Dalhousie Generating Station

Last updated
Dalhousie Generating Station
Dalhousie Generating Station
Dalhousie Generating Station, New Brunswick
CountryCanada
Location Dalhousie, New Brunswick
Coordinates 48°03′07″N66°22′15″W / 48.051919°N 66.370770°W / 48.051919; -66.370770
StatusDemolished in 2015 [1]
Construction began1967
Commission date 1969
Decommission date2012
Owner(s) NB Power
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Orimulsion
Secondary fuel Coal
Tertiary fuel Fuel oil
Power generation
Nameplate capacity 315  MW

The Dalhousie Generating Station was a 315 MW coal and oil-fired electrical generating station that operated from 1969-2012 in the community of Dalhousie in Restigouche County, New Brunswick. [2]

Contents

Construction of the plant, a thermal generating station owned and operated by provincial Crown corporation NB Power, began in 1967. The first phase was opened in 1969 when the Dalhousie #1 boiler went on line at 100 MW. It was designed to burn heavy fuel oil. The 1970s energy crisis saw many eastern Canadian power utilities change their focus from oil sourced in the Middle East to local energy sources. As such, construction began in 1975 on the second phase of the plant which opened in 1978 when the larger Dalhousie #2 boiler went on line; at 215 MW, it was designed to burn coal mined in Minto, NB and Sydney, NS.

Orimulsion conversion

The drop in oil prices by the mid-1980s and the age of Dalhousie #1 saw NB Power examine options. The Dalhousie plant was particularly attractive for changing its fuel since it was situated on the shore of Chaleur Bay and had a ship-unloading pier at the nearby Port of Dalhousie to which it was connected by a pipeline (for fuel oil). In 1988, Dalhousie became the site of the world's first large-scale test of orimulsion fuel when 180,000 tons were burnt to produce 0.5 million MWh. This successful test saw NB Power and Bitor America enter into a long term supply agreement of 800,000 tons/year for both Dalhousie #1 and Dalhousie #2; the plant's conversion was completed in 1994 and began burning Orimulsion 100, switching to a different grade Orimulsion 400 in 1998. The 1994 upgrades saw the plant become the third in Canada to install Flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) technology which saw the addition of scrubbers for removing particulate pollution.

The plant burned Orimulsion oil, a product of PDVSA, and featured two boilers and two large chimneys, 168 m and 162 m in height. [3] The plant consumed 0.8 million tons of Orimulsion per year and generated approximately ten percent of the province's electricity, [4] while producing roughly eighteen percent of the province's air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions (among large industrial polluters). [5] [6]

In 2004 the government of Venezuela announced that its state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PdVSA) would begin scaling down production of Orimulsion and not renew any existing supply contracts once they have ended. [7] This decision threw a wrench in plans by NB Power which was in the process of a $1 billion upgrade to the Coleson Cove Generating Station, converting that plant from heavy fuel oil to Orimulsion based on a signed MoU with PdVSA. The announcement of the PdVSA's cancellation of future Orimulsion production beginning in 2004, as well as the Government of Canada's decision to become the 99th country to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on 17 December 2002 cast a cloud over the future of the Dalhousie Generating Station and NB Power's other thermal generating units. The last shipment of Orimulsion to Dalhousie was delivered in May 2006. After this shipment, Number 6 fuel oil was shipped as a substitute to fulfill PdVSA contract requirements.

Decommissioning

In October 2009 the provincial government announced that it had reached an agreement with Hydro Quebec to sell NB Power to that company (see Proposed sale of NB Power). The sale was not completed, however, the initial memorandum of understanding would have seen NB Power transfer all of its generating assets except for the thermal stations at Dalhousie, Belledune and Coleson Cove.

After the sale of NB Power to Hydro Quebec was cancelled, the provincial government announced that it was placing the Dalhousie Generating Station under a strategic review, since the initial long-term supply contract for Orimulsion with PdVSA expired in June 2010 and was not expected to be renewed. The final delivery of Heavy Oil took place in August 2010. The fuel supply lasted until spring 2011. Local residents in the Dalhousie area lobbied the provincial government to convert the Dalhousie Generating Station back to coal or heavy fuel oil, citing the loss of many major industrial employers in the region such as a pulp mill and chemical plant, but the plan was to no avail.

