Ames is still considering whether the city should buy more efficient electric generators at a price tag of $73 million.
The city unveiled plans in 2025 to build the Ames Municipal Energy Center in the current Ames Power Plant coal yard.
The initial price tag was $84 million, but an April report estimated costs to be closer to $192 million, an increase of more than $108 million.
The city plans to use only natural gas at the new facility, replacing the waste-to-energy method used at the current Resource Recovery Center. Ames also plans to build an $18 million solid waste disposal and recycling facility in 2027, and broke ground on April 9.
The power plant at 305 East 3rd Street along the railroad tracks has been burning refuse-derived fuel since 1975. It serves more than 28,000 customers and provides 138 MW of energy in a year
The new plant would be anchored by a trio of Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE) to meet Ames’ growing energy needs.
The Ames City Council held a special meeting on Tuesday, July 21, to hear a staff report on the engines, which will be a high cost for the project.
Staff will bring two proposals to the July 28 council meeting, and with approaching deadlines, wanted council members to feel they had enough time to make a decision, Ames Electric Director Donald Kom said. He did not say what the proposals included.
Ames may award contract for new power plant in July
The validity date for the engines’ cost proposal and the manufacturing slot expires at the end of July, Assistant City Manager Brian Phillips said.
“The timing is critical here,” Phillips said. “If the council is not in a position where it’s comfortable making a decision on this major purchase, we are not guaranteed that we would have the pricing that’s been proposed and the delivery dates that have been proposed.”
A delay may have “significant impacts” for Ames’ meeting its obligatory generating capacity, he said.
RICE engines make up significant project cost
The RICE engines have an estimated cost of $73.3 million.
The city is also eyeing one transformer, expected to cost $4.8 million.
The engines and the transformer represent roughly 40% of the $192 million project, Kom said.
Facility construction is expected to cost $97.3 million.
How will Ames fund its new power plant?
Kom said Ames will establish a bond for the power plant.
He said the city will save money by no longer burning refuse-derived fuel in addition to the new recycling facility in 2027.
The city could implement a 2.5% annual utility rate increase for the next 18 years, through Fiscal Year 2043-44, followed by a 1.5% annual rate increase through Fiscal Year 2056-57, to help fund the project.
Ames wants more efficient generators
Ames has only two natural gas-firing generators in operation, built in 1967 and 1982, both of which have exceeded their typical 30-year life span.
The oldest, Unit 7, provides about 33 megawatts of energy for the city, while Unit 8 produces 65 megawatts.
The city also owns and operates two combustion turbine peaking units, one mile east of the plant. They generate an additional 45 MW of energy.
Ames Electric plans to replace the natural gas-fired generators at the new facility with the three reciprocating internal combustion engines. Though the new generators also use natural gas, RICE units burn less fuel while generating the same amount of energy, helping the city reduce its carbon footprint.
The new generators are expected to produce 108 megawatts of energy compared to 98 megawatts produced by the two current generators.
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: July deadline puts Ames’ $73 million generator decision in focus
Reporting by Celia Brocker, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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By Celia Brocker, Ames Tribune | USA TODAY Network
