Troutdale sparks power firm's interest
The Reynolds site may offer fast-growing Cogentrix what it needs to build a natural-gas-powered plant
Monday, December 18, 2000
By Catherine Trevison and Doug Irving of The Oregonian staff
TROUTDALE -- A North Carolina-based energy company is interested in building a natural-gas-fired electric plant in Troutdale.
The company is considering a handful of sites, said Pat King, Cogentrix group vice president for the western region.
"We're not ready (to discuss the idea) yet. Negotiations still have to be consummated," King said after the interest by Cogentrix became public last week. "At any given time we're looking at several locations around the region.
"It's true we're looking in the east county area. We don't want to raise anybody's expectations, because we're not ready to put both feet in and say, 'Here is the project, here is the engineering.' "
If the project goes ahead, construction on a Troutdale plant could begin in 2003 and take two years.
Troutdale officials have said they think the company is interested in land near the Reynolds Metals aluminum smelter. Alcoa closed the aging smelter and laid off about 500 workers last summer and fall during a period of high electricity prices.
The plant had a contract for relatively cheap electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration, but Alcoa diverted it to its newer, more efficient smelters.
Site attractions
The limited supply and high demand for electricity are part of what make the site so alluring for a company that turns natural gas into electricity. Two high-pressure gas lines supplied the smelter with large amounts of fuel. BPA also maintains an electrical substation next to the smelter.
"One of the hardest things to site are these electric transmission lines and gas lines -- they often engender public opposition, and they . . . can cost upward of $1 million a mile to build," said David Stewart-Smith, secretary of the state Energy Facility Siting Council. "It's such a competitive industry right now -- it doesn't take much in terms of pipeline or transmission line until it doesn't pencil out."
The natural gas pipeline and power grid near the Reynolds plant caught the company's attention, said Troutdale Administrator Erik Kvarsten. But Alcoa in the past has insisted that the smelter closure is only temporary, and Cogentrix officials "have not said anything about the smelter plant" as a location, Kvarsten said.
Access to natural gas and electric transmission lines lured a half-dozen natural gas generators to areas around Hermiston along the Columbia River in Eastern Oregon, Stewart-Smith said.
Cogentrix also has proposed using treated waste water from Gresham and Troutdale in the plant's cooling tower. Gresham puts out about 12 million gallons each day. A gas-fired plant could use roughly 4 million to 6 million gallons a day, said David Rouse, Gresham's director of environmental services.
When Troutdale finishes its new sewage treatment plant not far from the smelter, it will be able to handle about 3 million gallons a day. Otherwise, the city would pipe that treated water into the Sandy River, Kvarsten said.
Like other cities, Troutdale has been exploring better uses for its treated waste water. A power plant with high water demands seems like a promising option, Kvarsten said.
Cogentrix, which has an interest in 27 power plants around the country, is "growing at a phenomenal rate," King said. "Currently we have 2,300 megawatts under construction."
No specifics yet
Cogentrix began scouting Troutdale earlier this year, Kvarsten said. But talks with the company have not gotten around to the specifics of what the plant would look like or even where in the city it would go, he said.
"It's just so premature to even start talking about anything like that," he said. "That's a question we'd come to if they made a decision to dial-in Troutdale."
Stewart-Smith expects Cogentrix to submit a formal notice of intent to build a plant somewhere in Oregon in January. That triggers a yearlong review process, which includes time for public comment.
The plant under consideration will be larger than the 248-megawatt plant it built for Clark Public Utilities in 1997, King said.
Stewart-Smith said such a plant could make a significant contribution to Oregon's power needs, which in the winter peak at 4,500 megawatts.
"Right now, we're a net electricity importer," he said.