Essar Steel Algoma of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, successfully started up a new 70,000-MW cogeneration facility. A final performance test on June 13 confirmed the facility meets all necessary operating standards as required by the Ontario Power Authority. The facility converts by-product fuels from the coke-making and iron-making processes into electricity and steam for the steelworks. It features two 375,000-pound/hour boilers and a 105-MW turbine combined with other related components, including: a generator, blast-furnace gas holder, condensate and feed-water systems, water treatment plant, cooling tower, transformer and distributed control system.

The facility reduces Essar Steel Algoma’s reliance on the provincial power grid by 50% on average, freeing up this capacity for the rest of Ontario. By employing low-NOx burner technology and by eliminating the need to flare by-product fuel, the facility will reduce the company’s nitrous oxide emissions by 15%. Essar is the first integrated steel manufacturer in Canada to construct a cogeneration facility fueled with by-product gas from the operation.