Brandon Generating Station
Encyclopedia
Brandon Generating Station is a subbituminous coal and natural gas fired station
owned by Manitoba Hydro
, located in Brandon, Manitoba
, Canada
. The station was first built to burn lignite from Saskatchewan
.
On 1 January 2010 Unit 5, the sole coal fired unit was downgraded to emergency use only per section 16 of the Manitoba Climate Change and Emissions Reductions
Act. Unit 5 may only operate as a generator under certain circumstances:
The last allowance requires Unit 5 to be active for 3-4 days each month at 10-15% of maximum capacity. In a typical year without any major emergency use, Unit 5 is expected to generate 125 GWh, 100GWh is from emergency preparedness activities and 25GWh from actual emergency use.
Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
owned by Manitoba Hydro
Manitoba Hydro
Manitoba Hydro is the electric power and natural gas utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1961, it is a provincial Crown Corporation, governed by the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board and the Manitoba Hydro Act. Today the company operates 15 interconnected generating stations. It has...
, located in Brandon, Manitoba
Brandon, Manitoba
Brandon is the second largest city in Manitoba, Canada, and is located in the southwestern area of the province. Brandon is the largest city in the Westman region of Manitoba. The city is located along the Assiniboine River. Spruce Woods Provincial Park and CFB Shilo are a relatively short distance...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The station was first built to burn lignite from Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
.
On 1 January 2010 Unit 5, the sole coal fired unit was downgraded to emergency use only per section 16 of the Manitoba Climate Change and Emissions Reductions
Act. Unit 5 may only operate as a generator under certain circumstances:
- To prevent a situation which would lead to a disruption or destabilization of the power supply.
- In drought years where demand exceeds forecasted supply.
- To maintain the generator in a state of readiness and availability.
The last allowance requires Unit 5 to be active for 3-4 days each month at 10-15% of maximum capacity. In a typical year without any major emergency use, Unit 5 is expected to generate 125 GWh, 100GWh is from emergency preparedness activities and 25GWh from actual emergency use.
Description
The station consists of:- 4 x 33 MW units (In 1996 three units were retired while the remaining unit is used as a synchronous condenser)
- 1 x 110 MW coal fired unit.
- 2 x 120 MW AlstomAlstomAlstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
natural gas units (installed in 2002).