COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA —  Coal plants are like dragons: They breathe fire. But instead of burning things to a cinder, they generate electricity.  And one of the largest coal-burning power plants in the U.S. is going up across the Missouri River south of Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Built by MidAmerican Energy, the Council Bluffs Energy Center Unit 4 will generate a huge “fireball” in its massive multi-story boiler.

The extreme heat, created by burning pulverized coal, will turn water into super-pressurized steam to drive a turbine and power generator.

The plant will produce more than enough electricity to power Lincoln, said Lincoln Electric System’s Doug Bantam.

It is rated at 790 megawatts, enough to meet the demand of 650,000 homes. Last summer, Lincoln’s peak load was 750 megawatts.

LES owns 12.6 percent of the plant and is the second-largest partner. The Lincoln-based Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska is also a partner, with 6.6 percent. MidAmerican Energy has the largest share, 60 percent.

Together, 15 utilities will divide electricity from the $1.2 billion project when it starts commercial operation in the summer of 2007.

LES is investing more than a $150 million in the Iowa plant.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Bantam said. “We need additional baseload.”

Coal plants are attractive to utilities because they generate a constant load of power or baseload. Bantam said LES needs a low-cost energy source like a coal plant to meet the city’s growth.

LES will initially receive 50 megawatts from the plant through 2008 and 100 megawatts beginning in 2009.

Like other utilities, LES is struggling with soaring natural gas prices, which drive up the cost of electricity. Coal plants provide a cheaper alternative to burning natural gas or buying power on the wholesale market.

LES also owns about 11 percent of Laramie River Station near Wheatland, Wyo. And it buys power from Gerald Gentleman Station and Sheldon Station, two coal plants owned by the Nebraska Public Power District.

Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska issued about $100 million in revenue bonds to invest in the project, said Bill Leung, its chief operating officer. The agency provides electricity to 60 communities in Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas and Wyoming.

Leung said MEAN began looking for a baseload unit  several years ago and Unit 4 fit the bill. He cited the economics of the project and MidAmerican Energy’s track record in operating reliable plants.

Unit 4 is part of a complex that includes three existing coal plants. The oldest, with a capacity of 43 megawatts, was built in 1954. When Unit 4 is finished, the entire complex, which sits west of Interstate 29, will be able to generate 1,610 megawatts.

Utilities broke ground for the plant in September 2003.  Mitsui & Co. Ltd., a trading firm based in Tokyo, Japan, is the primary contractor. Hitachi supplied the boiler and turbine, which were shipped by barge up the Missouri River.

More than 2,000 people are working on the project, including about 90 Japanese nationals, many of whom are fluent in English. However, translators are used by MidAmerican Energy and many top non-Japanese workers have their names written in Japanese on their hard hats for better communication.

Chad Teply, MidAmerican project manager, said once the more than 28,000 pressure welds in the boiler are tested for leakage, and the more than 4 million feet of electrical wiring is installed, the coal plant will be on its way to commercial operation next year.

The plant will use the best available technology to control nitrogen oxides and particulates, Teply said. It also will burn low-sulfur coal from Wyoming mines, reducing sulfur dioxide emissions.

Air pollution control permits were obtained in consultation with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

 “Unit 4 will be the first coal plant in the U.S. to be permitted with mercury-control technology,” Teply said. “The EPA is interested to see how it works.”

Teply said the plant’s higher operating efficiency will help reduce emissions and cut coal use by 10 percent. He estimates the plant will burn 12,000 tons of coal per day.

While the other three plants on site use Missouri River water, Unit 4 will have its own well field. Each of the six wells will be able to pump 1,750 gallons per minute. The water will is used to cool steam and in emission control equipment.

MidAmerican Energy is also building a 124-mile high-voltage power line to Des Moines, Iowa, to coincide with the project — another plus to LES because it strengthens the regional transmission network.

Said Bantam: “If we could afford to build our own unit, this is what we would do, but we can’t afford to make this kind of investment.”

Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.

A billion dollar plant

Type of power plant: Coal burning

Cost: $1.2 billion

Lincoln Electric’s share: $150 million

Daily coal consumption: 12,000 tons

Location: 4 miles south of Council Bluffs, Iowa, along Missouri River

Developer and operator: MidAmerican Energy

Nebraska partners: Lincoln Electric System, Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska

Generating capacity: 790 megawatts

Source: MidAmerican Energy