270-Megawatt Cogeneration Plant
Ferndale, Washington
The 270-megawatt (MW) Tenaska Ferndale Cogeneration Station in Ferndale, Wash. provides power to Puget Sound Energy, Inc. (PSE) to meet the region’s growing electric demand.
Tenaska works closely with PSE to meet its need for a hydro-firming resource, coordinating the plant’s operation with water availability and hydroelectric operation in the Pacific Northwest.
The Ferndale plant, which provides process steam to the adjacent ConocoPhillips oil refinery, has operated safely and reliably since it started generating electricity in 1994.
The plant is powered by clean-burning natural gas and has two General Electric Frame 7EA gas turbines with supplementary-fired heat recovery steam generators and an extraction/condensing steam turbine.
Tenaska developed the project and formed Tenaska Washington Partners, L.P. to construct and own the facility. Tenaska affiliates serve as managing partner and operator for the project.
The Tenaska Ferndale Cogeneration Station provides Whatcom County with substantial financial benefits. In addition to the construction jobs previously provided, the facility provides 20-25 well-paid, permanent positions and generates an annual payroll, including subcontractor services and vendors, of approximately 2.5 million per year. The plant is one of the county’s largest property taxpayers, providing revenue that can be used for roads, law enforcement and basic services. However, it does not require a large number of permanent workers who would increase demands for schools, roads, fire protection or other services.
In 2007, Tenaska Ferndale shared in a ‘Best of the Best’ Practices award from Combined Cycle Journal with other Tenaska-owned plants for successfully implementing a state-of-the-art performance monitoring program for critical plant processes to reduce operating costs, help identify potential problems and increase overall consistency among the plants.
The Tenaska Ferndale Cogeneration Station in 2008 was awarded the Voluntary Protection Programs Star Worksite designation, the nnation’s highest safety award, by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries’ Division of Occupational Health and Safety in cooperation with OSHA. Only 2,300 out of 7.2 million worksites across the nation and only 28 worksites in the state of Washington hold the VPP Star designation. In 2010, the Association of Washington Businesses recognized the Tenaska Ferndale plant with a Better Workplace Award for Safety.
The plant also won three awards from the National Safety Council for its excellent safety record and successful safety programs in 2009. The awards are the Occupational Excellence Achievement Award, the Perfect Record Award and the Superior Safety Performance Award. Tenaska Ferndale employees have worked more than 16 years without an occupational injury or illness involving days away from work.
