Prairie State Energy Campus

Prairie State 1,600 MW Generation Station

In 2007 the City of Batavia, along with the communities of Geneva and Rochelle, authorized the Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency, or NIMPA, to purchase a 7.6% ownership share of the Prairie State Energy Campus, or PSEC, which is in Washington County, Illinois. PSEC is a technologically advanced coal-fired electric generation facility, consisting of two generating units capable of aggregately producing approximately 1,600 megawatts of power. 

PSEC serves consumer-owned electric cooperatives and municipal utilities across five states. The plant was constructed between 2007 and 2012 and featured the best available emissions control technologies which made it one of the cleanest coal-fueled power plants in the United States based on EPA emissions regulations in place at the time. PSEC emissions are less than half the average of regulated emission rates when compared to all U.S. coal plants. In addition, the supercritical high-efficiency design of the plant results in carbon dioxide emission rates that are lower than typical coal plants across the country when measured on a per megawatt-hour basis. Mercury emissions meet Illinois environmental regulations, which are amongst the strictest requirements in the nation. Advanced scrubbing systems provide one of the highest sulfur dioxide removal rates of any permitted coal-fired generating facility. Annual nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emission rates are less than one-third the average annual emission rates for U.S. electric power generation facilities. Approximately 98% of sulfur dioxide, 99% of fine particulates, and 80% of nitrogen oxide are removed. 

PSEC is what’s known as a mine-mouth facility and is served exclusively with coal from a mine located on the campus. Being a mine-mouth facility provides additional benefits in the form of eliminating nearly 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year that are typically associated with the transport of coal from distant locations. For more information on PSEC, visit www.prairiestateenergycampus.com.