Brandon Shores Generating Station
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Brandon Shores Generating Station is an operating power station of at least 1370-megawatts (MW) in Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Maryland, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Brandon Shores Generating Station | Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Maryland, United States | 39.179833, -76.53633 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2: 39.179833, -76.53633
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | operating | coal: bituminous | 685 | subcritical | 1984 | 2025 (planned) |
| Unit 2 | operating | coal: bituminous | 685 | subcritical | 1991 | 2025 (planned) |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Brandon Shores LLC [100%] | Talen Energy Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Brandon Shores LLC [100%] | Talen Energy Corp [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): Bailey Mine
Ownership
The plant was originally constructed by a predecessor company of Constellation Energy, which was later purchased by Exelon in 2012. On August 9, 2012, Exelon announced that it had reached an agreement, subject to regulatory approvals, for the sale of the Crane Generating Station, Brandon Shores Generating Station, and Herbert Wagner Generating Station to Raven Power Holdings LLC, a newly formed portfolio company of Riverstone Holdings LLC, for approximately US$400 million. Exelon committed to divest the plants as condition for regulatory approval of its merger with Constellation Energy to alleviate concerns regarding potential market power in the regional wholesale electricity market.[1]
Talen Energy assumed ownership of the plant on June 1, 2015, under Riverstone Holdings, LLC.[2]
Retirement plans
In November 2020, Talen Energy announced plans to end coal-fired generation at Brandon Shores by the end of 2025, pending approval by state regulators.[3][4]
In June 2023, grid operator PJM Interconnection claimed that shutting down Brandon Shores power station in 2025 would “adversely affect the reliability of the PJM Transmission absent upgrades to the Transmission System.” The new transmission projects were expected to be completed in 2028.[5][6] As of May 2024, PJM was proposing a ‘reliability must run’ (RMR) contract with Talen to keep Brandon Shores operating until the transmission projects are complete.[7]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 8,094,442 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 40,467 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 11,964 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 640 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Brandon Shores
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants.[8] Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.[9]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Brandon Shores Generating Station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 31 | $220,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 52 | $5,700,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 490 | $26,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 24 | $560,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 19 | $8,300,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 22 | $8,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed March 2011
Brandon Shores second highest in annual air toxin emissions
According to a July 2011 NRDC report, "How Power Plants Contaminate Our Air and States" Brandon Shores released the second highest amount of toxic air pollutants annually - 13.1 million pounds - of any plant in the nation, based on data from the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory (2009 data, accessed June 2011).
Pollution controls
The state’s nurses association commissioned a study that found that, in 2006, emissions from Brandon Shores caused 700 deaths per year nationwide, including 100 in Maryland. In 2010, Constellation completed an $885 million pollution control installation at its units, to comply with Maryland law and in anticipation of the EPA's Transport Rule.[10]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ Exelon (Aug 9, 2012). "Exelon Agrees to Sell Three Maryland Coal Plants to Raven Power Holdings LLC". Press release. Retrieved on 2012-08-13.
- ↑ Corporation, Talen Energy. "Talen Energy Debuts as One of the Largest Independent Power Producers in U.S." www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
- ↑ “Talen Energy Announces Transformational Move Toward a Sustainable, ESG-Focused Future,” Talen Energy, November 10, 2020
- ↑ “Sierra Club and Stoney Beach Association statements on Talen Energy’s commitment to stop burning coal by the end of 2025,” Sierra Club, November 10, 2020
- ↑ “Re: Deactivation Notice for Brandon Shore 1&2,” PJM Interconnection, June 1, 2023
- ↑ “PJM Thwarts Maryland’s Coal-Free Ambitions While Costing Marylanders Millions,” Sierra Club, February 14, 2024
- ↑ “Replacing a Talen Energy coal-fired power plant with battery storage is infeasible: PJM,” Utility Dive, May 6, 2024
- ↑ "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
- ↑ "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool," Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010
- ↑ Matthew Wald, "A Coal-Fired Plant That Is Eager for U.S. Rules" NY Times, January 5, 2012.
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
