Edgewater Generating Station Explained

Edgewater Generating Station
Country:United States
Location:Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Coordinates:43.7156°N -87.7064°W
Owner:Alliant Energy (majority)
WEC Energy Group (minority)
Status:O
Th Fuel Primary:Coal
Ps Cooling Source:Lake Michigan
Th Technology:Steam turbine
Ps Electrical Capacity:380
Ps Electrical Cap Fac:69.41% (2021)
Ps Annual Generation:2311 (2021)
Commissioned:Unit 1: 1931
Unit 2: 1941
Unit 3: 1951
Unit 4: 1969
Unit 5: 1985
Decommissioned:Unit 3: 2015
Unit 4: 2018

Edgewater Generating Station is a 380 megawatt (MW) coal power plant located on the south side of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on the shore of Lake Michigan, whose waters are used to provide cooling. It provides electricity for customers in the northeastern part of Alliant Energy's Wisconsin Power & Light service area and service to several local municipal utilities. In 2009, it was the seventh largest generating station in Wisconsin, with a net summer capacity of 767 MW.[1]

Units

UnitCapacity (MW)Commissioning[2] Notes
1301931Retired[3]
2301941Retired
31951 Retired[4] Cyclone Boiler
844abbr=outNaNabbr=out
41969 Retired[5] Cyclone Boiler
3529e6Btu/h
51985 Pulverized Dry Bottom Boiler
4366e6Btu/h
In 1952 one of the units was upgraded with a Babcock & Wilcox cyclone boiler. At the time, the facility was using a 50/50 mix of Illinois and West Virginia coal. The West Virginia coal was shipped via lake freighter from Lorain, Ohio.[6]

At present, coal is delivered to the plant entirely by railroad, originating primarily from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, via a Union Pacific spur line that was originally the main line of the Milwaukee Northern interurban railway.

Unit 3 and 4 share the same chimney.

Unit 3 turbine and generator were manufactured by Allis-Chalmers. Unit 4 was manufactured by General Electric, with an Alterrex excitation system. Unit 5 was also manufactured by General Electric, with a Generrex excitation system.

Retirement and decommissioning

Unit 3 was retired at the end of 2015 due to its age and efficiency. Unit 4 was retired in 2018 as Alliant Energy worked to reduce 80 percent of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Unit 4's electricity generation would be replaced by Riverside Energy Center in the Town of Beloit, which uses natural gas.

On May 22, 2020, Alliant Energy announced that the plant would be decommissioned by the end of 2022, and the property would be redeveloped for another use; Unit 5's generating capacity has also been replaced by a further expansion of Riverside.[7] On June 23, 2022, Alliant announced that Edgewater's decommissioning date would be delayed until June 2025, due to the ongoing supply chain issues and to hedge against an energy shortage in upcoming years, with Edgewater mainly being in service during peak periods.[8] The utility also plans a 99 MW battery by 2024.[9]

Electricity generation

In 2021, Edgewater generated 2,311 GWh, approximately 3.7% of the total electric power generated in Wisconsin (62,584 GWh)[10] for that year. The plant had a 2021 annual capacity factor of 69.41%.

Electrical Generation (MW-h) of Edgewater Generation Station[11] !Year!Jan!Feb!Mar!Apr!May!Jun!Jul!Aug!Sep!Oct!Nov!Dec!Annual (Total)
2001421,123444,173446,782261,305290,120404,445432,472488,116349,327449,850422,409434,4514,844,573
2002453,762399,382273,143306,503389,155419,313490,968429,073407,380408,755390,591418,8894,786,914
2003298,900456,077299,103455,488439,803396,437466,353473,587353,381399,188436,408419,0954,893,820
2004462,658251,202269,249343,218411,550436,325479,183445,972419,681442,563377,296420,8114,759,708
2005468,022392,173383,075396,735346,578398,064288,539318,025307,563287,223327,345381,3444,294,686
2006264,155296,154370,761366,110439,882399,024466,530413,755395,309239,629255,995373,9064,281,210
2007468,131452,671462,173364,453224,700335,228403,344428,599362,483436,604408,099399,9964,746,481
2008422,307396,314442,794262,068392,238373,217425,015418,498366,491314,885391,390412,7314,617,948
2009450,697332,405290,450251,222245,074344,625332,379377,838322,644404,683322,968413,2974,088,282
2010380,309394,406378,866248,360409,800400,273435,301446,457335,137285,028229,764370,6024,314,303
2011471,011418,396448,811302,188416,251375,186463,703415,892283,651263,322206,532287,2784,352,221
2012299,981317,445329,228154,216210,855277,757431,796379,885225,366189,953409,706371,9783,598,166
2013347,716246,618452,454461,179402,119334,988409,965327,280326,578315,452273,330388,7794,286,458
2014473,681429,938308,447279,513420,498306,300288,260358,408295,287166,454130,588375,3063,832,680
2015348,636345,026350,291219,023273,780403,928431,148415,972379,936292,263223,580213,0703,896,653
2016338,132267,699209,270139,59789,497237,499402,795405,067393,203306,100260,727405,5553,455,141
2017377,088258,211390,717363,260255,978297,976357,816308,822289,053190,570331,404370,4703,791,365
2018423,054277,386146,403163,447341,841326,402363,800381,631298,854200,432258,936104,8723,287,058
2019140,467168,126210,449145,382125,299103,080174,504123,913116,91137,06381,92801,427,122
2020146,803120,837-2,70116,51430,03076,862146,823168,253137,06423,53430,725203,6811,098,425
2021192,029197,050180,292181,104233,594247,443276,939258,081164,304136,895183,16259,6552,310,548
2022219,316243,263239,971145,335109,838119,621231,759188,331157,77927,4661,682,679
2023

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wisconsin - Ten Largest Plants by Generating Capacity, 2009 . 2009 . . 15 May 2011.
  2. News: Water Supply Aids Power Operations . Sheboygan Press, The . Sheboygan, Wisconsin . October 29, 1957 . 47.
  3. Web site: Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2008 . Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy . 2008 . Excel . 15 May 2011.
  4. News: New tech means cleaner air from power plant. Bock. Phillip. Sheboygan Press Media. June 22, 2016. July 31, 2017.
  5. News: Utility closes coal plant amid transition to natural gas. Associated Press. The Daily Reporter. October 1, 2018. October 2, 2018.
  6. News: Generating Unit Consumes 27 Tons Of Coal An Hour . Sheboygan Press, The . Sheboygan, Wisconsin . April 29, 1952 . 39.
  7. News: Alliant to shutter Sheboygan coal plant; early closure expected to benefit ratepayers, environment. Hubbuch. Chris . 21 May 2020. Wisconsin State Journal. 22 May 2020.
  8. News: We Energies and Alliant Energy coal plants in Wisconsin to stay open longer due to energy supply fears. Hess. Corrinne . 23 June 2022. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 24 June 2022.
  9. Web site: Murray . Cameron . Alliant Energy plans 400MWh BESS at retiring Wisconsin coal plant . Energy Storage News . 2 February 2023.
  10. Web site: Electricity Data Browser . 2023-01-15 . www.eia.gov.
  11. Web site: Electricity Data Browser . 2023-01-15 . www.eia.gov.

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