Power Facilities
To serve the citizens of Rochester, RPU operates several power production stations and transmission and distribution lines. The production facilities all produce power using different methods, so RPU’s power supply plan includes a varied approached to providing electricity to our customers.
RPU, as a municipal utility, serves customers within the city limits of Rochester.
Click here to view our videoGeneration Facilities – Silver Lake Plant (SLP)
SLP is a 100-megawatt, coal-fired generating facility. The four boiler/turbine/generator units vary in age and size ranging from Unit #1 at 7.5 MW (1947) to Unit #4 rated at 55 MW (1969). Pulverized bituminous coal is the primary fuel, and it is supported by natural gas. Approximately 50 employees staff SLP. Those employees also operate the other generating facilities.
Cascade Creek Combustion Turbines (CCCT)
The two CCCT combustion turbines have a combined rating of 83 megawatts. These units resemble a jet aircraft engine coupled to a generator. The combustion turbines are capable of both local and remote operation and can provide power to the RPU grid within just a few minutes (compared to several hours required by steam boiler systems).
Lake Zumbro Hydroelectric Plant (Hydro)
Built in 1920, the hydro has consistently provided the City of Rochester with a renewable supply of energy. The facility consists of a powerhouse and a 440-foot spillway built across the Zumbro River. The General Electric generators are driven at 225 revolutions per minute by 1800-horsepower, Francis-type hydraulic turbines. This equates to approximately 1300 kilowatts per wheel, which rates the station at an output of 2.6 megawatts.
System Facts (2010 Engineering & Operations Report)
