The Rio Bravo Rocklin biomass power plant was named a top renewable power plant by POWER magazine, an energy industry publication.
The Rocklin plant is owned by Constellation Energy, based in Baltimore, and Denver-based North American Power Group Ltd.
The plant, which burns about 240,000 tons of wood waste annually, was recognized for its recent turnaround.
“By 2008, the 19-year-old wood-fired Rio Bravo Rocklin Power Station’s operating performance had been significantly degraded by boiler erosion and corrosion caused by (among many other problems) poor fuel,” Power magazine said. “After much consideration, the plant owners elected to invest in a comprehensive upgrade to restore the plant to its as-built performance. Today, the plant operates very reliably. A newly implemented predictive maintenance program should continue to drive down operating costs and further reduce the number of forced outages.”
Constellation and North American Power Group in 2008 invested $14 million in the plant to refurbish its boiler. The plant produces 25 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power more than 10,000 homes. The power is sold to Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Rio Bravo Rocklin is one of 50 biomass plants in California
