Bright Future: New Power Substation Signals Growth In Walnut Hill

November 25, 2012

Growth — including the construction of a new industrial facility — is leading to an increase in the electrical capacity and service to the entire Walnut Hill area.

Escambia River Electric Cooperative and it power supplier, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, are currently constructing a new Oak Grove Graham electric substation on Highway 99A near North Highway 99. The new facility will have a total power capacity of 20 MVA (megavolt ampere), over twice the capacity of the aging Oak Grove Substation with a total capacity of 9.375 MVA.

“The new substation has been in the works for a while; however, we have moved that plan to the forefront in order to meet the needs of the Genesis Rail Services Walnut Hill Station,” said Clay Campbell, EREC general manager.

The new Genesis transfer station that fronts Corley Road near Arthur Brown Road in Walnut Hill is the largest such facility in the United States. Crude oil is transferred from the oil fields of North Dakota to Walnut Hill by train and offloaded.

A crude oil pipeline from Jay rises to the surface at the facility. The flow from oilfields in the Jay area is cut, and the crude from the Walnut Hill train is injected into the pipeline. Up to 118 tanker cars per day can be transferred directly into an existing crude oil pipeline, flowing primarily to a Shell facility near Saraland, Ala., and potentially to other refineries along the Gulf Coast.

The first train, with 104 tanker cars filled with 69,000 barrels of oil worth $6.5 million, rolled into the Walnut Hill facility back in mid-August. Presently, the facility can inject 2,500 barrels per hour into the pipeline. That capacity will increase to about 5,000 barrels — almost a half million dollars worth — of crude oil per hour by January 2013 once a 100,000 barrel storage tank is completed.

As construction of the new EREC electric substation continues, contract crews also also building out a new electrical distribution system from the power substation to the oil transfer facility. The end result, according to EREC, will be more electrical capacity and an increased quality of service for the entire Walnut Hill area.

“The entire community will benefit from this power upgrade,” Campbell said.

For an earlier story about the first train rolling into the oil transfer station, click here.

Pictured top: Construction is underway on a new power substation in Walnut Hill. Pictured inset and below: The new Genesis Rail Services Walnut Hill Station on its first day of operation back in August. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

5 Responses to “Bright Future: New Power Substation Signals Growth In Walnut Hill”

  1. ayo homma on November 27th, 2012 11:14 am

    I like it……I like it a lot !!!

  2. 32568 on November 27th, 2012 9:43 am

    Actually “Walnut Hill” is a subsitute name for “McDavid”. Try entering “McDavid”, or the zip code 32568, which is actually the zip code for McDavid.

  3. Thinker on November 26th, 2012 3:49 pm

    Just bought it earlier this year. Late model.

  4. William on November 26th, 2012 2:08 pm

    >>This is great, but my Garmin GPS Navigator still doesn’t know where Walnut Hill, Florida is.

    It’s time to buy a new GPS.

  5. Thinker on November 26th, 2012 1:59 pm

    This is great, but my Garmin GPS Navigator still doesn’t know where Walnut Hill, Florida is.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News