Great River Energy’s Lakefield Junction Station receives international environmental certification

Trimont, Minn. (January 12, 2005)
Lakefield Junction Station, a natural-gas power plant owned by Great River Energy, has received ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 14001 certification of its environmental management system (EMS). This certification demonstrates conformance to an international standard that reflects global consensus on superior environmental practices.

“Great River Energy is the only generation and transmission cooperative in the U.S. with ISO 14001 certified facilities. This is a significant demonstration of our commitment to being an environmentally responsible company,” says Mary Jo Roth, manager, environmental services, Great River Energy.

ISO 14001 is a voluntary international standard for excellent environmental practices. It requires that a company continuously evaluate and improve its environmental performance. As part of the certification process, an independent registrar completed a rigorous audit of Lakefield Junction Station’s EMS and environmental programs.

Lakefield Junction Station is a state-of-the-art combustion turbine plant. The plant is situated on 150 acres of land near Trimont, Minn., and is comprised of six units with a maximum capability of 102 megawatts each. The peaking plant is capable of generating approximately 520 megawatts of electricity on a hot summer day and 550 megawatts on a cold winter day.

“Lakefield Junction Station is a relatively new generating facility, and obtaining certification at this time allows the plant operators to incorporate environmental goals seamlessly into the normal operating activities of the plant. That’s a big benefit,” says Nathan Domyahn, peaking plant supervisor, Great River Energy.

Great River Energy also received ISO 14001 certification for Coal Creek Station in 1998 and for Pleasant Valley Station in 2003.

Great River Energy is a not-for-profit generation and transmission cooperative providing electricity to 28 distribution cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is the second largest power supplier in the state of Minnesota, and the fourth largest cooperative of its type in the nation. ###