Groundbreaking for expansion of Western Farmers Electric generating plant in Anadarko

(WFEC’s Board of Trustees took part in a groundbreaking ceremony, hosted on Oct. 15, in recognition of two combustion
turbine units to be constructed at the Anadarko Plant. Board members include (from left) Mike Lebeda, Ronnie
Tharp, Ken Autry, Eric Segovia, Clint Pack, Tyson Littau, Chris Mackey, Jean Pence, Brian DeMarcus, Gary Jones, Jeff
Willingham, WFEC CEO Gary Roulet, Donnie Bidegain, John Graham, King Martin, Gary Highley (alternate trustee),
Gene Peters, Jim Hall, David Ray, Gary Olsen (alternate trustee), Don Ellis, Chuck Wagner and Heath Sirmons (Altus Air
Force Base).

 

WFEC’s Board of Trustees, distribution
cooperative managers, WFEC personnel involved
with the project and contractors, were on hand
for a groundbreaking ceremony, Tuesday, Oct. 15,
hosted at the future site of two new GE Vernova
aeroderivative LM6000VELOX generators. These
new units will expand the Anadarko Plant to 650
megawatts (MW) of output.

The new turbines are named Roulet 12 & 13,
in honor of Gary Roulet, the current CEO of
WFEC who will soon celebrate 50 years with the
generation and transmission cooperative. WFEC’s
Board of Trustees felt the naming of the units was
appropriate since Roulet has been instrumental
in this project and it is under his leadership that
the project was discussed, planned and now will
soon be underway.

“These are challenging times, and Gary has been
a champion in leading us (Board of Trustees) into
new age technology and has kept us focused on
moving forward,” commented Donnie Bidegain,
who serves as president of the Board of Trustees.
“This is a large step forward into the future for
WFEC,” Bidegain commented, adding that this
project is looking after cooperative member’s
needs.

Press Release
Contact Information:
Sondra Boykin
Communication Coordinator
Western Farmers Electric Cooperative
405-247-4370 / 405-760-7659
sondra.boykin@wfec.com
Date: October 18, 2024
Groundbreaking event hosted for
Roulet 12 & 13 at Anadarko Plant
Steam units that have served
WFEC’s Anadarko Plant for
more than 60 years will be
replaced with innovative
technology that is identical to
other units already existing at
this location. Planning for this
project has been underway for
several years, with evaluation
of technologies, engineers and
construction companies.
These aeroderivative units,
derived from jet-engine
technology, have the ability
to start quickly and ramp up/
down quickly. This capability
is important to follow variable
renewable generation assets
like wind turbines and solar
farms that are slightly less
predictable by their very nature.
Conversely, the LM6000s
that rely on clean burning natural gas to power them, will be a great complement to WFEC’s robust
portfolio of almost 1,000 MW of renewable projects already in service or scheduled to be in service by
the end of the decade.
Bidegain noted that the Board started talking about adding capacity during a strategic retreat in
March of 2023, which was followed by collaborative efforts among personnel who were all dedicated
to this task.
Roulet explained
that this project
is good for
Anadarko – the
Anadarko Plant
– and for WFEC’s
cooperative
members for
many years to
come. “Our Board
had the longterm foresight
of building new
capacity, plus a
great vision for the
future by ensuring
adequate capacity,
and high reliability
for rural members,
at a time when it
is needed,” Roulet
noted.
WFEC CEO Gary Roulet (third from left), is shown with WFEC Board Officers,
including Jeff Willingham, vice president; Donnie Bidegain, president; King
Martin, secretary-treasurer and John Graham, assistant secretary-treasurer,
by the banner announcing the name of the new units to be constructed at the
Anadarko Plant. Construction for this project will begin soon, with completion
expected at the end of 2026.
WFEC senior managers are shown with CEO Gary Roulet (left) during a groundbreaking
ceremony hosted Oct. 15 at the Anadarko Plant for two new combustion turbine units that
will be constructed to replace three aging steam units that have been a part of the plant for
over 60 years. Managers (from left) are Rodney Palesano, vice president, Human Resources;
Dave Sonntag, vice president, Special Projects; Justin Soderberg, vice president, Generation;
Mark Conway, vice president, Chief Financial Officer; and Mark Faulkenberry, vice president,
Marketing and Member Relations.
wfec
“Adding two more combustion turbines identical
to the existing five units at the Anadarko Plant,
will increase reliability, lower maintenance costs,
and help keep electric rates as low as possible for
our distribution members,” he said.
“Retiring units 1, 2 & 3 (obsolete units that only
ran sparingly, and were very inefficient) and using
their existing transmission for units 12 and 13 that
are new, efficient and state of the art, will provide
benefits to cooperative retail customers as soon
as they are commercial,” Roulet pointed out.
“The cooperative model ‘owned by those we
serve’ sends a clear message to keep electricity
reliable and affordable,” he noted.
“I appreciate the Board of Trustees’ commitment
to the future generation needs of our memberowner distribution cooperatives,” said Justin
Soderberg, WFEC’s vice president of Generation.
WFEC has been working with Sargent & Lundy
as the engineer for the addition of Roulet
Units 12 and 13. Sargent & Lundy has worked
hand in hand with WFEC staff on selecting the
appropriate technology for these new units and
developing a turbine specification.
GE Vernova was selected as the winning
bidder, with the development of an Engineering,
WFEC CEO Gary Roulet is shown with the banner
designating the two new combustion turbine units that
will be constructed at the Anadarko Plant to be named
Roulet 12 & 13. The Board of Trustees felt that the naming
of these units was appropriate since Roulet has been
instrumental in this project and it is under his leadership
that the project was discussed, planned and now will
soon be underway.
Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract
specification and subsequent selection of Fagen,
Inc. as the EPC Contractor.
Construction of the new units will start in
late 2024 and finish in late 2026. At the peak
of construction, Fagen will have some 90
construction workers at the Anadarko Plant.
See video of groundbreaking
event by clicking here.
Artist’s rendering of
Roulet 12 & 13 at the
Anadarko