You all know that the purpose of a generator is to make electricity. So what is Peaking generation?
Think about how you use electricity during the course of a day. You use a lot in the morning as you get ready for work and kids get ready for school. Then the house is pretty quiet for the day, until dinner time when your electric usage is at its highest. Now imagine a 90 degree summer day and your air-conditioning is running on high.
Remember two things, electric usage goes up and down, and the electric industry is unique in that we have to match supply with demand every second! We can’t store our generation, we don’t get to make extra to put in a warehouse, and we don’t ask our customers to wait six weeks for delivery!
So we need different types of generators that operate effectively over a wide range of usage patterns. Nuclear and coal plants are great for making steady power supply (we call it base load), but they are not good at cycling up and down. Wind generation is also becoming a significant part of the Midwest’s generating mix, but it only produces maximum power 30% of the time. So what fills in the gaps? Peaking Generation.
Wolverine specializes in Peaking Generation. We have an exceptional group of Operators, Chiefs, Maintenance workers and Technicians. Our latest addition to our fleet will be the Alpine Power Plant. Check out www.alpinecleanenergy.com for the latest on Alpine.
I am curious as to what your opinion is about combine-cycle plants. I do not know much about them and I am wondering if the value is greater than the costs.
Matt great question. Easy rule of thumb, combined cycle doubles the price, adds 50% more power and improves efficiency by 25%. Depending on market conditions, combined cycle plants make a ton of sense. The present market doesn’t rationalize it, however. We just don’t see enough hours of increased run to cost justify it. Maybe things will be different in a few years!