By Staff
ON SCHEDULE Dean Peoples, Tennessee Valley Authority construction project manager, stands in front on Unit One of the TVA peak power plant. The plant is under construction east of DeKalb and scheduled to go on line in early summer. Photo by Steve Swogetinsky/The Meridian Star
By Steve Swogetinsky/The Meridian Star
Dec. 23, 2001
DEKALB You could say the construction site of the Tennessee Valley Authority's peak power plant has a certain international flavor.
Workers from a company in Calgary, Alberta one of the 10 provinces of Canada are on site putting up a storage tank. Another group of workers from China is installing the transformers. And the generators were built in Austria.
Construction started earlier this year.
If the weather continues to cooperate, the peak power plant should be on line early next summer. Peoples said one of the four power generating units is scheduled for testing sometime in March, with the other three following quickly.
The plant will provide additional electricity to the TVA power grid during peak times of use. It is connected to the TVA grid in DeKalb. Most of the electricity generated in DeKalb will be used for customers in TVA's southern region.
The generators are single-cycle gas turbines that will be fueled mainly by natural gas, though diesel fuel can be used. Manufactured by General Electric Co., the turbines are built in modules and shipped here where they are assembled.
About 400 people are working on the construction site now. When the plant is completed, it will be staffed by a crew of eight to 10 people.
Steve Swogetinsky is regional editor of The Meridian Star. Call him at 693-1551, ext. 3217, or e-mail him at sswogetinsky@themeridianstar.com.