Puget Sound Energy (PSE) has signed an agreement to buy the 11-month old power-generating facility from Minnesota-based Wayzata Opportunities Fund. An approval of the transaction by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cleared the way for PSE to complete the purchase on December 5, 2008, using previously secured bank financing.
According to PSE, the Longview facility employs combined-cycle technology that allows it to generate electricity using both a natural gas cycle and, from the power-generating turbine’s exhaust heat, a steam cycle.
The process reportedly boosts operating efficiency, lowers fuel costs, and cuts air emissions. PSE intends to retain appropriate staff currently operating the Mint Farm power plant, said the company.
Kimberly Harris, executive vice president and chief resource officer for PSE, said: “Our strategy for procuring the new resources, our customers require first on boosting energy efficiency and then on adding renewable power supplies. The third leg of the stool rests on clean-burning, dispatchable natural gas-fired power generation that facilities like Mint Farm can provide.”
Puget Sound Energy is Washington’s energy utility, with a 6,000-square-mile service territory stretching across 11 counties. It serves more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 750,000 natural gas customers, claims the company.
