Westar hires consultant to study sites for generation units

Westar Energy Inc. is moving ahead with plans for boosting its energy generation in the coming years, having hired an area company to start the search for potential sites to place new equipment.

Topeka-based Westar announced Tuesday that it had hired Burns & McDonnell, of Kansas City, Mo., to conduct site studies for future generation units. The utility hopes to have additional generating capacity online by 2008 to meet rising customer demands.

The first phase of new equipment would involve installation of peaking units, which typically are combustion turbines, Westar said. Such equipment could be added incrementally to help the utility satisfy periods of peak demand, especially during the summer months when air conditioners are running.

Also on the list of project tasks: Evaluating potential sites for a new coal-fueled power plant.

“Coal facilities can take up to eight years to build because of complex siting, permitting and construction issues,” said John Olsen, Westar’s executive director for bulk power marketing, in a statement. “We project that we’ll need a plant to generate additional base load by 2013, and that plant will likely be a coal plant.”

Westar’s Lawrence Energy Center north of the city is a coal-fired plant.

Westar provides electric service for about 655,000 customers in the state, including Lawrence.