Gas-fired plant in Fellows wins initial OK to boost power generation
Nov. 29—A natural gas-fired power plant located about 9 miles northwest of Taft may soon undergo modifications allowing it to produce 8.5 percent more electricity for the state power grid at times of peak demand.
The San Ramon-based owner of the 22-year-old "peaker" plant won approval Nov. 21 from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to proceed with technical changes allowing it to produce 635 megawatts of power, or 50 more than its current capacity. The California Energy Commission is scheduled to vote on the matter Dec. 14.
Commission staff concluded after a wide-ranging analysis that the changes proposed would increase emissions of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and other pollutants, but "would not result in any significant adverse direct, indirect or cumulative impacts to the environment" as long as owner Sunrise Power Co. LLC makes a series of minor changes required by the air district.
The plant, known as the Sunrise Power Project, is expected to run only at times when the state power grid runs the immediate risk of running out of generation capacity. That scenario has come about in recent years as rising heat and increased reliance on intermittent power sources like solar and wind farms forces the state to tap natural-gas fired plants.
As the commission put it in a staff report, "the modifications would ... address the state's urgent need for additional capacity."
SPP won initial certification Dec. 6, 2000, and began operation a little more than six months later. It was converted from what's called simple-cycle power generation to more efficient, combined-cycle technology in mid-2003.
In April of last year, the plant's Chevron-affiliated owner filed for permission from the energy commission to make changes intended to improve the installation's performance, efficiency and output.
As it stands, the plant at 12857 Sunrise Power Road in Fellows consists of two 160-megawatt combustion turbine generators, two heat recovery steam generators with duct firing and a steam turbine generator, according to the commission's report.
It said Sunrise Power Co. has proposed installing new hardware to combustor and turbine sections of the plant, plus add an upgraded turbine control system that would offer greater operational flexibility.
The air district said no comments were received on the company's proposal other than those submitted by the energy commission.
No conditions were present in the application that would prohibit the commission's approval, according to the report, which added that staff intends to recommend approval of the company's application next month.
A study by the operator of the state's power grid, the California Independent System Operator, concluded the project's greater electrical capacity can be reliably transmitted to the transmission grid at the Midway Substation in Buttonwillow and would not require the construction of additional transmission facilities.
Project details are available online at https://www.energy.ca.gov/powerplant/simple-cycle/sunrise-power-project. Information on how to submit comments on the project can be obtained by sending email to publicadvisor@energy.ca.gov, or by calling 916-957-7910.
