Weston Generating Station

The Weston Generating Station, also known as the Weston Power Plant, is a base load, coal fired, electrical power station located in the villages of Rothschild and Kronenwetter in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. In 2009, it was listed as the fifth largest generating station in Wisconsin, with a net summer capacity of 1,076 MW.[2] It is owned by Wisconsin Public Service, a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group.

Weston Generating Station
Weston Power Plant in November 2007
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationRothschild & Kronenwetter, Wisconsin
Coordinates44°51′31″N 89°38′59″W / 44.85861°N 89.64972°W / 44.85861; -89.64972
StatusOperational
Commission date1954
Owner(s)Wisconsin Public Service (WEC Energy Group)
Thermal power station
Primary fuelSub-bituminous coal[1]
Cooling sourceUnit 1 and 2:Wisconsin River
Unit 3 and 4:Cooling towers
Power generation
Nameplate capacity1,076 MW (net, summer) [2]
Capacity factor50.75 (2021)
Annual net output4767 GWh (2021)

This plant is connected to the power grid via numerous 115 kV and 345 kV lines. In February 2008 the Arrowhead-Weston 345,000 volt transmission line was completed allowing more power to be transmitted between Duluth, Minnesota, The Stone Lake Substation, and the Weston plant. Unit 1 was retired in 2015, while Unit 2 was switched to natural gas.

Between November 2016 and April 2020, the plant consumed on average 196,670 tons of coal per month, or approximately 6,500 tons daily.[3]

Units edit

Unit Capacity (MW) Commissioning Notes
1 60 (nameplate)
59.8 (summer)
60.4 (winter) [1]
1954 [1]
2 81.6 (nameplate)
81.5 (summer)
82.5 (winter) [1]
1960 [1]
3 350.5 (nameplate)
333.1 (summer)
336.3 (winter) [1]
1981 [1]
4 595 (nameplate)
537 (summer)
537 (winter) [1]
2008 [1]

Electricity Production edit

In 2021, Columbia Energy Center generated 4,767 GWh, approximately 7.6% of the total electric power generated in Wisconsin (62,584 GWh)[4] for that year. The plant had a 2021 annual capacity factor of 50.75%.

Generation (MW-h) of Weston Generating Station[5]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual (Total)
2001 297,762 290,911 85,476 193,123 252,182 261,996 305,717 306,394 251,056 326,714 289,105 308,822 3,169,258
2002 258,753 265,214 288,181 291,317 271,133 187,606 300,717 304,954 265,132 271,051 261,525 237,005 3,202,588
2003 303,803 288,459 323,537 300,405 179,679 175,037 300,127 300,175 283,777 312,480 287,812 318,808 3,374,099
2004 321,940 292,343 298,091 282,538 204,553 197,803 305,358 303,237 305,941 322,007 308,465 318,971 3,461,247
2005 321,248 282,783 332,162 309,781 294,337 303,120 309,226 307,259 238,149 257,252 288,289 324,617 3,568,223
2006 279,711 280,380 275,444 292,284 309,846 300,413 289,361 294,324 234,947 293,887 271,565 293,360 3,415,522
2007 318,045 252,006 273,785 127,557 216,955 302,042 333,060 323,189 283,801 137,690 81,349 102,526 2,752,005
2008 220,229 293,320 305,904 273,132 275,442 213,364 550,314 632,574 454,969 463,006 391,844 389,679 4,463,777
2009 616,634 490,879 358,312 287,284 552,343 469,652 694,298 410,874 472,510 438,026 622,742 667,109 6,080,663
2010 620,895 619,573 653,475 452,645 605,900 614,973 631,520 616,699 536,567 446,281 400,222 606,572 6,805,322
2011 593,679 446,690 548,707 491,307 465,753 460,855 622,897 583,530 422,129 432,831 446,238 517,114 6,031,730
2012 376,170 337,763 334,409 298,095 260,525 577,384 610,553 502,764 378,085 442,863 418,381 432,627 4,969,619
2013 567,949 531,496 593,101 513,014 432,033 505,748 553,781 521,803 500,792 307,204 426,017 633,144 6,086,082
2014 639,057 484,449 369,030 344,055 189,328 472,005 513,605 515,520 373,732 349,600 393,042 370,052 5,013,475
2015 465,608 493,389 505,775 291,086 259,339 343,160 526,141 508,589 432,888 196,732 82,613 308,315 4,413,635
2016 436,700 421,215 261,864 296,184 306,403 256,090 326,160 286,730 357,051 389,694 306,950 160,711 3,805,752
2017 251,517 322,618 309,688 370,074 298,877 410,675 490,048 415,673 394,701 454,698 240,849 339,992 4,299,410
2018 485,204 331,841 269,895 328,883 157,233 383,160 464,672 494,217 386,278 378,342 416,168 525,243 4,621,136
2019 466,962 386,350 491,544 323,301 332,037 353,328 454,107 429,509 329,435 232,056 264,122 346,266 4,409,017
2020 315,759 281,180 392,146 399,664 358,899 448,163 517,322 404,962 306,624 285,086 141,057 246,418 4,097,280
2021 414,024 461,947 196,119 288,826 404,081 417,938 483,719 575,778 392,163 446,985 301,412 383,852 4,766,844
2022 536,449 412,570 324,267 307,421 402,564 395,610 456,521 422,598 300,466 232,890 3,791,356
2023

Sub-notes:

(1) : Table data reflects electrical generation from all fuels (subbituminous coal, refined coal, distillate fuel oil, and natural gas). Monthly natural gas generation represents on average 1.2% of total generation.

(2) : Major fuel switched from subbituminous coal to refined coal in November 2016

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Electricity Generating Capacity: Existing Electric Generating Units by Energy Source, 2008". U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Wisconsin - Ten Largest Plants by Generating Capacity, 2009" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  3. ^ "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  4. ^ "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
  5. ^ "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-15.

External links edit