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Antelope Station Groundbreaking

Antelope Station

I had the honor of sharing the stage with Mark Schwirtz, general manager of Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, at the Antelope Station Groundbreaking ceremony on May 27. We held the festivities on the Abernathy build site, just north of the town, with the construction office and dirt-working equipment already on site.

We were glad to have Darrell Stephens, Abernathy Mayor, Dwain Dodson, Hale County Judge and Joe Heflin, District 85 Representative, as part of the groundbreaking ceremony. Many other Abernathy locals were on hand to help us welcome this new facility named after the school mascot—the Antelope.

Just to remind you about this project—it will be owned and operated by one of our wholesale power providers, Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, for the benefit of its 16 member distribution cooperatives. Antelope Station is a gas-fired power plant capable of generating about 170 megawatts, enough new capacity to meet the peak load requirements of 55,000 homes. It’s expected to achieve commercial operation in early 2011.

Golden Spread will install 18 nine-megawatt reciprocating engine-generator sets. A primary reason for choosing this technology is its “quick start” capability. The engines are designed to achieve full operation in less than 10 minutes. Traditional gas-fired generation can take from one to four hours to start. The growing summer electricity demand and the large amount of wind generation that is locating in the Panhandle and South Plains drove Golden Spread’s choice of quick-start generation technology. Wind generation output varies based upon wind speed. Reductions in wind generation output must be offset immediately by a corresponding increase in output by other generators. Quick-start generation works well in meeting this type of electric requirement. The new units also are fuel efficient and use almost no water. Additionally, by adding 18 separate units, Golden Spread reduces its risk from unit failures.

Antelope Station will create as many as 15 permanent jobs in its initial phase, with the potential for additional permanent positions if the facility grows. Golden Spread’s decision to locate Antelope Station in Hale County was influenced by the location of existing electrical and natural gas infrastructure and Hale County’s grant of certain tax incentives to the project. We are proud to help bring economic growth to a small town in our area.

South Plains Electric Cooperative is the largest of the 16 member-owners of Golden Spread and I take my responsibilities as Golden Spread’s board chairman very seriously. We have the same goals at the Golden Spread wholesale level as we have at the South Plains retail level—to provide low-cost, reliable electric service for all members.

We are committed to taking bold steps for the best interest of our members into the future. Being directly involved in securing future wholesale power supply is an important part of our commitment to you.