Holcomb Station
Holcomb Station was built to ensure a reliable source of electric power for western Kansas. After design approval from the Kansas Corporation Commission and the federal Rural Utilities Service, site preparation started in May 1980. The plant became operational August 16, 1983. The total cost of plant construction was approximately $465 million.
OPERATION
Holcomb Station burns low-sulfur coal mined in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. The coal, more than 1.5 million tons a year, is shipped to the plant by rail. The coal is tested and stockpiled, then ground into a fine powder and burned in a furnace. Water circulates inside tubes in the boiler walls, and the intense heat of the burning coal converts the water to steam. The high-pressure steam is directed into the turbine, causing it to rotate at high speed, turning the generator that produces the electric power. Sunflower’s transmission network carries the electricity to its member cooperatives and to non-member power customers. Sunflower uses this unit as their base-load generation source.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS
Protecting the environment is a top priority for Sunflower. Holcomb Station is equipped with extensive water and air quality control systems that represented ‘about a fourth of the original cost of constructing the plant. Our skilled operators use this equipment to regulate the processing and disposal of waste products associated with the plant’s operation. Sunflower spends about a million dollars a year to operate these environmental controls.
WATER QUALITY
Holcomb Station is a “zero discharge” plant. Wastewater flows into lined storage basins that prevent leakage into the ground water. The wastewater is processed through treatment units, and the treated water is recycled through the plant.
AIR QUALITY
Holcomb Station uses a “dry scrubber” sulfur dioxide removal system that involves spraying alkaline slurry into the coal combustion exhaust products. The slurry mixture creates a chemical reaction that forms solid particles that are collected and conveyed to the solid-waste processing building. The treated exhaust exits through the boiler chimney, where it is constantly monitored to ensure compliance with strict environmental rules.
HOLCOMB TOURS
Holcomb Station is a man-made marvel without peer in western Kansas. The 71,000-square-foot main building climbs 232 feet above the gently rolling plains, and the boiler chimney soars to a breathtaking 474 feet. The imposing presence of Holcomb Station dominates the horizon for miles in every direction, capturing the imagination of all who look its way.
People need not be satisfied with looking from a distance, however. They are welcome to visit the 360-megawatt, coal-fired generating station. The employees of Holcomb Station are eager to show off their technically advanced, amazingly clean and environmentally safe facility to students, civic organizations, families, and other interested groups or individuals to schedule a tour, call Holcomb Station at (620) 277-2590.