After a two-year review of the facility by NB Power, which included consideration of other fuel sources, the provincial government announced on 27 September 2012 that the Dalhousie Generating Station would be decommissioned and permanently closed. [8] An engineering firm completed in November 2012 an Environmental Impact Assessment for NB Power.

The Dalhousie Generating Station was successfully demolished in September 2015, after one failed attempt. [9]

Related Research Articles

Orimulsion is a registered trademark name for a bitumen-based fuel that was developed for industrial use by Intevep, the Research and Development Affiliate of Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), following earlier collaboration on oil emulsions with BP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power station</span> Facility generating electric power

A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NB Power</span> Electric utility company

New Brunswick Electric Power Corporation, operating as NB Power, is the primary electric utility in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. NB Power is a vertically-integrated Crown corporation by the government of New Brunswick and is responsible for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. NB Power serves all the residential and industrial power consumers in New Brunswick, with the exception of those in Saint John, Edmundston and Perth-Andover who are served by Saint John Energy, Energy Edmundston, and the Perth-Andover Electric Light Commission, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity sector in Canada</span>

The electricity sector in Canada has played a significant role in the economic and political life of the country since the late 19th century. The sector is organized along provincial and territorial lines. In a majority of provinces, large government-owned integrated public utilities play a leading role in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. Ontario and Alberta have created electricity markets in the last decade to increase investment and competition in this sector of the economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermal power station</span> Power plant that generates electricity from heat energy

A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a steam turbine connected to an electrical generator. The low-pressure exhaust from the turbine enters a steam condenser where it is cooled to produce hot condensate which is recycled to the heating process to generate more high pressure steam. This is known as a Rankine cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballylumford Power Station</span> Gas-fired power station in Northern Ireland

Ballylumford power station "C" station is a natural-gas-fired power station in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK. With its main plant generating almost 700 megawatts of electricity, it is Northern Ireland's largest power station and provides half its power. Overall the station can produce 693 MW. The plant is located at the tip of the Islandmagee peninsula, which separates Larne Lough from the Irish Sea. The lough is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The 3 chimneys of the now decommissioned "B" station are 126 metres tall. East of the station is the Ballycronan More converter station, the Northern Ireland end of the Moyle Interconnector, a subsea HVDC interconnector connecting the NI electricity system to Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaporizhzhia thermal power station</span> Thermal power station in Enerhodar, Ukraine

Zaporizhzhia thermal power station is a large thermal power plant (DRES) in the purpose-built city of Enerhodar in Ukraine. It is the most powerful thermal power station in Ukraine, with an installed capacity of 2,850 MWe. Its primary fuel is coal. It can also fire natural gas and fuel oil, and has tank storage for these reserve fuels adjacent to the coal bunkers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Littlebrook Power Station</span> Series of four oil and coal-fired power stations in Dartford, Kent

The Littlebrook Power Station were a series of four oil and coal-fired power stations situated on the south bank of the River Thames, next to the Queen Elizabeth 2 Bridge and the Dartford Tunnel in Dartford, Kent. The final power station, Littlebrook D, ceased operating in March 2015, and has now been demolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock River Generating Station</span>

Rock River Generating Station was an electrical power station located north of Beloit, Wisconsin in the town of Beloit at 827 W. B. R. Townline Road on the west bank of the Rock River. The facility was owned and operated by Wisconsin Power and Light, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alliant Energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilroot Power Station</span> Coal and oil power station in Northern Ireland

Kilroot power station is a fossil fuel power plant on the north shore of Belfast Lough at Kilroot near Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The plant currently has a 141 megawatt (MW) capacity from four standby Gas Turbines and a 10 MW battery energy storage capacity from the Kilroot Advancion Energy Storage Array.

