Thermo Power & Electric LLC

Customer

University of Northern Colorado - hot water
Public Service Company of Colorado - electricity

Location

Greeley, Colorado

Capacity

72.5 MW electric
200 kpph steam

Project Description

Primary Energy's Thermo Power & Electric LLC (Primary Energy Thermo) CHP Facility is a 72.5 MW combined heat and power (CHP) plant which serves the University of Northern Colorado. Steam produced by the CHP plant is converted to hot water which serves the district heating needs of the 240 acre campus. Electric output is sold to Public Service of Colorado (PSCo), a wholly owned susidiary of Xcel Energy under a long-term power purchase agreement.

Commercial Operation

1988

Benefits

The Primary Energy Thermo CHP facility provides a substantial portion of UNC's annual hot water requirements. The plant's combustion turbines are steam-injected to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. The production of both useful electricity and thermal energy from the CHP facility has the effect of reducing regional emissions by an average of over 140 tons of NOx, 260 tons of SO2, and 63,000 tons of CO2 per year. In addition, the University and PSCo benefit from both lower energy costs and increased local reliability.