Minnesota River Station

Project Overview
The Minnesota River Station consists of an electrical power generation plant and a distribution substation constructed in the City of Chaska, Carver County, Minnesota. The plant sits on seven acres of land approximately 500 feet from the Minnesota River. The City owns and financed the $30 million project and the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) manages the plant and purchases the electricity produced. The plant is capable of producing 49 megawatts of electricity and burns primarily natural gas, though its dual fuel capability allows it to also burn fuel oil. Construction began in the summer of 2000, and the plant became fully operational in May 1, 2001.

Dahlen, Berg & Co. successfully oversaw the plant and substation's planning, permitting, implementation and construction. In addition, Dahlen, Berg & Co. provided project management services to ensure on-time, on-budget completion. Acting on behalf of the MMPA, Dahlen, Berg & Co. currently oversees the day-to-day operation of the plant.

Equipment
The plant consists of one model GTX-100 combustion turbine generator manufactured by Alstom Power of Finspong, Sweden. The state-of-the-art GTX-100 was designed to produce low emissions while being one of the most fuel-efficient units of its kind. The turbine is fueled primarily with natural gas, but it can also run on fuel oil. As a "peaking" unit, the plant runs during times of peak demand for electricity, typically less than 20% of the year.

A combustion turbine operates much like a jet engine. Outside air is drawn into a compressor through an air filtration and silencing system. Fuel is combined with air in the combustion section and fired, causing hot gases to expand through the turbine section. The expansion of gases turns the turbine shaft, which drives a generator to produce electric power. The combustion turbine's gases exhaust into the atmosphere through a 50-foot stack.

Connections
Minnegasco delivers natural gas to the plant through a one-half mile long pipeline. Electricity produced is transmitted one-half mile to a Northern States Power Company 115,000-Volt Transmission line for delivery to MMPA cities. The plant is also connected to the City of Chaska's electric distribution system through the new substation.

Chaska
The City of Chaska is the county seat of Carver County. It is located along the Minnesota River, approximately 18 miles southwest of Minneapolis. The city's electric utility serves more than 6,100 customers.

MMPA
The Minnesota Municipal Power Agency was founded in 1992 for the purpose of securing an adequate, economical, and reliable supply of electricity for its members. In addition to Chaska, MMPA members include the cities of Anoka, Arlington, Brownton, Le Sueur, North St. Paul, Olivia, and Winthrop. In addition, the cities of Shakopee and East Grand Forks are served as MMPA customers. The plant will help meet the growing demand of MMPA customers for electricity, benefiting all member cities. MMPA utilities serve almost 40,000 retail customers.

Interesting Facts

• The Alstom GTX-100 was delivered from Sweden to Duluth by ship, then trucked to Chaska.
• The plant's 49 megawatts provide enough power for a city of 15,000 on a typical summer day.
• The GTX-100 turbine is roughly the same size as the jet engine used to power the Boeing 747.
• The plant's foundation required 710 cubic yards of concrete and 1600 tons of steel.
• 51,000 "Chaska"-style bricks were used in constructing the plant.