Duane Nelsen, president and CEO of GWF Energy, said: “We’re pleased that our ‘re-powering’ project will help California meet its energy and environmental objectives for the next decade and beyond.
“Once complete, the converted Tracy Combined Cycle Power Plant (TCCPP) will provide environmentally clean, efficient, and flexible capacity that can help back up California’s planned expansion of renewable resources, such as wind and solar, which provide intermittent power. It’s a win-win-win.”
The ten-year agreement provides PG&E with the entire output of the facility. PG&E previously purchased the peaker plant’s output indirectly through a contract with the California Department of Water Resources. The repowering will add an incremental 145 MW of output to the facility. The agreement is subject to approval by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
In addition to the air quality benefits that are associated with the emissions control systems that will be utilized, GWF and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District have entered into an Air Quality Mitigation Agreement that will benefit the greater Tracy community.
The new TCCPP facility is currently undergoing review by the California Energy Commission with completion expected by March 2010. The conversion process is expected to begin in August of 2010, with commercial operations beginning mid-year 2012.
As an enhancement to the TCCPP agreement, and upon approval by the CPUC, GWF also agreed to shut down the Tracy Peaker Plant one year earlier than planned and replace its output with GWF units in Hanford and Lemoore.
