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Cholla Generating Station is an operating power station of at least 425-megawatts (MW) in Joseph City, Navajo, Arizona, United States with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Cholla Generating Station | Joseph City, Navajo, Arizona, United States | 34.940914, -110.3004 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4: 34.940914, -110.3004
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | operating | coal: bituminous | 113.6 | subcritical | 1962 | 2025 (planned) |
| Unit 2 | retired | coal: bituminous | 288.9 | subcritical | 1978 | 2015 |
| Unit 3 | operating | coal: bituminous | 312.3 | subcritical | 1980 | 2025 (planned) |
| Unit 4 | retired | coal: bituminous | 414 | subcritical | 1981 | 2020 |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Arizona Public Service Co [100%] | Pinnacle West Capital Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Arizona Public Service Co [100%] | Pinnacle West Capital Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Arizona Public Service Co [100%] | Pinnacle West Capital Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | PacifiCorp [100%] | Berkshire Hathaway Inc [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): El Segundo mine
Unit Closures
Unit 2 was closed in October 2015.[1][2]
Unit 4 retired in 2020.[3][4][5]
Units 1 and 3 are scheduled for retirement in 2025.[6][7]
Biomass Conversion
In March 2019 it was reported that the Arizona Public Service (APS) has begun evaluating the possibility of converting unit 1 at the plant to burn biomass instead of coal to ensure future power deliveries but regulators at the Arizona Corporation Commission voted the plans down in 2019.[5][8][9]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 8,526,274 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 21,147 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 14,735 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 259 lb.
Coal Waste Sites
- Cholla Generating Station Bottom Ash Pond
- Cholla Generating Station Fly Ash Pond
- Cholla Generating Station Sedimentation Pond
- Cholla Generating Station West Area Retention Pond
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Cholla
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.[10] 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.[11]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Cholla Generating Station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 25 | $180,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 39 | $4,200,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 460 | $24,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 18 | $420,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 16 | $7,200,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 23 | $8,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed March 2011
CCS Testing
On March 25, 2009, the U.S. EPA approved carbon sequestration testing at the Cholla Generating Station. Carbon dioxide will be pumped into wells beneath the plant in an effort to determine if it can be contained.[12]
Cholla ranked 8th on list of most polluting power plants in terms of coal waste
In January 2009, Sue Sturgis of the Institute of Southern Studies compiled a list of the 100 most polluting coal plants in the United States in terms of coal combustion waste (CCW) stored in surface impoundments like the one involved in the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill.[13] The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.[14]
Cholla Generating Station ranked number 8 on the list, with 2,863,427 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.[13]
"High Hazard" Surface Impoundments
Two of Cholla Generating Station's coal ash surface impoundments are on the EPA's official June 2009 list of Coal Combustion Residue (CCR) Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not assess of the likelihood of such an event.[15]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Between 2013 and 2015, APS retired 1,030 MW of fossil fueled capacity," Pennwell Hub, June 1, 2016
- ↑ "Unit 2 At Cholla Power Plant Will Be Retired On October 1," AZ Journal, Sep 22, 2015
- ↑ Roth, Sammy (2020-12-24). "The coal industry comes tumbling down in the American West". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Pacificorp 2017 Integrated Resource Plan Pacificorp, May 1, 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Arizona coal generator to close in 2020, while another given lifeline as decline of plants across West continues," eu.azcentral.com, January 7, 2020
- ↑ "Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory" eia.gov, 860m March 2020
- ↑ "Facing coal plant retirements, Arizona Public Service calls for renewables, battery storage, hydrogen-capable gas turbines," Power Engineering, November 3, 2023
- ↑ "Cholla Power Plant may get a partial reprieve from closure" tribunenewsnow.com March 30, 2019
- ↑ "APS: Biomass conversion at Cholla coal plant could cost $115/MWh," ieefa.org, May 21, 2019
- ↑ "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
- ↑ "EPA OKs carbon sequestration test in Ariz.", KSWT 13 News, March 25, 2009.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Sue Sturgis, "Coal's ticking timebomb: Could disaster strike a coal ash dump near you?," Institute for Southern Studies, January 4, 2009.
- ↑ TRI Explorer, EPA, accessed January 2009.
- ↑ Coal waste
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.
