Keephills 3 Update
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Building community connections August 2010 Kilowatt Connection. Aerial view of the construction progress of the Air Quality Control System at K3. Keephills 3 Update Traffic and Road Construction at Keephills 3 (K3) is approximately 90 per cent complete and the focus has now turned to Safety training and commissioning. Keephills 3 - Once complete, K3 will be one of Canada’s most Construction Traffic Schedule advanced coal-fired plants. As a pioneer facility in the The majority of the K3 construction traffic travels industry, new training methods must be developed to west to the site in the morning and travels east from ensure all employees can operate new technology and the site in the afternoon. Maximum traffic flows are equipment safely and effectively. 15 – 20 minutes in duration. The following outlines the peak flow traffic times. This information is The initial focus of training at K3 was safety, including provided so that residents may avoid use of the noted the specific training required for safe access to a highways at peak times (if possible) to reduce travel construction site. An example of one portion of this time delays due to traffic volume. We anticipate training is the Construction Safety Training System traffic volume to steadily decrease over the coming (CSTS) which is a computer-based course created by months as fewer workers are required onsite. the Alberta Construction Safety Association (ACSA) that provides instruction and examination on various Monday – Monday – Friday (p.m.) health and safety topics. materials, training modules and video footage Friday (a.m.) Thursday 3:25 p.m. – compiled during the current training efforts. As the construction phase nears completion, the focus 6:30 a.m. - 7 (p.m.) 3:45 p.m. of training is shifting to equipment and operations. Commissioning Status Update a.m. 5:25 p.m. – Eastbound on 5:45 p.m. Both hands-on and classroom training methods are Commissioning includes the steps or stages of bringing Westbound on Hwy 627 being used. systems online until K3 is fully operational. At this point Hwy 627 Eastbound on – exit site via “Along the way, we are capturing the learnings for commissioning is about six per cent complete. As new – enter site via Hwy 627 RR40 future training use by documenting what we systems come online new safety and environmental RR40 – exit site via experience, by utilizing vendors’ training manuals and processes must be created and validated. RR40 presentation software, and where possible, by “Right now the water systems are coming online,” TransAlta and Capital Power monitor employee and videotaping commissioning activities and classroom explains Bryan Wilson, environmental technician for K3. contractor driving behaviours on roads and highways training,” says Lorne Shewfelt, training and The focus is on the safe introduction of chemicals into that access the K3 site. To help ensure a high standard commissioning lead at K3. the water treatment plant and cooling tower systems. of safety, residents are encouraged to phone the K3 In addition to these training efforts, control room Environmental control is being upped by introducing Stakeholder Hotline at 1-877-636-7823 if they simulations are being conducted using the Distributed new systems such as mercury capture, witness unsafe or aggressive driving practices. Control System (DCS) and operations and desulphurization (SOx), particulate capture and burner Bus use by workers continues to increase and maintenance staff are shadowing their counterparts at technology to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are currently 17 busses transport almost 50 per cent of Genesee 3, which is the first operating coal plant in major contributors to atmospheric pollution. These the 1,600 workers to and from site each day. Canada to use supercritical boiler technology, which technologies are a new development to TransAlta’s will be used at K3. coal-fired plants and they strive to minimize the An established training program is being created at K3 environmental pollutants emitted during the for future operators. This program will use the written generation of power from coal. www.transalta.com Building community connections U of A Archaeology Project Helping Paul First Nation Situated adjacent to the Highvale Mine, near Fight Wildfires Lake Wabamun, is a treed ridge with a commanding view of the surrounding area. The ridge was frequented by First Nations from the end of the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago. TransAlta owns the land which is part of the Highvale mine. Early testing indicated this was a site of historical significance, rich in stone artifacts such as stone tools and tool-making items and projectile heads. “This rich archaeological site was identified during a historical artifacts study - an activity performed prior to any disturbance by mining,” said Rod Kause, A Paul First Nation elder performs a director of corporate environment, health ceremony honouring the archaelogical site and safety. When the Paul First Nation was