Widows Creek Power Plant
| Widows Creek Power Plant | |
|---|---|
|
Widows Creek Power Plant | |
  Location of Widows Creek Power Plant in Alabama | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Jackson County, near Stevenson, Alabama |
| Coordinates | 34°53′03″N 85°45′18″W / 34.88417°N 85.75500°WCoordinates: 34°53′03″N 85°45′18″W / 34.88417°N 85.75500°W |
| Status | Being decommissioned |
| Commission date |
Unit 1: July, 1952 Unit 2: October, 1952 Unit 3: November, 1952 Unit 4: January, 1953 Unit 5: June, 1954 Unit 6: July, 1954 Unit 7: February, 1961 Unit 8: February, 1965 |
| Owner(s) | Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Bituminous coal |
| Cooling source | Tennessee River |
| Power generation | |
| Units decommissioned | 8 |
| Nameplate capacity | 1,600 MWe |
| Average generation | 9,000 GWh |
Widows Creek Power Plant (also known as the Widows Creek Fossil Plant) was a major 1600-MWe coal-fired power station, 4.8 miles (7.7 km) east of Stevenson, Alabama USA. The plant, operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, generated about nine billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. It has one of the tallest chimneys in the world at 305 metres (1,001 ft), which was built in 1977.
History
Initially, six identical 140-MWe units were built between 1952 and 1954. Two more units (575 and 550 MWe name-plate capacity) were added in 1961 and 1965.[1][2]
The last load of coal was delivered to the plant on 18 September 2015, with only one of its eight generation units working. The coal was enough to power unit 8 until 23 September 2015.[3][4]
Accidents and incidents
January 2009 gypsum slurry spill
On January 9, 2009, the plant experienced a dam break on a gypsum slurry pond, and spilled up to 10,000 US gallons (38 m3) of waste (possibly including boron, cadmium, molybdenum and selenium) into the creek of the same name on the property, inundating it with an ashlike substance.[5]
EPA compliance agreement
On April 14, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations at 11 of its coal-fired plants in Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee.[6] Under the terms of the agreement, the entire Widows Creek plant will be affected:[7]
- Units 1–6 will be retired in stages of two units per year, beginning by July 31, 2013 and ending by July 31, 2015
- Units 7 & 8 will be fitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) devices to reduce their emissions of NOx
Google Data Center
On June 24, 2015, Google announced it would invest $600 million to install a data center on land made available by the retirement of units 1-6. A renewable power capacity equivalent to the data center's needs will be added somewhere on the TVA system, so the data center will run on renewable energy.[8]
External links
References
- ↑ "Widows Creek Fossil Plant Celebrates 50 Years of Service" (Press release). Tennessee Valley Authority. 2002-09-12. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
- ↑ "Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2006" (Excel). Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ↑ "Last load of coal delivered at TVA's Widows Creek plant". www.timesfreepress.com. Times Free Press. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ↑ "Even Appalachia Is Walking Away From Coal". www.slate.com. The Slate Group. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ↑ Dewan, Shaila (2009-01-09). "Waste Spills at Another T.V.A. Power Plant". The New York Times.
- ↑ Tennessee Valley Authority Clean Air Act Settlement
- ↑ Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement Between EPA and TVA
- ↑ A power plant for the Internet: our newest data center in Alabama