February 16, 2012

The Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) has begun the first of several huge “pours” of concrete at its gas-fired power plant project site in REO Town. The structure will also house the BWL’s company headquarters. 

The $182 million REO Town project will be the BWL’s first natural gas-fired facility, generating up to 100 megawatts of electricity.

Steam will also be created in the cogeneration process, serving the BWL’s 225 steam customers in and near downtown Lansing, Michigan. 

In succeeding weeks, caravans of concrete trucks will deposit massive amounts of concrete at the site, for a total of 7,000 cubic yards. In all, the concrete flooring “footprint” will encompass 67,000 square feet, or roughly 1.5 times the square footage of a football field. 

Switching to natural gas will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent, compared to the BWL’s existing coal-fired plant. The coal-fired plant, now more than 50 years old, will be decommissioned once the REO Town facility becomes operational. 

The REO Town cogeneration plant and headquarters are scheduled to open in July 2013. More than 1,000 construction jobs are being created as a result of the project. Once the facility becomes operational, approximately 180 BWL employees will work in the cogeneration plant and company headquarters.