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Dallman 4 Power Station

Dallman 4 earns top 2009 plant of the year honors from
both POWER and Power Engineering magazines. Read more.

At 4:09 p.m., Thursday, November 19, 2009, CWLP assumed operating control of Dallman 4—the utility's newest electric generating station—from KBV Springfield Partnership, the plant's general contractor. This event signaled a major step forward for CWLP and the customer-owners it serves.

The Genesis of a Power Plant: Dallman 4—a pamphlet commemorating the history of the Dallman 4 project in words and pictures—is available free of charge while supplies last. Order yours online.

Dallman 4, a 200-MW pulverized coal power plant, is one of the cleanest coal-fired generating units in the nation. It's completion ensures the city of Springfield a cost-efficient, reliable and environmentally responsible source of electric power for the next several decades. Considering fuel costs alone, in 2011 Dallman 4 was 12.43% more efficient than Dallman 3, which is the most efficient of the three older Dallman units.

Construction was begun on the plant in late 2006. Although still in the testing phase, the plant became operational on May 11, 2009, when—under power of natural gas—it produced 13 MW of electricity as the unit was synchronized to the grid. As testing continued, the plant began operating using coal on June 1. Systems-testing was completed on November 19, at which time KBV handed over operating control of the plant to CWLP. In addition to being completed months ahead of its contract completion date, Dallman 4 came in under its projected $454.6 million budget, a feat virtually unheard of in the power industry.

Check out the Dallman 4 construction photo gallery.
View two videos of the Unit 4 Steam Blow Testing:
Video A
 Video B

The new 200-MW unit, employing a Foster Wheeler pulverized coal boiler, replaced 76 MW of old coal-fired technology—the utility's two Lakeside turbine generators. Lakeside Units #6 and #7, CWLP's oldest still-operating turbine generators, were placed into service in 1961 and 1965, respectively. Although they have not yet been formally decommissioned, the Lakeside plants are no longer being used.

Dallman 4 employs a number of environmental control technologies, including:

1. low-NOx burners for the boiler; a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system for additional NOx removal;
2. powdered activated carbon injection for mercury removal;
3. a fabric filter bag house to remove fine particulate;
4. a wet flue gas desulfurization unit (scrubber) for the removal of SO2; and
5. a wet electrostatic precipitator to remove acid mist and ultra-fine particulate from the
flue gas.

This equipment assists CWLP in its goal of becoming one of the most environmentally friendly primarily coal-fired electric utilities in the nation.

Air emission controls aren't the only way Dallman 4 is complementing the utility's efforts to protect and preserve the environment. By utilizing state-of-the-art cooling towers, CWLP is able to avoid discharging high-temperature cooling water from the plant into Lake Springfield.

KBV Springfield Power Partners served as general contractor for the construction project; Black & Veatch designed the plant, while Kiewit provided the construction; and Burns & McDonnell served as owner's engineer on behalf of CWLP.

Learn more about Dallman 4.

Dallman 4 Fun Facts
1. The unit will burn 700,000 tons (1.4 billion pounds) of Illinois coal each year.
2. The demand for coal will support 80 new mining jobs in Illinois.
3. Approximately 40 permanent jobs will be needed to support the long-term operation and maintenance of the facility.
4. In constructing the facility:
     - 644 pier foundations were drilled
     - 21,500 cubic yards of concrete were poured
     - 7,100 tons of steel will be used
5. The 8.8-million-pound Unit 4 boiler is hung from the top of the building.
6. The facility has three coal silos, each of which will hold 650 tons of coal.
7. One of the unit's environmental controls, a pulse jet fabric filter baghouse, contains over 6,600 26-foot-long bags that collect fine particulate from the flue gas.
8. At 440 feet in height, the Unit 4 chimney is the second tallest structure in Springfield. (The Unit 3 chimney is the tallest; the Units 1 and 2 chimney is third tallest; and the State Capitol is fourth.) Construction of the Unit 4 chimney required only 28 days, 3 hours.
 


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Last updated: 02/15/12