Brunner Island power station
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Brunner Island power station is an operating power station of at least 1558-megawatts (MW) in York Haven, York, Pennsylvania, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Brunner Island power station | York Haven, York, Pennsylvania, United States | 40.095461, -76.696306 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3: 40.095461, -76.696306
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1, timepoint 1 | Operating | coal: bituminous, fossil gas: natural gas | 363.3 | subcritical | no[1] | 1961 | 2028 (planned) |
| Unit 1, timepoint 2 | Announced[2][3] | fossil gas: natural gas[1] | 363.3[1] | steam turbine[1] | no[1] | 2028 (planned)[4] | – |
| Unit 2, timepoint 1 | Operating | coal: bituminous, fossil gas: natural gas | 405 | subcritical | no[5] | 1965 | 2028 (planned) |
| Unit 2, timepoint 2 | Announced[2][3] | fossil gas: natural gas[6] | 405[5] | steam turbine[5] | no[5] | 2028 (planned)[4] | – |
| Unit 3, timepoint 1 | Operating | coal: bituminous, fossil gas: natural gas | 790.4 | supercritical | no[5] | 1969 | 2028 (planned) |
| Unit 3, timepoint 2 | Announced[2][3] | fossil gas: natural gas[6] | 790.4[5] | steam turbine[5] | no[5] | 2028 (planned)[4] | – |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1, timepoint 1 | Brunner Island LLC [100%] | Talen Energy Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 1, timepoint 2 | Brunner Island LLC [100%] | Talen Energy Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 2, timepoint 1 | Brunner Island LLC [100%] | Talen Energy Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 2, timepoint 2 | Brunner Island LLC [100%] | Talen Energy Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 3, timepoint 1 | Brunner Island LLC [100%] | Talen Energy Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 3, timepoint 2 | Brunner Island LLC [100%] | Talen Energy Corp [100.0%] |
Unit-level fuel conversion details:
Unit 1: Announced conversion from coal to fossil gas in 2028.
Unit 2: Announced conversion from coal to fossil gas in 2028.
Unit 3: Announced conversion from coal to fossil gas in 2028.
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): Bailey Mine (Consol), Blacksville 2 Mine (Murray), Loveridge 22 Mine (Murray), Tunnel Ridge Mine (Alliance Coal)
Power station adds natural gas capability, will phase out coal use
In 2015 plant owner Talen Energy spent US$100 million to build a 4-mile gas pipeline to tap into an interstate natural gas transmission line for the power station. The company began using natural gas at the plant in 2017, after successfully completing "fuel conversion projects on all three generating units."[7] Talen has not said how much it will use natural gas as opposed to coal. The move came as Delaware and Connecticut petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to limit Brunner Island’s nitrogen oxide emissions that form smog, as part of the EPA's Clean Air Transport Rule. Three U.S. Congressional representatives have also asked the EPA to close a loophole that has prevented Brunner Island from having to install nitrogen-oxide controls.[8]
Talen Energy lists the Brunner Island power station on its website as a three-unit coal power plant that possesses dual fuel switching capabilities, with the ability to operate using coal or natural gas.[9]
The EIA 860 generator database (March 2020) lists units 1 and 2 as natural gas powered units and unit 3 as coal powered.[10]
In February 2018, the Sierra Club reached a settlement with Talen Energy that will phase out coal burning at the Brunner Island power plant. Under the terms of the settlement, by 2023 the coal plant will stop burning coal from May through September (ozone season), and will stop burning coal entirely by 2028. Under the settlement, the plant may continue to burn natural gas.[11]
Ownership
The power station was owned by PPL. On June 10, 2014, PPL announced that it would spin off its competitive energy business which would merge with Riverstone Holdings' operations to create Talen Energy.[12] Talen Energy launched on June 1, 2015.[13]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 8,173,709 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 93,545 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 12,754 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 305 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Brunner Island power station
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.[14] 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.[15]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Brunner Island power station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 150 | $1,100,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 260 | $28,000,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 2,400 | $120,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 120 | $2,700,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 90 | $40,000,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 100 | $38,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed March 2011
Fish kill in 2024
In January 2024, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a notice of violation to the Brunner Island power station after the death of 200 fish in the Susquehanna River. According to the DEP's report, there were two separate incidents at Brunner Island in January 2024. The first incident was a release of hydraulic oil from a maintenance project, that was in "violation of the NPPDES Permit and Sections 401 and 402 of the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law".[16] The second incident involved a fish kill that was reported to have been caused by changes in temperature of non-contact cooling wastewater caused by "the shutdown of power generation units".[16]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20220712171434/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/xls/april_generator2022.xlsx. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20220525110404/https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/projects/brunner-island-power-plant-york-county/. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20230918190319/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/archive/xls/may_generator2023.xlsx. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20220709071103/https://www.bayjournal.com/news/energy/brunner-island-power-plant-to-convert-from-coal-to-natural-gas/article_7dd41ba3-7f5c-53e2-ac55-000fabace156.html. Archived from the original on 09 July 2022.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 https://web.archive.org/web/20200612191408/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/archive/xls/november_generator2019.xlsx. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20211122185052/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/archive/xls/july_generator2021.xlsx. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ TALEN ENERGY (June 18, 2024). "Submission of Annual Progress Report Y2023 for Notice of Planned Participation" (PDF). Retrieved 08-10-2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Ad Crable, "Brunner Island coal power plant begins using natural gas; Will it mean cleaner air?" Lancaster Online, Jan 31, 2017
- ↑ "Brunner Island Steam Electric Station - York Haven, Pennsylvania" talenenergy.com, accessed May 2020.
- ↑ "EIA 860M Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory" EIA.gov, 860M database, March 2020.
- ↑ "Talen Energy Agrees to End Coal Burning at Brunner Island Facility," Sierra Club, February 14, 2018
- ↑ "PPL Corp. to Spin off Units, Form New Co. with Riverstone". Zacks Equity Research. June 10, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
- ↑ The Morning Call Staff (April 29, 2015). "Talen Energy to launch June 1". The Morning Call. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ↑ "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
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Hundreds of fish found dead near Brunner Island Power Station, DEP investigating". fox43.com. 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
Additional data
To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
