Chouteau Power Plant

Chouteau leads fleet to meet member needs

Recognized nationally for its low emissions and efficient performance, Chouteau Power Plant is a combined-cycle, natural gas plant with the capacity to provide 1,062 megawatts to member systems.

The power plant is located in northeastern Oklahoma on 22 acres inside the MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor. The first unit began operation in July 2000. In 2002, the Chouteau Power Plant was recognized among the top 20 combined-cycle plants in the country for low emissions and efficient performance.

A sister unit, the 540-MW Chouteau 2 project, was completed in June 2011 adjacent to the first units.

Natural gas is supplied to the plant from a connection on a high-pressure mainline running through plant property. A 161-kV substation connects and transmits power generated by the plant to the integrated transmission system of KAMO Power, one of Associated Electric Cooperative’s six member-owners.

Under contract and Associated Electric’s direction, Siemens provides daily operation and maintenance of the unit. Because the plant is highly automated, about 34 skilled Siemens employees operate and maintain it.

The Chouteau Power Plant has greater efficiency than a simple-cycle combustion turbine unit because it employs both a steam turbine and a combustion turbine to power the generator.

Chouteau features four heat-recovery steam generators, each measuring about 70 feet by 100 feet, that capture exhaust heat to power a steam turbine. In contrast, hot exhaust from the gas turbine is vented to the atmosphere on a simple-cycle plant.

At Chouteau, exhaust heat enters the HRSG, or boiler, at about 1,085 degrees Fahrenheit and moves through the structure, heating tubes of water to create steam to power the steam turbine, which turns the generator to produce electricity. Afterward, the exhaust is vented from the stack at about 200 degrees.

This heat-recovery system increases the efficiency of the unit to 58 percent, compared with 33 percent efficiency of a simple-cycle plant.

Operating at full load, the plant burns roughly 86 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Its emissions are among the lowest in the state.

Chouteau Power Plant: an awarding-winning plant

2012 – Chouteau 2 combined-cycle, natural gas unit received the 2012 Excellence in Construction Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors South Texas Chapter.

Construction of the plant was completed under budget and ahead of schedule in June 2011. Its first-year performance also was remarkable with reliability and availability in the high 90th percentile.