Oak Creek Power Plant

Oak Creek Power Plant
Oak Creek Power Plant
Country	United States
Location	Oak Creek, Wisconsin
Coordinates	42°50′40″N 87°49′43″W / 42.84444°N 87.82861°WCoordinates: 42°50′40″N 87°49′43″W / 42.84444°N 87.82861°W
Status	Operational
Commission date	Unit 5: December, 1959; Unit 6: December, 1961; Unit 7: March, 1965; Unit 8: October, 1967; Unit 9 (gas-fired): December, 1968
Decommission date	Units 1–4: 1980s
Owner(s)	We Energies
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Sub-bituminous coal
Cooling source	Lake Michigan
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	1,135 MWe (pre-expansion)[1]

Oak Creek Power Plant, also known as South Oak Creek, is a base load, coal- and natural gas-fired, electrical power station located on Lake Michigan in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The plant is located on over 400 acres (160 ha) of land on the border of Milwaukee and Racine counties. As of 2008, the plant was in the process of a billion dollar expansion. In 2009, it was listed as the third largest generating station in Wisconsin with a net summer capacity of 1,135 MW.^[1]^[2]

Expansion

In 2005, two 615-megawatt coal-fueled units were constructed just north of the existing Oak Creek facility. Unit 1 began commercial operation on February 2, 2010.^[3]with Unit 2 following in 2011.

Units

Unit	Capacity (MW)	Commissioning	Notes
1–4		1950s	Retired in the 1980s
5	275 (nameplate) 261 (summer) 262 (winter)^[4]	1959^[4]	Steam / Boiler
6	275 (nameplate) 264 (summer) 265 (winter)^[4]	1961^[4]	Steam / Boiler
7	317.6 (nameplate) 298 (summer) 298 (winter)^[4]	1965^[4]	Steam / Boiler
8	324 (nameplate) 298 (summer) 298 (winter)^[4]	1967^[4]	Steam / Boiler
9	18	1968	Natural gas combustion turbine for startup / standby power

Incidents

On February 3, 2009, six contract workers were injured when coal dust ignited in a 65-foot coal dust silo on the power plant site. They had been preparing the structure for repairs when an unknown source ignited coal dust that had accumulated at the top of the silo. All suffered burns.

On October 31, 2011, a bluff area roughly the size of a football field and 200 feet above the level of Lake Michigan eroded, washing mud and debris into Lake Michigan. Close to 100 workers were at the site at the time of the collapse; none were hurt or killed.

References

https://web.archive.org/web/20120425154809/http://oakcreek.patch.com/articles/the-day-after-we-energies-bluff-collapse-roundup

1 2 "Oak Creek Power Plant" (PDF). We Energies. February 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
↑ "Wisconsin – Ten Largest Plants by Generating Capacity, 2009" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
↑ "Elm Road Generating Station". Bechtel Corporation. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Electricity Generating Capacity: Existing Electric Generating Units by Energy Source, 2008". U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved May 15, 2011.

External links

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[We_Energies-1] 1 2 "Oak Creek Power Plant" (PDF). We Energies. February 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.

[2] "Wisconsin – Ten Largest Plants by Generating Capacity, 2009" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2011.

[3] "Elm Road Generating Station". Bechtel Corporation. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009.

[EIA-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Electricity Generating Capacity: Existing Electric Generating Units by Energy Source, 2008". U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved May 15, 2011.