Xcel King Plant scheduled to begin operations

The Stillwater Gazette had an article yesterday announcing the start-up testing of Xcel Energy’s Allen S. King plant in Oak Park Heights. The plant has been shutdown for the last six months for installation of state-of-the-art pollution control equipment and other refurbishments. The work is nearly complete and the plant is scheduled to begin periodic start-up testing between April 27 and May 12. Depending on weather conditions, a plume of steam may rise from the plant. Occasionally, neighbors may hear the rush of the steam exiting the mufflers, which sounds like a jet airplane passing overhead. The sound level at the property line is estimated to reach peaks of 90 decibels, or roughly as loud as a lawnmower.
It will be interesting to see if the plant outlet’s warm water plume attracts fish like it has in the past.

Does it just attract fish in the cold months or all year?

There are fish hanging around that discharge all year long. What it effects most is the Shad population. With water available above the killing temp, shad can live a lot longer and get VERY big! I’ve encountered shad that I thought looked like they could push 3 lbs.! Well beyond 2 lbs. for sure!

This year may prove to be one of the best fishing openers ever because of the larger number of shad die off. The plant being shut down changed a lot for patterns this past winter and if food is suddenly harder to find, we’ll have a higher competition for food, which = more active fish!

The river still has a tremendous food source in it but I think conditions may be improved for this season.

Has this happened?
Thanks,
STCROIXER

i went there and it was opened, but the flow of the outcoming water is so slow that there were no fish there at all. i fished all day and found nothing, not even sheepheads or shads.

I was out last night (5-8-2007) and there was no signs of the BP PP running at all.

Ferny