The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is taking comment until Nov. 27 on a draft air permit-to-install that would allow the Holland Board of Public Works to build a new, gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant.
There would also be a Dec. 3 public hearing, if requested, on the draft permit. The CHP facility would be located in Holland, at the intersection of East Fifth St. and Fairbanks Ave.
The city council of Holland last December voted to approve this project. After a year of analysis, Holland City Council voted 8-1 to approve a BPW staff proposal for new electric generation that should cut greenhouse gases and other emissions. The gas project has an estimated cost of $182m and could enter service in 2016, the city said at the time.
Under the draft DEQ permit, the proposed new CHP plant would include:
- Two natural gas-fired combustion turbine generators (CTGs), rated at 554 MMBtu/hr each, two heat recovery steam generators (HRSG)s equipped with natural gas-fired duct burners, rated at 93 MMBtu/hr each, and one steam turbine generator (STG). The proposed 2×1 configuration, comprised of the two CTG/HRSG trains and the STG, will have a total nominal capacity of about 115 MW.
- Two natural gas-fired auxiliary boilers. One would be rated at 55 MMBtu/hr for station steam requirements, and one rated at 95 MMBtu/hr for a backup for snowmelt and district heating at times in which the combined cycle configuration cannot supply district energy needs.
- One natural gas-fired fuel heater rated at 3.7 MMBtu/hr to superheat the natural gas fuel.
- One natural gas-fired emergency reciprocating engine, rated at 1,000 kW, to charge the batteries in the uninterruptible power supply batteries.
- One plume-abated wet mechanical draft cooling tower with three cells to serve as the heat sink for the station.
- One emergency diesel-fueled fire pump, rated at 165 horsepower (hp).
The CTG and duct burners will be permitted to operate on natural gas only. The equipment was evaluated with the duct burners continuously firing.
The specific make and model for the equipment has not yet been chosen, but Holland BPW has said that the CTG will be an aeroderivative-type turbine. The Michigan DEQ review process was performed based on the emissions profile of the aeroderivative design.
The Holland BPW website about the chosen plant site is a 9.7-acre commercial/industrial parcel located around the intersection of Fifth Street and Fairbanks Avenue. The website shows a current schedule of February 2014 to get the air permit for the power project, April 2015 to begin construction and July 2016 for construction completion.
