New owner plans transition to biomass fuel

L'ANSE - Greener pastures are on the way for the J.H. Warden Generating Station. Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) and L'Anse Warden Electric Company, LLC inked the paperwork for the power plant's sale to the latter company Friday evening. Closing on the sale is expected within 60 days.

The newly-formed L'Anse Warden Electric Company, a sister company to White Pine Electric Power, plans to convert the plant's coal-, oil- and natural gas-fired generating station to run on biomass.

"Since Upper Michigan has an abundance of waste wood, (and) needs green energy, we thought this was the correct time to put a plant like this into the green energy market," L'Anse Warden Chief Operating Officer Mike Reid said.

L'Anse Warden Electric Company and White Pine Electric Power are both owned by New York-based Traxys, North America. Reid said the company is trying to expand its business in the Upper Peninsula.

White Pine's generating plant has a generating capacity of 60 megawatts. The biomass plant will add 20 megawatts of capacity.

Reid said the company is currently in the process of securing the necessary permits from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to begin construction of the biomass plant.

He said the construction is "about a nine-month process, so we're hoping to be in operation by the first quarter of 2008."

One fuel source for the biomass plant will be waste from Smurfit-Stone Container's paper mill in Ontonagon.

Steam from the plant will be used by the adjacent mineral ceilings plant.

Reid said the updated plant will provide economic benefits.

"It's going to create a number of good jobs in Michigan using these wood residues that are primarily left in the woods or landfilled and have little value as resources," he said.

Both of those factors were part of what made the sale attractive to UPPCO.

"We thought it would be good for the local economy, jobs in the U.P.; it's a renewable resource," manager of UPPCO Power Supply Chery Salmon said.

"It was just a good fit, it was a win-win. They were looking at burning renewable, we were looking at selling the facility."

L'Anse Warden Electric Company is holding a series of public informational meetings about the project and about the use of biomass for generating electricity. The first of these will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. May 15 at L'Anse Elementary School. Representatives from L'Anse Warden will be on hand fielding questions along with their environmental consultants and engineers.

The J.H. Warden station began operation in 1959 as a coal-fired facility. UPPCO operated the plant until 1993, when increasing operating costs caused the company to place the plant on reserve status.

The last time the plant ran was in 2003, when it operated for a short time with natural gas fuel as a backup station to the Presque Isle Power Plant.

By DAN SCHNEIDER, DMG Writer
Dan Schneider can be reached at dschneider@mininggazette.com
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