In 2022, Great River Energy (GRE) sought to add a backup fuel for their existing combustion turbine to mitigate periods of time when the unit’s operation may be limited due to reduced natural gas supply. Barr supported GRE in their work to add diesel fuel firing capability to their combustion turbine, completing the civil engineering design for the dual fuel work-up and providing air permitting and environmental services. Our team assisted GRE in modifying the facility’s air quality operating permit to accommodate the change, as well as preparing the draft Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) requested by the Public Utilities Commission.
Barr’s work with GRE’s generating unit dates back more than a decade. In 2009, we helped GRE obtain regulatory approvals when the gas-fired, simple-cycle, combustion-turbine peaking facility was originally built in Cambridge, Minnesota. In addition to site permits from the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, a federal environmental review process was mandated because it would be partially funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service. Barr assisted GRE with the submittals and public meetings required by the Environmental Quality Board and Rural Utilities Service and helped prepare the EAW for the scoping process. In addition, we prepared applications for state air-quality and NPDES wastewater-discharge permits.
(Photo above is a stock image)