News

The team at ReEnergy Black River celebrated a safety milestone today – five years without a recordable injury or lost-time accident.

“The Black River team is vigilant and remarkably focused on health and safety,” said Facility Manager Peter Lister. “The operation of this facility is complex and the work carries risk, so it is imperative that the team has a high-performance mindset. The employees are empowered to pause work if necessary, and to report concerns and work together to investigate and adapt. This diligent commitment to continuous learning environment is critical to our success.”

Lister said the facility runs a robust safety program that includes a lockout/tagout program for maintenance activities, behavior-based safety observations, safety communication notices, risk assessment and mitigation, monthly inspections and an incentive compensation system.

Lister plans to give each employee a cooler to show his appreciation for their commitment to safety.

ReEnergy Black River employs 32 employees who monitor the distributed control system from a centralized control room and oversee fuel intake and processing, facility and equipment maintenance, administrative tasks and shift supervision. The facility operates three Ahlstrom/Pyropower circulating fluidized bed boilers and a 61-MW Dresser-Rand Condensing Steam Turbine and EM Generator, in addition to two truck dumping stations, a fuel yard, a fuel conveyor belt system, a cooling tower and an electrical switchyard. The facility itself is nine stories tall and 30,200 square feet in size.

The facility is capable of producing approximately 400,000 megawatt-hours of electricity each year, which enough to supply 100% of Fort Drum’s current and anticipated future electricity demand in addition to excess power to the region’s electrical grid for sale to homes and industries. The on-site capacity of the fuel storage area at Fort Drum is approximately 28,000 tons, which is sufficient for 32.5 days of operations if the Black River facility is operating in an island mode and supplying electricity only to Fort Drum at its maximum 28-MW load.