Coal reserves in Canada rank 13th largest in the world at approximately 10 billion tons, 0.6% of the world total. This represents more energy than all of the oil and gas in the country combined. The coal industry generates CDN$5 billion annually. Most of Canada's coal mining occurs in the West of the country. British Columbia operates 9 coal mines, Alberta nine, Saskatchewan three and New Brunswick one. Nova Scotia operates several small-scale mines, Westray having closed following the 1992 disaster there.

The Coleson Cove Generating Station is a 1050 MW fuel oil-fired power station located at 4077 King William Road in the community of Lorneville on the extreme western boundary of the city of Saint John, New Brunswick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilbury power stations</span> Thermal power stations in Essex, England

The Tilbury power stations were two thermal power stations on the north bank of the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex. The 360 MW dual coal- and oil-fired Tilbury A Power Station operated from 1956 until 1981 when it was mothballed, prior to demolition in 1999. The 1,428 MW Tilbury B Power Station operated between 1968 and 2013 and was fueled by coal, as well as co-firing with oil and, from 2011, biomass. Tilbury B was demolished in 2016–19. Since 2013 three other power stations have been proposed or constructed in Tilbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilton power stations</span> Series of coal, oil, gas and biomass fired CHP power stations

The Wilton power station refers to a series of coal, oil, gas and biomass fired CHP power stations which provide electricity and heat for the Wilton International Complex, with excess electricity being sold to the National Grid. It is located on the Wilton site in Redcar and Cleveland, south of the town of Middlesbrough in North East England. The station has provided for the site since opening in 1952, when it was operated by ICI. The station is currently owned and operated by SembCorp Industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northfleet Power Station</span>

Northfleet Power Station was a coal-fired, later oil-fired, power station on the south bank of the Thames at Northfleet, Kent. Opened in 1963, it was converted to burn oil in 1972, and closed in 1991.

The proposed sale of NB Power was an attempted takeover of New Brunswick's Crown corporation public utility assets by Hydro-Québec, Canada's largest utility. Announced on October 29, 2009, by premiers Shawn Graham of New Brunswick and Jean Charest of Quebec, the deal ultimately collapsed in March 2010 after months of controversy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belledune Generating Station</span>

The Belledune Generating Station is a 450 MW coal-fired electrical generating station located in the community of Belledune in Gloucester County, New Brunswick. It is a thermal generating station owned and operated by provincial Crown corporation NB Power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vallur Thermal Power Station</span> Coal-fired power station in Tamil Nadu

Vallur Thermal Power Station is a power plant located in Vallur, Thiruvallur district, India. The power plant is operated by NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company Limited, a joint venture between NTPC Limited and TANGEDCO and has three units with 500 MW each.

Bromborough power stations are three electricity generating stations that supplied power to industrial and domestic users in Bromborough, Port Sunlight and the wider Wirral area from 1918 until 1998. Bromborough power station provided public electricity supplies from 1951 to 1980. Central power station Bromborough (1918–1998) was originally owned by Lever Brothers and supplied electricity to domestic users in Port Sunlight as well as electricity and steam to industrial users. Merseyside power station Bromborough (1958–1998) was also owned by Unilever and provided electricity and steam at a range of pressures to industrial users in the locality. All three power stations at Bromborough have been demolished.

References

  1. "NB Power will shutter Dalhousie power plant". CBC. September 27, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  2. gnb.ca: "FACILITY PROFILE - New Brunswick Power Generation Corporation - Dalhousie Generating Station" Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Prepared by: Impact Management Branch, New Brunswick Department of Environment. May 2010
  3. New Brunswick Energy & Utilities Board [ permanent dead link ]
  4. "Learn About Electricity".
  5. "Report". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  6. "Fort McMurray Search". Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  7. "Alexander's Gas & Oil Connections - PdVSA to stop producing orimulsion". Archived from the original on October 3, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  8. cbc.ca: "NB Power will shutter Dalhousie power plant", 27 Sep 2012
  9. nbpower.com: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT - CLOSURE OF THE DALHOUSIE THERMAL GENERATING STATION, DALHOUSIE NB, Prepared For: NB Power Generation Corporation. November 2012