The bulk of the utility’s output is used for agriculture. "MID’s load can vary from 350 MW to 600 MW on any given summer day," Salyer said. "There are a lot of canneries in the summer, and air conditioning increases the demand for power in the hot afternoons." The utility’s largest customer is the E&J Gallo winery, which uses 40 MW of power. The district also includes the city of Modesto with a population of about 200,000.

"Modesto is driven by agriculture," Salyer explained. As a result, energy needs increase with agricultural output. "Our load keeps increasing three to five percent each year. We’ve never seen it drop off."

In addition to agriculture, the number of residential units is increasing. "A lot of roof tops are going up," said Colin McRae, project manager for PB Power Inc. in San Francisco. The power division of the venerable architect/engineering firm of Parsons Brinckerhoff in New York is the design engineer for the new MID power plant. He noted that high housing prices in the San Francisco area are driving new housing demands in the Modesto area.

"The decision to expand generating capacity was not a knee-jerk reaction to the California energy crisis," McRae explained. "MID went through a very organized process, not reacting to energy crises, which is the right way to do things."

Despite planning before the energy crisis, MID got hit pretty hard," Salyer recalled. "We like to be more in control of our own destiny."

Based on increased demand and the prospect of continued growth, the Modesto Irrigation District Board of Directors authorized the expansion before the crisis hit California. Bids were requested in the spring of 2001. Five companies responded in addition to Dresser-Rand.

"We had a pre-qualified list of potential suppliers for the competitive bidding process," Salyer recalled. "We looked at power output and Dresser-Rand had the greatest output for steam conditions. And Dresser-Rand has a good reputation for manufacturing a hardy piece of equipment." He expects this to play a role in limiting downtime after startup.

"Dresser-Rand on an evaluated basis was the lowest cost," McRae said. "It’s the purchase price combined with the power output evaluation. It ultimately comes down to the kilowatt cost to the client."

The PB Power plan called for a boiler with a duct burner to increase steam production on demand. The combustion turbine would produce 48 MW with enough waste energy to make an additional 13 MW, roughly 27 percent more power with the combined steam turbine. "That gives us about 60 MW of base load power without duct burning."

Typically the plant would operate at around 60 MW throughout most of the day. At noon, when high summer usage kicks in, the heat recovery steam generator duct burner – which is part of the boiler – is fired, adding 20 MW of plant net power output. (The steam turbine is actually rated at 37 MW with the duct burner fully fired.) This brings the total to 80 MW. "The duct burner is an easy, fast way to produce more steam," McRae added.

"In this size range, Dresser-Rand has a very attractive turbine package," he said.

Bender, Dresser-Rand’s project development manager, said that the power market is a growth market for steam turbines. "We’re trying to position ourselves as the vendor of choice, and California is a high priority for us because of the energy needs here."

Much of the power to be generated by MID’s Woodland Generation Facility will be used by agricultural customers in California’s wine region.