Sam O. Purdom Generating Station
The
City of Tallahassee has been in the power generation business since 1902,
when a small generating plant was built to provide power to 92 street lamps
the city bought to replace existing gas lights. A major advantage of a
publicly-owned power system is that revenues from generation and sale of
electric power can be used to pay a part of the cost of providing government
services to the community.
A True State-of-the-Art Power Plant
Originally built in 1952, the Purdom Power Plant received a major renovation in 2000. Two of the plant's three boilers and steam turbines were retired and an all-new "combined- cycle" system was constructed that uses state-of-the-art technology to generate power at a rate 30% more efficient than older generating systems.
Traditional power plants burn fuel to heat water into steam, which is then used to spin a turbine connected to a power generator. Purdom Unit 8 uses a system called Combined Cycle Technology, which effectively uses the energy from the burned fuel twice.
The plant is located on 63 acres of land adjacent to the Saint Marks River in Wakulla County. Considered a medium-sized power generating facility, the Purdom Plant is capable of generating up to 320 megawatts of power when local electricity demand requires it. The plant operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year under the constant supervision of an expert team of engineers and operators who monitor the plant's efficiency and environmental characteristics.
The plant's new combined-cycle Unit 8 uses the same amount of fuel to power two generators instead of only one. Cooling towers remove heat from the plant's cooling water and vent it into the air as steam.
Extra Technology for Environmental Protection
Protection of North Florida's beautiful environment is a prime concern of Your Own Utilities and the employees of the Purdom Power Plant. The plant's primary fuel source – natural gas – is the cleanest-burning available fossil fuel, so emissions from the plant's stacks are well below all federal and state clean air standards. An important feature of the plant's advanced Combined Cycle generating system is a component known as "Zero-Discharge Technology." This technology allows the Purdom facility to reduce its dependence on river water through recycling treated effluent from the City of St. Marks wastewater treatment plant and a local industrial facility.
In addition, it eliminates the discharge of any water from Unit 8. Special technology is used to clean and reuse the water, so there is no liquid discharge into the St, Marks River. Though the plant would be in full compliance with all environmental regulations even without zero-discharge technology, it was installed to assure the lowest possible impact on the surrounding environment.