A crane was once again called into service at the city power plant this past week, this time to install exhaust tacks near the building.
The work is part of the city’s $11 million project to improve Luverne’s back up generation and remodel the old building.
Earlier this year, a crane installed two 50,000-pound generators, 3-megawatt each, to join the city’s existing 1960s 3-megawatt generator in the power plant.
The combined 9-megawatt continuous capacity of the three generators will ensure Luverne’s backup generation can carry a major part of the city’s total electrical load in the event of an outage.
The improvements will also allow the city to provide more backup power for Missouri River Energy Services, which contracts with Luverne for that energy.
MRES currently pays the city $75,000 per year to keep its generators in working condition for backup power in peak usage times. In a new capacity agreement, MRES will pay Luverne $6.7 million over 30 years, which will help pay for roughly half the $11.8 million total cost of the project.
In addition to the new generators, that work includes: •modernizing the east substation and the associated switchgear. •a new control building (the prefabricated building was delivered March 2). improvements to the power plant to house the generation equipment.