sacrificing environmental performance or reliability.  It also demonstrates that coal is fertile ground for innovation. The benefits we have seen in North Dakota can – and should – be replicated almost anywhere in the world.”

 

The innovative design of Spiritwood Station starts 150 miles west of the plant, where North Dakota lignite undergoes Great River Energy’s patented DryFiningTM process. This technology uses waste heat from Great River Energy’s Coal Creek Station power plant to dry lignite coal in order to raise its heating value. This boosts efficiency and reduces emissions.

 

DryFine coal arrives at Spiritwood Station in covered railcars that prevent moisture from re-entering the coal. After coal is burned, state-of-the-art control technologies reduce emissions, making Spiritwood Station one of the cleanest coal-based power plants in the world.

 

Great River Energy Generation Vice President Rick Lancaster, adds, “Spiritwood Station is so much more than a power plant.  It is the centerpiece for industrial investment in the region, and a catalyst for the state and local economy.  From the fuel used to the boiler design to the air quality control system, every element of this project has been crafted to be as efficient as possible.”

Great River Energy has worked closely with the Jamestown Stutsman Development Corporation to leverage Spiritwood Station’s efficiencies by creating the Spiritwood Energy Park Association. The site can accommodate industrial facilities with its supply of energy and water, and access to rail.

President Barack Obama recognized the efficiency potential of combined heat and power in 2012 when he signed an Executive Order to expand its use, calling for the deployment of 40 additional gigawatts of capacity in the United States by 2020.

 

Combined heat and power

Spiritwood Station is a combined heat and power plant, which means that in addition to generating electricity, energy is used for other purposes. At Spiritwood Station, that energy – in the form of heat or “process steam” – will power an adjacent malting facility as well as an ethanol biorefinery scheduled to open in 2015.

 

Development continues

The efficiency and environmental performance of Spiritwood Station increases with every additional industrial operation, or “steam host,” on the site. Great River Energy, with significant investor, county, municipal and state stakeholder participation, is developing Dakota Spirit AgEnergy, a 65-million-gallon-per-year biorefinery that will produce ethanol, distillers grains and distillers corn oil beginning in 2015.

Great River Energy Business Development and Strategy Vice President Greg Ridderbusch, points out, “By mid-2015, we will have the most modern power plant in the region, and it will be selling steam that facilitates the economic and environmental performance of Dakota Spirit AgEnergy.  That is a winning combination for Great River Energy and our member-owner cooperatives.”

The facility has achieved renewable fuels certification (RFS2) through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), affirming that Dakota Spirit AgEnergy will have lifecycle carbon intensity 20 percent lower than conventional motor fuels. The lower intensity is primarily due to the “over the fence” use of combined heat and power steam from Spiritwood Station.

 

About Great River Energy

Great River Energy is a not-for-profit cooperative which provides wholesale electric service to 28 distribution cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Those member cooperatives distribute electricity to approximately 655,000 member consumers – or about 1.7 million people. With $3.7 billion in assets, Great River Energy is the second largest electric power supplier in Minnesota and one of the largest generation and transmission (G&T) cooperatives in the United States. Great River Energy’s member cooperatives range from those in the outer-ring suburbs of the Twin Cities to the Arrowhead region of Minnesota to the farmland of southwestern Minnesota. Great River Energy’s largest distribution cooperative serves more than 125,000 member-consumers; the smallest serves about 2,500. Learn more at greatriverenergy.com.