Windsor to Recieve New Combined Heat and Power project
Fort Chicago Energy Partners L.P. and Pristine Power Inc. announced today that they have been awarded a Combined Heat and Power Contract under a Request for Proposal process recently conducted by the Ontario Power Authority.Under the CHP, Fort Chicago and Pristine through a jointly owned limited partnership, East Windsor Cogeneration LP, will provide power for a twenty year period upon the commencement of commercial operations. The 84 MW cogeneration plant will be called the East Windsor Cogeneration Centre (”EWCC”).The EWCC will consist of two gas turbine generators and boiler facilities that will be sited on land leased to EWC by Ford of Canada. The EWCC will be constructed adjacent to and operationally integrated with an existing steam and power utility plant owned and operated by Ford in Windsor, Ontario. Known as the Ford Powerhouse, this historic facility serves Ford’s Windsor Engine and Windsor Casting Plant.
Total capital costs for EWCC are anticipated to be approximately $160 million, plus financing costs during construction.
It is anticipated that the EWCC will be constructed by an experienced construction firm under an engineer-procure-construct (”EPC”) contract with fixed-pricing and full wrap-around guarantees on capacity, performance and completion. Project permitting and financial closing is expected to occur early in the second quarter of 2007 and it is expected that commercial operations will commence in the first quarter of 2009.
The EWCC will provide the Ontario electricity system with an annual average of 84 MW of electricity for delivery to the Hydro-One Networks transmission system under the terms of the CHP. When the plant is operating, high pressure steam will also be provided to the Ford Powerhouse, allowing Ford to generate electricity for internal Ford needs through the use of existing generation equipment. The EWCC will also provide process steam to Ford for use at the Windsor Engine Plant.
If, at some future time, Ford, as the cogeneration steam host, no longer has a need for process steam for internal needs, EWC, under the CHP contract, will be allowed a one-time restatement of its contract capacity and operating efficiency to compensate for the loss of the steam host. Such restatement is not permitted in the first 5 years of operation.
Jeff Myers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pristine, commented “The owners of Pristine have been involved in four operating cogeneration power plants in Ontario, including West Windsor Cogeneration. We have received strong and effective support from the City of Windsor, and from the Windsor Essex Development Commission, and we are looking forward to moving to the public consultation and permitting phase for the EWCC.”
Paul Bradley, Vice President of Electricity Resources at the Ontario Power Authority, the provincial agency charged with ensuring the province has adequate private sector generation investment to achieve its electricity goals commented, “The East Windsor Cogeneration Centre project is important to achieving Ontario’s long-term energy objectives. The project supplies much needed electricity, it demonstrates the high-efficiency use of resources and it highlights the role that the private sector can play in our energy future.”
“This project has significant benefits for our community,” said Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis. “It creates substantial construction jobs and adds long term efficiencies to the existing industrial base in the City of Windsor. Its power and heat generation technology is entirely in line with our City’s need for environmentally friendly industrial ventures.”