The Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant consists of dual
natural gas fired turbines and a single steam turbine run by exhaust heat from the gas turbines in a
combined cycle
A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...
configuration that generates 540
megawatts (MW) of electricity.
The facility is located near
Horseshoe Bay in
Llano County, Texas,
United States. It is owned and operated by the
Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and was named for Thomas C. Ferguson, a member of LCRA's first Board of Directors. Cooling water is provided by
Lake LBJ, a
freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
reservoir created by
Wirtz Dam
Wirtz Dam (formerly Granite Shoals Dam) was constructed from 1949 to 1951 to provide hydroelectric power and to form Lake Lyndon B. Johnson (formerly Lake Granite Shoals), one of the Texas Highland Lakes. Lake LBJ ‒ as it is more commonly refe ...
.
The LCRA broke ground in April 2012 on the plant to replace the existing single-unit natural gas fired 420 megawatt turbine completed in 1974.
Fluor Corporation was the general contractor on the Ferguson Replacement Project. The LCRA dedicated the new $500 million facility, which is 35% more efficient, in October 2014.
During its last years, the original generator only operated during periods of peak demand or when other utilities needed reserve or emergency power. It stopped operating in September 2013 and was dismantled.
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See also
* List of power stations in Texas
References
External links
Lower Colorado River Authority page for the Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant
Energy infrastructure completed in 2014
Natural gas-fired power stations in Texas
Buildings and structures in Llano County, Texas
Lower Colorado River Authority
2014 establishments in Texas
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