Surfus
Jun 08, 2007, 06:23 AM
Blast causes $20m in damage to Madera Power plant
By Jeff St. John and Louis Galvan / The Fresno Bee
<!--/STORYHEADLINE--> <!--STORYBODY--> 06/08/07 04:53:49
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<!-- no poll to display --> <!-- no related content to display --> <!-- no related content to display --> <!-- END /pubsys/assets/common/related_content.comp --> Madera Power, a biomass plant just east of Firebaugh, was shut down Thursday morning after an explosion and fire Wednesday night caused an estimated $20 million in damage to the plant, Madera County Fire Department officials reported.Three employees were in the plant when the explosion occurred shortly after 8:30 p.m., but no one was injured, Mark De Castro, plant engineer, said Thursday.
De Castro said it was too early to say when the 24-megawatt power plant, which burns about 750 tons per day of fuels including almond tree cuttings, rice straw, wheat straw, cotton stalks and urban demolition waste, would be able to reopen.
But the plant's shutdown shouldn't have any immediate impact on power supplies throughout the central San Joaquin Valley, said Pacific Gas & Electric Co. spokesman Jeff Smith.
"If during the summer there are high temperatures and we get to a point where there is insufficient supply to meet demand, it could have an impact at that point," he said.
But "there shouldn't be an immediate impact."
Farmers also are unlikely to have their agriculture waste disposal operations affected by the plant's closure, said Liz Hudson, outreach director for the Fresno County Farm Bureau.
More story
http://www.fresnobee.com/business/v-printerfriendly/story/52484.html
By Jeff St. John and Louis Galvan / The Fresno Bee
<!--/STORYHEADLINE--> <!--STORYBODY--> 06/08/07 04:53:49
<!-- START /pubsys/assets/common/related_content.comp --> <!-- no related content to display --> <!-- no related content to display --> <!-- no gallery to display --> <!-- no PDFs to display --> <!-- no related content to display -->
<!-- no poll to display --> <!-- no related content to display --> <!-- no related content to display --> <!-- END /pubsys/assets/common/related_content.comp --> Madera Power, a biomass plant just east of Firebaugh, was shut down Thursday morning after an explosion and fire Wednesday night caused an estimated $20 million in damage to the plant, Madera County Fire Department officials reported.Three employees were in the plant when the explosion occurred shortly after 8:30 p.m., but no one was injured, Mark De Castro, plant engineer, said Thursday.
De Castro said it was too early to say when the 24-megawatt power plant, which burns about 750 tons per day of fuels including almond tree cuttings, rice straw, wheat straw, cotton stalks and urban demolition waste, would be able to reopen.
But the plant's shutdown shouldn't have any immediate impact on power supplies throughout the central San Joaquin Valley, said Pacific Gas & Electric Co. spokesman Jeff Smith.
"If during the summer there are high temperatures and we get to a point where there is insufficient supply to meet demand, it could have an impact at that point," he said.
But "there shouldn't be an immediate impact."
Farmers also are unlikely to have their agriculture waste disposal operations affected by the plant's closure, said Liz Hudson, outreach director for the Fresno County Farm Bureau.
More story
http://www.fresnobee.com/business/v-printerfriendly/story/52484.html