Gas

Illinois EPA issues permit to construct 1.1 GW combined cycle plant

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in late July issued a construction permit for a new 1,090 MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle plant.
Illinois EPA issues permit to construct 1.1 GW combined cycle plant
Lincoln Land Energy Center (Source: EmberClear).

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in late July issued a construction permit for a new 1,090 MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle plant.

The Lincoln Land Energy Center would be located near Pawnee in Sangamon County, Illinois, approximately 20 miles south of the state capital of Springfield.

EmberClear is developing the plant, with Siemens Energy, Siemens Financial Services, and Bechtel as partners.

Turbine and generator equipment would be supplied by Siemens. According to EmberClear, Lincoln Land Energy Center would be able to incorporate 30 % hydrogen and up to 100% within the lifespan of this project.

According to EmberClear, the facility could then later “transition from a baseload unit using natural gas to a storage facility using hydrogen created from renewables in the future. There will be no stranded assets.”

The project would purchase water and backup water supplies from the City of Springfield and the Otter Lake Water Commission via the Village of Pawnee. According to the Illinois EPA, the plant would have dry cooling towers rather than wet ones to reduce water consumption, as well as the plant’s particulate emissions.

Discharge from the plant would be sent to a nearby sewage treatment facility owned and operated by the Village of Pawnee.

The plant would be an addition in Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) territory. The independent system operator is facing ongoing capacity shortfalls due to warmer-than-normal temperatures.

MORE: States call for market action as MISO faces an ongoing capacity crisis

MISO said in a summer readiness workshop that it would likely need to import more non-firm energy and/or need additional energy resources to meet the 2022 summer peak demand. MISO said the summer peak load forecast was 124 GW but the region had only about 119 GW of projected regularly available generation.

According to a recent MISO survey, capacity deficits are projected to widen in subsequent years.