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Genesee power station is an operating power station of at least 1586-megawatts (MW) in Genesee, Leduc, Alberta, Canada with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Genesee Generating Station.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Genesee power station | Genesee, Leduc, Alberta, Canada | 53.343254, -114.304763 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- RP1, RP2, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3: 53.343254, -114.304763
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RP1 | Operating[1][2][3] | fossil gas: natural gas[4] | 560[5] | combined cycle[6] | not found | 2024[1][2] | – |
| RP2 | Operating[1][2][3] | fossil gas: natural gas[4] | 560[5] | combined cycle[6] | not found | 2024[1][7] | – |
| Unit 1 | Retired[8] | coal: subbituminous | 430 | subcritical | – | 1989 | 2024[8] |
| Unit 2 | Retired[8] | coal: subbituminous | 450 | subcritical | – | 1994 | 2024[8] |
| Unit 3, timepoint 1 | Retired[8] | coal: subbituminous | 466 | supercritical | not found | 2005 | 2023[8] |
| Unit 3, timepoint 2 | Operating[9] | fossil gas: natural gas[9] | 466[9][10] | steam turbine[9][10] | not found | 2023[9] | – |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| RP1 | Enmax Corp [50%]; Capital Power Generation Services Inc [50%][11][11] | Capital Power Corp [50.0%]; Enmax Corp [50.0%] |
| RP2 | Enmax Corp [50%]; Capital Power Generation Services Inc [50%][11][11] | Capital Power Corp [50.0%]; Enmax Corp [50.0%] |
| Unit 1 | Capital Power Corp [100%] | Capital Power Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Capital Power Corp [100%] | Capital Power Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 3, timepoint 1 | Capital Power Corp [100%] | Capital Power Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 3, timepoint 2 | Capital Power Corp [100%] | Capital Power Corp [100.0%] |
Unit-level fuel conversion details:
Unit 3: Converted from coal to fossil gas in 2023.
Background
Units 1 and 2 of the station are owned and operated by Capital Power Corporation. Fuel is provided by the nearby coal mine, a joint venture of EPCOR and Westmoreland Prairie Resources. The Genesee cooling pond is an artificial pond covering 735 hectares (1,820 acres). The pond is topped up with water from the North Saskatchewan River.[12]
Unit 3, also known as Genesee 3, was jointly owned by TransAlta (50%) and Capital Power Corporation (50%). Genesee 3 was the first power plant in Canada to use supercritical boiler technology. Capital Power operates the merchant plant, and both parties independently dispatch and market their share of the electrical output through the Alberta Power Pool.[13]
In August 2019 it was reported that Transalta Corporation sold its 50% share in Genesee 3 unit to Capitol Power Corporation in exchange for their 50% share in the Keephills 3 unit.[14]
In July 2021 a service issue forced Unit 2 out of service. It remained out of service as of November 2021.[15]
In October 2022, the Alberta Electric System Operator approved an additional 20 MW for Unit 2, bringing its capacity to 450 MW. The additional capacity was enabled by equipment replacements following the 2021 outage.[16]
Retirement
Under provincial and federal regulations introduced in November 2018, all coal-fired plants in Alberta are to be retired by December 31, 2029.[17]
In their 2022 Integrated Annual Report, Capital Power stated that they were "on track to be off-coal in 2023."[16]
In a June 2023 press release, Capital Power stated that they were "evaluating the impact of commissioning delays" for the gas conversion project (see below) on the company's target of being off coal in 2023.[18] In their subsequent Q2 results statement, the company said that "[a]s a result of the updated schedule to the Genesee Repowering Project, we expect to continue blending natural gas with coal to align with the commissioning of the repowered units in 2024..."[19]
In June 2024, Capital Power announced that they had ceased all coal-fired operations at Genesee power station, and all units were fully gas-fired.[20][21]
In July 2024, Canada’s federal government announced CAN$39 million (US$29 million) in grants to support six communities in Alberta affected by the conversion of Genesee 2 from coal to gas. The funding would reportedly support ten projects including “training centers, industrial parks, and new community amenities.”[22]
Conversion to gas
In June 2019 Capital Power announced plans to accelerate the conversion of the plant to run dually on gas in addition to coal. Unit 1 would be 100% dual-fuelled by 2021, Unit 2 by mid-2020, and Unit 3 by a date to be determined.[23] In 2020, Capital Power began seeking regulatory approval for a repowering of Genesee Units 1 and 2. These units would be fully converted to gas power, and the conversion would bring the gross capacity for each unit from 430 MW to 732 MW. Construction is expected to begin in August 2021, with an anticipated in-service date in late 2023 for the repowered Genesee Unit 1 and 2024 for Genesee Unit 2.[24]
In December 2019 Capitol Power stated that it would increase natural gas capability at Genesee 3 to 100% by 2021.[25] That timeline appears to have been pushed back; as of March 2021, Capital Power was targeting 2023 for the completion of the transition to 100% gas power at Genesee 3.[26]
The M501JAC gas turbines are hydrogen capable but as of 2022 there are no plans to utilize hydrogen in the plant.[27]
According to Capital Power's 2022 Integrated Annual Report, the repowering of Units 1 and 2 had continued to advance and the expected in-service date for both units was 2024. Unit 3 had completed necessary modifications to operate on gas and would use gas as its sole fuel after the closure of the Genesee coal mine in late 2023.[16]
