Epcor Files For Expansion

EDMONTON, AB -- - Epcor Utilities Inc. formally filed its Genesee power plant expansion plans with regulators on Friday, calling for an enlarged output of 450 megawatts.

When the project was first announced last December, Epcor said the new coal-fired unit would cost $500 million and produce 400 megawatts of electricity. (Genesee now produces 762 megawatts.)

As engineers worked on the numbers, they were able to achieve "optimization" and an extra 50 megawatts of power, said Epcor vice-president Terry Bachynski.

The pricetag on the project is also creeping up: The upper range is now $600 million.

Bachynski said the cost increase is not the result of new Alberta Environment emissions standards for coal-fired power plants. Epcor had expected the stricter emissions limits for nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and particulates, such as arsenic and mercury. The new Genesee plant will emit 3.35 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, compared to 6.2 million tonnes emitted by the existing facility.

TransAlta Utilities will soon join Epcor at the EUB door. The Calgary firm intends to file its $1.8-billion, 900-megawatt expansion plan for the Keephills plant in about a month, project manager Darcy Fedorchuk said.

Epcor's 2,000-page document says it will take 30 months and 750 person-years of labour to expand Genesee.

Bachynski said $10 million will be spent beefing up the 50-km transmission system from the Lake Wabamun area to Edmonton.

If both plants are built, the main transmission line between Edmonton and Calgary will also need to be enlarged, at an estimated cost of $500 million.