hit by several large grass and brush fires, TransAlta was there to help out this important neighbour. TransAlta has since set the site aside and has been working with the Government of Alberta and the University of Alberta to ensure the site is properly preserved with findings We worked closely with the Nation to determine how we could help reduce the burden documented. of fighting the fires. One of the Nation’s biggest issues was the limited access that firefighters had to nearby water sources. Paul First Nation recently honoured the archaeological site by performing a ceremony, naming the site Ahai-Mneh (roughly pronounced “ah-him-neh”) and by presenting a “They were accessing water from their reservoir, which was costing them valuable feast in honour of the ancestors who once occupied the site. The name means shallow firefighting time,” said Rod Kause, director of corporate environment health & safety. water lake, referring to a large lake that was once situated near the site. “We had water and equipment, so we jumped in to support efforts where we could.” “The ceremony was performed by a female elder of the band,” explains Janet Janvier, Working with Prairie Mine and Royalty (PMRL) – the contract mining company that Aboriginal relations advisor. “Because women were traditionally in charge of the home works with us at the Highvale mine - we provided water haulers, with hauling being and the camp, the naming ceremony was led by the female elders as part of their role done by Keephills Contracting. We also provided pumps and set up pump stations near within the band.” affected areas to get water to firefighters. Present at the naming ceremony were representatives from TransAlta, Paul First Nation, Within a few days of the fires starting, they were squelched and most evacuated and staff and students of the University of Alberta’s archaeological department who will residents were allowed to start returning home. be excavating and documenting the artifacts found at the site. Under the direction of Professor Jack Ives, executive director of the Institute of Prairie Archaeology at the University of Alberta, some 20 students will work until mid-June learning about field excavation and receiving their archaeology field certification. Open House Following the field work, which is expected to take about five weeks to complete, there Learn more about our operations and upcoming projects! will be a period of interpretation, and documentation of the site findings by the students. September 16, 2010 Keephills Community Hall Once complete, the archeological reports will be shared with the Paul First Nation and 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm 15A-51515 Rge Rd 32A TransAlta, and the artifacts will eventually find a permanent home at the Alberta Provincial Museum. Project Pioneer: How Will it Work? Project Pioneer is among the world’s In enhanced oil largest fully-integrated carbon recovery (EOR) capture and storage (CCS) initiatives the pipeline safely and efficiently in the power sector. TransAlta has transports partnered with industry leaders for liquefied CO to 2 Project Pioneer which aims to reduce enhanced oil recovery wells approximately 1 million tonnes of where it is CO2 emissions per year – the annual injected into equivalent of taking 160,000 cars off selected well sites to stimulate the road. further production Preliminary environmental, engineering and design work of oil from existing for this project is underway and recently representatives oil fields. Injection have been out in the community discussing the proposed of CO2 into Project Pioneer CO2 transportation pipeline for enhanced maturing oilfields oil recovery (EOR) in the Pembina Oilfield. increases oil production and at On September 16, 2010 at TransAlta’s open house for the the same time Lake Wabamum community, the project team will be provides a available to provide information and respond to questions significant about Project Pioneer, CCS, EOR and our upcoming environmental consultation program. This open house will be the first of benefit as it many opportunities to provide feedback on the project permanently plan leading up to our application to the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board expected in August 2011. stores CO2 underground, Further information about the project or upcoming events rather than can be found at projectpioneer.ca or by emailing info@ CCS is a safe, tested and effective technology to prevent greenhouse emitting into the projectpioneer.ca. gases from entering the atmosphere. A number of projects have already atmosphere. demonstrated that with proper site selection, design and management, CO2 can be successfully stored for many years. Building community connections Town Hall meeting provides dialogue for Lake Wabamum community On July 7, 2010 TransAlta hosted approximately 40 members of the Lake Wabamum community to share information and address concerns about the Highvale Mine. Located about 70 kilometres west of Edmonton, the Highvale Mine is one of three TransAlta-owned New Dragline Walks Off the Pad at surface coal mines.