Great River Energy purchases Lakefield Junction power project from Tenaska and NRG
Elk River, MN (March 16, 2000) - Great River Energy Purchases Lakefield Junction Power Project From Tenaska and NRG
Elk River, Minn. (March 16,2000) Great River Energy and Lakefield Junction, L.P. (Lakefield) announced today an agreement for Great River to purchase Lakefield’s 550 -megawatt (MW) simple-cycle, combustion turbine peaking plant project, located in southern Minnesota. Great River is an electric generation and transmission cooperative headquartered in Elk River, Minnesota, and Lakefield is a partnership of affiliates of Tenaska, Inc. and NRG Energy, Inc.
Lakefield will construct the project, beginning in April of this year. All construction, including transmission upgrades, is scheduled to be completed in June 2001. After completion, Great River Energy will purchase Lakefield and be the sole owner and operator of the facility. The permitting phase of the project has been substantially completed.
“By purchasing this project, Great River Energy will own the generation capacity to meet member’s needs during peak periods of demand for several years to come,” says Gordy Westerlind, Great River Energy’s vice president of generation.
“It will also help keep our wholesale rates stable,” says Jim Van Epps, president and CEO. “ The total cost of the project results in a cost per MWh that is competitive with other plants of this type in the region.” Any excess energy will be sold by contract to other utilities and on the day-to-day wholesale energy market.
The plant will be located in southern Minnesota near the community of Trimont. The project includes 150 acres, of which 50 acres are required for the plant and associated equipment. The site is considered ideal because it is near the intersection of a 345 kV transmission line and a 42” natural gas pipeline, providing transmission access and fuel supply for the plant. Fuel oil will be used as a backup fuel in the winter.
Great River Energy is also proposing to build a 434 MW (summer rating) gas-fired, simple cycle peaking plant named Pleasant Valley Station in Mower County, Minnesota, near Sargeant. Provided all permits are granted as well as a property tax exemption, construction is scheduled to begin this May. Pleasant Valley Station will also go into operation in June, 2001.
“Great River Energy needs both of these projects,” says Westerlind. “We need the capacity to service our members’ needs, plus both projects lend reliability support to the regional electric grid.”
Great River Energy is a generation and transmission cooperative providing electric energy and related services to 29 distribution cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Great River Energy is the fourth largest cooperative of its type in the country, and the second largest electric utility, in terms of generating capacity, in Minnesota. Great River Energy is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative.
Tenaska is an international power development company and energy marketer, known for its expertise in power plant development, ownership and operations, and natural gas and electric power marketing. Headquartered in Omaha, Neb., the company has developed approximately 4000 MW of generating facilities in operation or construction, with another 1400 MW currently in financing and 5500 in pre-financing development. Tenaska has regional offices in Dallas, Texas USA; and Calgary, Alberta Canada.
NRG Energy is the world’s seventh largest independent power producer, specializing in the development, construction, operation, maintenance and ownership of low-cost, environmentally responsible power plants and associated power-marketing activities. With leading generation positions in selected markets in the United States, Europe, the Pacific Rim, and Latin America, NRG Energy is involved in projects representing more than 28,000 MW of generating capacity and holds nearly 11,000 MW of fully owned capacity. NRG Energy’s operations utilize such diverse fuel sources as natural gas, oil, coal and coal seam methane, biomass, landfill gas, and hydro, as well as refuse derived fuel and geothermal energy.
Certain information included in this press release contains statements that are forward-looking. Such forward-looking information involves risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of NRG Energy. For more information regarding these risks and uncertainties, review NRG Energy’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
