Turbines have the advantage of being relatively small and simple.
The existing Sumas turbine, which sends power south to Seattle's suburbs, fits in a metal box smaller than a railroad boxcar. The surrounding equipment is much larger, but the heart of the plant is the jet engine, which burns natural gas piped across the border from Canada, converting that energy to megawatts. The superheated exhaust from the turbine is then used to heat water for steam, which drives a secondary turbine that generates even more electricity, increasing the output by about 40 percent. The hot water is then sent through a cooling tower, the largest structure at the plant. Four small turbines already operate in the Whatcom County area, and the proposed Sumas 2 plant would be the largest of several more that are proposed.