Reducing Emissions and Improving Thermal Generation Efficiency
As part of our pathway to be net carbon neutral by 2050, we’re working to optimize our thermal assets to improve efficiency and environmental performance. We invest our time and expertise to ensure all our facilities achieve operational excellence and reliably support our communities, businesses and critical services with responsible power. Some examples of our initiatives include:
At our Genesee Generating Station in Alberta, we’ve implemented our industry-leading Genesee Performance Standard (GPS), an efficiency improvement program to reduce carbon emissions. The program targets a 12% reduction in emissions by 2023 in the lead up to our facility-wide transition off coal that year – nearly 6 years ahead of government mandate.
At our Decatur Energy Center in Alabama, we’ve been upgrading the facility’s combustion turbines to increase capacity, improve heat rate and fuel efficiency, and maintain reliability. The upgrades are also expected to improve environmental performance through reduced emissions. As of 2020, two of three combustion turbines have been upgraded, adding approximately 60 MW of additional capacity. The third combustion turbine is expected to be upgraded in 2021, adding approximately 30 MW more. These upgrades contributed to a 10-year extension to our existing contract for the site through 2032.
“The Decatur upgrade is a perfect example of how we’re making significant investments in innovative technologies to improve generation performance at our facilities, leading the way to more efficient and low-carbon generation.”
– Darcy Trufyn, SVP Operations, Engineering & Construction.