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Arizona OKs 10-unit fast-ramping gas-fired project for Tucson Electric Power

Arizona utility regulators approved Tucson Electric Power Co.'s 200-MW internal combustion engine generation project, which the utility said is needed to balance the increasing amounts of solar and wind generation coming onto its system.

The Arizona Corporation Commission on March 13 authorized the Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine, or RICE, generation project following the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee's Jan. 25 approval of a certificate of environmental compatibility for the facility. Under state law, the commission must confirm, deny or modify the certificate granted by the committee.

Tucson Electric Power's, or TEP's, $180 million project also has been referred to as the Sundt Generation Modernization Project because it will be built near Fortis Inc. subsidiary TEP's H. Wilson Sundt Generating Station in Pima County, Ariz., and will replace aging steam generators at Sundt Units 1 and 2.

The RICE project will consist of 10 natural gas-fired generating units of about 20 MW each. The engines will use pistons and accordingly will be able to ramp up or down about two to three times faster than those using turbines. That ability makes them particularly well suited to compensating for the frequent changes in power production associated with wind and solar resources and satisfying peak demand, TEP said in its permit application.

The RICE engines will be able to reliably produce power even at high temperatures and reduce total water consumption by more than 70% compared to gas-fired turbines because they will use a closed radiator system rather than cooling towers. TEP already owns the site and water wells for the project.

TEP said it will continue to expand its portfolio of renewable energy resources as part of its overall resource diversification plan as well as to meet its targeted goal of serving 30% of retail load with renewable energy by 2030. However, the utility said it currently does not have sufficient ramping capacity to meet increased variances in energy production associated with adding more solar and wind generation.

Construction on the first five RICE units is planned to start April 2, according to the company. Those units are expected to be placed into service by June 1, 2019, with the second set of five units scheduled to become operational in the first quarter of 2020. Wärtsilä Corp. will supply the engines and provide engineering services.