Construction permit details data center power plant operations
SCALE MICROGRIDS
A conceptual rendering shows the view of the entrance of the data center site from U.S. Highway 71.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — A subsidiary of Scale Microgrids filed a construction permit for a natural gas power plant with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources last week, outlining the 600-megawatt facility’s capabilities.
The application was filed by White Cloud Generating, the entity that is developing and will own and operate the power plant located adjacent to the site of the White Cloud Acres data center project south of Maryville. The pollution estimates included in the application are based on the plant’s maximum capacity, but in an email to The Forum on Wednesday, Dan Scheffler, vice president of development at Scale, said the plant will not typically be operating at full capacity.
“The permit application was prepared assuming a transparent and conservative Potential to Emit that establishes the plant’s maximum operating scenario,” Scheffler said. “Actual operations of the plant are anticipated to be variable and result in lower runtime, but in all operating conditions, the plant must comply with the emissions limits in its permit.”
During a community open house in June hosted by Scale, Scheffler said the plant would run an average of 2 to 4 hours per day, which he confirmed is still the plan.
“While the facility is permitted and available to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, actual operations are expected to be significantly lower and will occur only when needed,” Scheffler added.
The data center’s primary source of power will be the utility grid, which Scale has been consistent about since the open house. The power plant will also be connected to the grid and can support Evergy’s needs as requested, Scheffler said, and can be used to power the data center if needed.
The plant itself will primarily use 12 simple-cycle natural gas-fired combustion turbines, according to the application. Scale has said that combined, the data center and the power plant will use about 70,000 gallons of water per day to cool equipment, with most of that used by the power plant for emission control that will result in less air pollution. The company has proposed using wastewater from the city of Maryville for that purpose.
