PINEVILLE, La. - Cleco Power's Madison 3, formerly known as Rodemacher 3, is the recipient of Power magazine's 2010 Marmaduke Award. The award is presented to power plants that have made substantial upgrades that have improved efficiency or environmental performance or extended the life of the plant. Madison 3 is profiled in the August issue of Power.

"There is no greater honor than receiving an award for your accomplishments from an industry group," said Michael Madison, president and CEO of Cleco Corp. "We are truly humbled by this recognition. This unit was a challenge in so many ways for a company our size. However, when the plant went into operation, we proved that a smaller company could produce sizeable results."

Madison 3 is a 600-megawatt solid-fuel unit located north of Alexandria. The facility employs circulating fluidized-bed technology, which enables its boilers to use a variety of solid fuels to generate electricity. To fire its boilers, Madison 3 is using petroleum coke, a byproduct of the oil refining industry, but it also has the capability of using biomass as fuel. The plant went into service February after more than six years of planning and construction. Shaw Constructors, Inc., a subsidiary of The Shaw Group Inc., constructed the facility.

The Marmaduke Award is named after Marmaduke Surfaceblow the fictional engineer who travels the world troubleshooting power plants. Power has chronicled these stories since 1948.

To view the story in Power magazine, please use the link provided: http://www.powermag.com/issues/features/Clecos-Madison-Unit-3-Uses-CFB-Technology-to-Burn-Petcoke-and-Balance-the-Fleets-Fuel-Portfolio_2878.html