Special to The Hays Daily News

The Goodman Energy Center, recently constructed by Midwest Energy, has been named one of the six top innovative natural gas-fired plants in the world, according to Power Magazine.  

The power plant is featured in the magazine's September issue. Recognition of the Goodman Energy Center puts the plant in company with natural-gas fired power plants from Nevada, Minnesota, Italy, Canada and the Netherlands.

"A lot of people worked very hard to develop this facility, and to make it as efficient, flexible and reliable as possible," said Bill Dowling, Midwest Energy's vice president of energy management and supply. "We're very pleased to have been recognized by our industry peers."

The 76-megawatt Goodman Energy Center, which went online last summer, provides peak load capacity and system reliability support for central Kansas. The facility is powered by nine 8.4-megawatt Wartsila natural gas-fired engines equipped with selective catalytic reduction technology to meet stringent regulations for flue gas emissions.

The Wartsila engines widely are recognized for delivering outstanding heat rate efficiency at all loads, plus the ability to provide 25 percent power within two minutes and to reach full plant output within 10 minutes. Wartsila's flexible power generating units are considered state-of-the-art for providing rapid response to a full range of grid conditions and employ a closed-loop cooling system that does not consume process water or require wastewater treatment or disposal.

In an effort to minimize its impact on the local environment, the plant design included the use of transformers that are filled with vegetable oil rather than petroleum-based oil, and crushed recycled concrete was used as a fill and road surfacing material rather than crushed rock from a quarry.

Kansas City-based Burns & McDonnell provided engineering design, procurement and construction services for the plant.