Heartland's newest baseload resource, Whelan Energy Center Unit 2 (WEC2) is a 220 megawatt (MW), pulverized coal-fired generating plant located near Hastings, Nebraska. The project was declared ready for commercial operation May 1, 2011 after nearly ten years of planning and five years of construction.

WEC2 is owned by five public power utilities, including Heartland, which formed the Public Power Generation Agency (PPGA), an interlocal agency established in Nebraska for the sole purpose of constructing and operating WEC2. Heartland has a 36% entitlement, equal to 80 MW, in the output of WEC2, making it the largest generating resource in our portfolio. Other members of PPGA include Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, Hastings Utilities, Grand Island Utilities and Nebraska City Utilities, all of Nebraska. Hastings Utilities is the plant operator.

WEC2 burns low-sulfur coal from the Powder River Basin. It boasts dual rail access for delivery of coal and the use of groundwater for cooling. The plant also meets all of the latest pollution control standards with an air quality control system (pictured at left) that includes an electrostatic precipitator to remove fly ash, a scrubber to remove sulfur dioxide, selective catalytic reduction to reduce nitrous oxides, and a baghouse for additional particulate removal, as well as mercury removal controls. WEC2 is well-positioned to meet many existing and future rules pending with the Environmental Protection Agency.