Yellow plume from Portlands part of start up
Joe Reid, an official with Ontario Power Generation, assured passers-by that the foul-looking emissions were part of a start-up test that only lasted about 20 minutes. He said the gas-fired power plant, which has been operating in a single-cycle mode, is preparing to operate in a more efficient combined-cycle mode early next year and was having one of its generators tested.
"The first 20 minutes or so will give you visual on nitrous oxide emissions which are the result of the low operating level required for the commissioning activity," he said. "Once we get past our initial start-up the yellow plume will go away."
Reid said it's similar to starting up a car in the morning and getting lots of smoke. "Over time it dissipates."
A single-cycle plant, which burns natural gas that turns a gas turbine, operates at 35 per cent efficiency. A combined-cycle plant captures waste heat from the first cycle to generate steam that turns a second turbine, allowing the facility to operate at 56 per cent efficiency - meaning 50 per cent more electricity will be generated by the same amount of natural gas.
In combined-cycle mode the plant can produce 550 megawatts of power, up from 250 megawatts in single-cycle mode.
Related News
Minnesota 2050 carbon-free electricity plan gets first hearing
ST. PAUL - Gov. Tim Walz's plan for Minnesota to get 100 percent of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050 was criticized Tuesday at its first legislative hearing, with representatives from some of the state's smaller utilities saying they can't meet that goal.
Commerce Commissioner Steve Kelley told the House climate committee that the Democratic governor's plan is ambitious. But he said the state's generating system is "aging and at a critical juncture," with plants that produce 70 percent of the state's electricity coming up for potential retirement over the next two decades. He said it will ensure that utilities…