In June 2023, Capital Power provided an updated schedule for their repowering project: combined cycle commissioning of Unit 1 was expected to begin in April 2024 and Unit 2 was expected in June 2024.[18] As a result, Alberta was expected to phase out coal six years earlier than previously planned.[28]
Carbon Capture and Storage project
In June 2022, Capital Power partnered with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group and Kiewit Energy Group on engineering and design for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at the Genesee power station. The project would reportedly avoid 95% of the carbon dioxide emissions from the coal-to-gas converted plant. They claimed that the proposed, commercial CCS could capture 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.[29]
Capital Power's 2022 Integrated Annual Report stated that the CCS project would receive a final investment decision in late 2023 and start commercial operations as early as 2027.[16]
In May 2024, Capital Power announced that they were abandoning plans to build a CCS project at Genesee, saying the project was "technically viable" but "not economically feasible."[30][31]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20240623104710/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-genesee-2-offline-is-this-end-of-coal-power-1.7237703. Archived from the original on 23 June 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20230727105238/https://www.capitalpower.com/operations/genesee-generating-station-repowering-genesee-1-2/. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.power-eng.com/emissions/capitol-power-converting-coal-fired-genesee-units-to-combined-cycle-gas-fired-technologies-by-2024/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220815152814/http://www.capitalpower.com/about-genesee/. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220524130232/https://www.capitalpower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Genesee-Generating-Station-Units-1-2-Factsheet.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20210917202713/https://www.capitalpower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Genesee-Generating-Station-Unit-4-5-Factsheet.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2021.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230117181153/https://www.capitalpower.com/operations/genesee-1-2/. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 https://web.archive.org/web/20240625025614/https://www.capitalpower.com/media/media_releases/genesee-generating-station-is-off-coal-all-units-100-natural-gas-fueled/. Archived from the original on 25 June 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20230117181148/https://www.capitalpower.com/operations/genesee-3/. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 10.0 10.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220524124237/https://www.capitalpower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Genesee-Generating-Station-Unit-3-Factsheet.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20200613033609/https://www.enmax.com/generation-wires/generation/natural-gas-powered/genesee-4-and-5. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Genesee Generating Station, Wikipedia, accessed January 2019
- ↑ "Genesee 3" TransAlta Company Website, accessed April 30, 2010.
- ↑ Capital Power to gain 100% ownership and control of Genesee Generating Station through divestiture of interest in Keephills, Globe Newswire, Aug. 2, 2019
- ↑ Capital Power 3Q Profit Falls as Power Station Undergoes Repairs, Market Watch, Oct. 27, 2021
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 "2022 Integrated Annual Report," Capital Power, February 2023
- ↑ Regulations Amending the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations: SOR/2018-263, Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 152, Number 25, Nov. 29, 2018
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Capital Power executes contracts for solar, natural gas and batteries and provides an update on the Genesee Repowering Project," Capital Power, June 29, 2023
- ↑ "Capital Power reports second quarter results and announces a 6% common share dividend increase," Capital Power, August 2, 2023
- ↑ "Genesee Generating Station is off coal – all units 100% natural gas-fueled," Capital Power, June 18, 2024
- ↑ "Alberta's last coal plant has powered down, marking the end of an era," CBC, June 17, 2024
- ↑ “$39M shared by Alberta communities hit by job losses in transition from coal-fired power plants,” CBC News, July 3, 2024
- ↑ Capital Power accelerates plans for natural gas capability at the Genesee facility, Capital Power, Jun. 18, 2019
- ↑ Repowering Genesee 1 & Genesee 2, Capital Power, Sep. 2020
- ↑ Capital Power to build carbon nanotube facility at Genesee, test use in concrete, JWN Energy, Dec. 6, 2019
- ↑ 2021 Winter Genesee Newsletter Capital Power, Mar. 2021
- ↑ "Genesee Generating Station1 & 2 - Capital Power". Capital Power. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
- ↑ "Coal power disappearing from Alberta's grid as final generators prepare to transition," Calgary Herald, March 14, 2024
- ↑ Capital Power advances carbon capture project at Genesee Capital Power, June 27, 2022
- ↑ "Plans for $2.4B carbon capture and storage project near Edmonton have been cancelled," CBC News, May 2, 2024
- ↑ "Capital Power announces first quarter 2024 results," Capital Power, May 1, 2024
Additional data
To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
