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The host site for this repowering evaluation is Nebraska Public Power District’s Sheldon steam generating station, shown in the photo below.

The Sheldon station is a coal-fired electric generating station located near Hallam, Nebraska, about 25 miles south of Lincoln. The plant was constructed between 1958 and 1963 as an experimental nuclear power plant for the Atomic Energy Commission. After the Commission (today known as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission) acquired the information it needed, the nuclear portion of the facility was decommissioned and the equipment and parts were sent to other nuclear plants or disposal sites. What could not be moved was sealed and buried in large vaults beneath the earth's surface at the plant.

Today, Sheldon Station's two boilers can generate 225,000 kilowatts of electricity.  There are two coal-fired steam units at this site. Unit 1, commissioned in 1961, is a 108,800 kW output unit.  Unit 2, commissioned in 1965, is a 119,000 kW output unit.

Two Repowering Studies:  APFBC and GFBCC

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is supporting the evaluation of two concept assessments for new ways to get more electricity from an existing electric plant.  The two methods would each evaluate how the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) might add new Combustion Systems equipment to their Sheldon generating station.  The efficient new equipment continues the use of coal there, increases output, significantly reduces pollution, all while lowering electricity production costs. These two studies are feasibility studies only, and no actual construction is planned at the Hallam, Nebraska site, about 25 miles south of Lincoln.

• The first new way of getting more electricity from an existing generating station has a long technical name that goes by the abbreviation "APFBC," which stands for "advanced circulating pressurized fluidized-bed combustion combined cycle."  APFBC adds equipment that allows jet engines to run safely on coal.  The jets are added to the site, giving more electricity, which reduces the amount of energy wasted.

APFBC is under development by industry and the DOE, and is now being tested at DOE’s Power System Development Facility in Wilsonville, Alabama. CLICK HERE to find out more about repowering the Sheldon Station with APFBC.

• A second study would repower Unit 1 and Unit 2 with gasification fluidized-bed combined cycle technology (GFBCC). CLICK HERE to find out more about repowering the Sheldon Station with GFBCC.