Midland Cogeneration Venture

The Midland Cogeneration Venture (MCV) is a natural gas-fired electrical and steam co-generation plant in Midland, Michigan owned by Midland Cogeneration Venture Limited Partnership. When it began operation in 1991, it was the largest gas-fired steam recovery power plant in the world. Originally designed as the Midland Nuclear Power Plant, the initial design called for two Babcock & Wilcox pressurized water reactors. Reactor one was designed with a 460 MWe rating, and reactor two with an 808 MWe rating. The design called for once-through steam generators (OTSGs) similar to those at Oconee. Consumers Power abandoned the project, which was 85% complete, in 1984 citing numerous construction problems, most notably a sinking foundation. These problems included sinking and cracking of some buildings on the site due to poor soil compaction prior to construction, as well as shifting regulatory requirements following the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island. The poor soil preparation was then exacerbated when the 880 acre cooling pond was filled to its approximate average depth of 15 feet. This in turn, seemed to raise the water table in and around the site. Construction was also opposed by environmentalists, led by Midland resident, Mary P. Sinclair. By then, 17 years and US$4.3 billion had been invested in the project. Consumers Power, nearly bankrupted by the project, formed a hold

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