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Turning up the heat

Last week's cold temperatures prompted plenty of Thunder Bay residents to turn up their thermostats, which placed more demand on the Thunder Bay Generating Station.
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(tbnewswatch.com file photograph)

Last week's cold temperatures prompted plenty of Thunder Bay residents to turn up their thermostats, which placed more demand on the Thunder Bay Generating Station.

After a scheduled shutdown in December, the plant has been running steadily since it reopened at the beginning of January, operating at max capacity during peak times of the day.

"If it was warm we wouldn't have been on at all," OPG Northwest Thermal plant manager Chris Fraylick said.

Come this time next year, however, the generating station is scheduled to be fully converted from coal to advanced biomass, and operating at a reduced yearly capacity.

So will the plant be able to handle another cold snap in 2015?

Fralick says yes. At least for a while.

"We'll be there to meet the needs of the system as they arise," he said.

The generating station will undergo a second round of biomass testing next week, in preparation for the conversion which is scheduled to be complete next January.

 

(Thunder Bay Television)





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