Turtle Creek Station

Turtle Creek Station is officially operational. Units 1 and 2 are capable of producing 450 MW when at full unit output. Construction of a third turbine at Turtle Creek Station is underway. Read more in the press release here.

Commissioning activities for both units 1 and 2 continue at Turtle Creek Station. First fire on fuel oil on unit 2 was achieved on May 10. As testing and tuning continues, visible emissions may be seen from both stacks.

Some of the tests happening include noise testing. Neighbors may notice sound analyzing equipment set up around the perimeter of the site as noise levels are tested. This equipment is the same that was used in April when sound levels were previously read.

Crews will be resuming testing at Turtle Creek Station the week of April 7, 2025. Since it has been a few weeks since the last run, neighbors may see or hear impacts from the engine as it resumes commissioning. As activities increase, neighbors may notice more noises from the plant or exhaust coming from the stacks as engines are tested and tuned.

While Unit 1 is ahead of Unit 2, progress is happening on Unit 2 commissioning. A major milestone for Unit 2 commissioning will be its first fire on fuel oil which may happen as soon as the week of April 14. With first fire, close neighbors or passersby may see some visible emissions coming out of the stack exhaust at the plant during this time. As the generating units are tested and tuned, exhaust will become less noticeable until it dissipates.

As commissioning activities continue, Turtle Creek Station Unit 1 completed its "First Fire" milestone on fuel oil on Jan.30.

Following first fire, testing and tuning will continue on the unit over the next several weeks. Neighbors may hear or see new things happening, such as smoke or exhaust, or an increased amount of noises coming from the plant. As the turbines are tested and tuned at the varying operating loads, exhaust should become much less noticeable.

First fire activities and additional tuning on Unit 2 should commence later this month.

Turtle Creek Station continues to prepare for operation. As a duel-fueled plant, another major milestone for the plant will take place as early as Jan. 22 with what’s known as “first fire” on fuel oil for Unit 1. The exact date and time first fire on Unit 1 on fuel oil will take place has some fluidity, with many moving pieces that should take place prior to first fire. Unit 2 will complete first fire on fuel oil several weeks after the fuel oil first fire on Unit 1.

Close neighbors or passersby may see some visible black smoke coming out of the stack exhaust at the plant during this time. As the generating units are tested and tuned, exhaust will become much less noticeable until it dissipates .

Following first fire, testing and tuning will continue on the unit over the next several weeks. Neighbors may hear or see new things happening, such as smoke or exhaust, or an increased amount of noises coming from the plant. As the turbines are tested and tuned at the varying operating loads, exhaust should become much less noticeable.

After a successful “first fire” of Unit 1, the team at Turtle Creek Station is preparing for “first fire” on Unit 2 as early as December 6. The exact date and time first fire will take place has some fluidity, with many moving pieces that should take place prior to first fire.

During first fire, a gas turbine is brought up to operational speed, essentially becoming capable of generating electricity, using natural gas as fuel. First fire on Turtle Creek Station Unit 1 was completed on Nov. 7.

Close neighbors or passersby may see some visible gray smoke coming out of the stack exhaust at the plant during first fire. The smoke is caused by the burn-off of coating, dust or other debris in the piping. As the generating units are tested and tuned, exhaust will become much less noticeable. It will dissipate within approximately 15 minutes.

Unit 2 will run on natural gas for about 22 days, generating electricity at different levels for testing. Then it will shut down for several weeks before coming back online. Another start-up process will take place at Turtle Creek Station, but with fuel oil, in December or January.

The plant is expected to be complete and ready to start generating electricity commercially in early 2025.

Turtle Creek Station is beginning to turn the corner from construction to operations. During the week of Nov. 4, a major milestone called “first fire” is taking place. The exact date and time first fire will take place has some fluidity, with many moving pieces that should take place by the end of this week. We are currently on track for first fire to take place on Thursday, November 7th or Friday, November 8th. During this first fire, the gas turbine, Unit 1, is brought up to operational speed, essentially becoming capable of generating electricity, using natural gas as fuel.

Close neighbors or passersby may see some visible gray smoke coming out of the stack exhaust at the plant during this time. The smoke is caused by the burn-off of coating, dust or other debris in the piping. As the generating units are tested and tuned, exhaust will become much less noticeable. It will dissipate within approximately 15-minutes. While first fire can be noisy inside the plant, we do not expect the noise to be noticeable outside the plant.

The unit will then run on natural gas for about 22 days, generating electricity at different levels for testing. Then it will shut down for several weeks before coming back online, but with diesel fuel oil. This will result in another start-up process that will take place at Turtle Creek Station, but with fuel oil, in early December.

Unit 2, which is currently nearing the end of construction, is scheduled to begin its first-fire process shortly after Unit 1 – within the window that Unit 1 is running on natural gas.

We are excited about this next big step as we grow and diversify our generation resources to keep reliable, resilient power flowing to our customers.

Deliveries of commodities needed for Turtle Creek Station continue as construction moves closer to the end and towards an operational site. Please be aware of extra truck traffic entering and exiting along Fairview Road at the site entrance, and continuing along S. 168 St and Platteview Road.

OPPD will treat Fairview Road in effort to reduce dust created from these deliveries.

Construction continues at Turtle Creek Station with progress nearing 90% completion. Equipment startup and commissioning activities have ramped up and are in full swing. Landscaping work is also well under way as more than 350 new trees and shrubs will be planted near and around the facility. Key activities planned for August include continued equipment startup and commissioning, moving furniture and other equipment into the administration building and preparation for fuel deliveries.