Siemens is supplying two gas turbines and one steam turbine for the new Holland Energy Park combined cycle power plant in Holland, Michigan. The local municipal utility, Holland Board of Public Works, is replacing an aging coal-fired plant with a new fuel efficient modern power plant, slated for commercial operation in fall 2016. With the new Siemens technology, the carbon dioxide emissions at the site will be reduced by about 50 percent.
Siemens’ scope of supply includes two SGT-800 gas turbines and one SST-400 steam turbine. Siemens will also provide a long-term service contract for the SGT-800 gas turbines. The new plant’s cogeneration capabilities provide it with a high fuel efficiency level and will generate about 125 MW in summer and 145 MW in winter.
A special feature of this plant is the use of surplus heat from the circulating water system for use in expanding a downtown snowmelt system. The city of Holland maintains the largest municipally-owned snowmelt system in the U.S.; the underground pipe system spans roughly 11.5 acres (500,000 square feet) of city roads and sidewalks.
In the cold weather months from October until April, Michigan has an estimated average of 32 days of snowfall, with up to 70 inches per year. Circulating water from the Holland Energy Park plant will run through a heat exchanger to warm water for the snowmelt system in the downtown area. This, in turn, alleviates the need to salt or plow during the winter months. The system can melt about 1 inch of snow per hour in temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
