Magnolia

If there were an award for the most hidden power plant on the entire grid, up to this point Magnolia would take the trophy. It is a true hidden gem - almost the most hidden plant of all of them, a title it proudly held for at least two days of my trip!

When I reached the location, I could get right to the main entrance gate, but the actual generating units were nowhere in sight. The entire plant sits tucked far around a sharp bend and down a steep hill, completely obscured by dense trees and natural terrain.

Determined not to ride all this way just to look at an entrance sign, I parked the bike, stretched my legs, and walked along the outer fence line. By trekking down the perimeter just far enough, I was finally able to catch a quick glimpse of the plant structures making it barely visible-roughly 90% hidden from the outside world!

We purchased Magnolia from Kelson Limited Partnership in 2011. Much like the Southaven facility, Magnolia is a modern combined-cycle plant equipped with Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSGs). But Magnolia features an extra technical capability known as natural gas duct-firing.

Engineering Spotlight: Duct-firing allows plant operators to ignite supplemental gas burners directly inside the turbine exhaust stream. This rapidly boosts steam production, injecting up to an extra 150 megawatts of power into the regional grid during extreme peak demand surges!

Seeing these tucked-away facilities in person really drives home the sheer amount of hidden engineering working behind the scenes to keep our lights on.

Read more about Magnolia Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!