Eagle Valley Station

From Global Energy Monitor

Eagle Valley Station is an operating power station of at least 644-megawatts (MW) in Martinsville, Morgan, Indiana, 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)
Eagle Valley Station Martinsville, Morgan, Indiana, United States 39.485231, -86.417931 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • EGVS, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5, Unit 6: 39.485231, -86.417931

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year Retired year
EGVS Operating[1] fossil gas: natural gas[1] 644[1] combined cycle[1] no[1] 2018[1]
Unit 3 Retired coal: bituminous 50 subcritical 1951 2016
Unit 4 Retired coal: bituminous 69 subcritical 1953 2016
Unit 5 Retired coal: bituminous 69 subcritical 1953 2016
Unit 6 Retired coal: bituminous 113.6 subcritical 1956 2016

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
EGVS Indianapolis Power & Light Co [100%] AES Corp [100.0%]
Unit 3 Indianapolis Power & Light Co [100%] AES Corp [100.0%]
Unit 4 Indianapolis Power & Light Co [100%] AES Corp [100.0%]
Unit 5 Indianapolis Power & Light Co [100%] AES Corp [100.0%]
Unit 6 Indianapolis Power & Light Co [100%] AES Corp [100.0%]

Retirement

In May 2013, IPL announced that the Eagle Valley Station will be retired, with a 650 MW combined cycle gas plant to be constructed at the same site by 2017. At the same time IPL announced plans to retire or refuel two of the three coal-fired units at the Harding Street Station (Units 5 and 6, but not Unit 7).[2]

In April 2016, Indianapolis Power & Light retired all four coal-burning units at its Eagle Valley Generating Station. The facility was replaced by a new 644 MW combined-cycle gas facility.[3]

Emissions Data

  • 2006 CO2 Emissions: 1,596,416 tons
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions:
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
  • 2006 NOx Emissions:
  • 2005 Mercury Emissions:

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Eagle Valley

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.[4] 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.[5]

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Eagle Valley Station

Type of Impact Annual Incidence Valuation
Deaths 29 $210,000,000
Heart attacks 44 $4,900,000
Asthma attacks 480 $25,000
Hospital admissions 21 $480,000
Chronic bronchitis 18 $7,800,000
Asthma ER visits 29 $11,000

Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed March 2011

Coal Waste Sites

EPA "high hazard" dam

In November 2011, the EPA released a new set of data that revealed 181 “significant” hazard dams in 18 states - more than three times the 60 significant-hazard ponds listed in the original database released in 2009. In addition to the increase in the number of significant hazard-rated ponds, eight previously unrated coal ash ponds were found to be high hazard ponds in information released by the EPA earlier in 2011. Because of the switch in ratings after the EPA inspections, the total number of high hazard ponds has stayed roughly the same at a total of 47 ponds nationwide.[6]

According to the National Inventory of Dams (NID) criteria, “high” hazard coal ash ponds are categorized as such because their failure will likely cause loss of human life. Six states that gained high hazard ponds include:[6]

Appeal against permit allowing discharge of coal waste

In May 2023, it was reported that the Hoosier Environmental Council had filed an appeal against a state-issued water permit that allowed the Eagle Valley Station to discharge coal-ash-tainted water into the White River.[7]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 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)
  2. "HOMENEWSIPL ANNOUNCES PLANS TO BUILD STATE-OF-THE-ART POWER PLANT," IPL press release, May 1, 2013. Note that in its press release the company referred to "six existing units" at the Eagle Valley Station.
  3. Robert Walton, "A rough day for coal: Midwest utilities retire 2,000 MW," Utility Drive, April 18, 2016
  4. "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
  5. "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool," Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010
  6. 6.0 6.1 Ken Ward Jr., "EPA data reveals more dangerous coal ash ponds" Coal Tattoo, Oct. 31, 2011.
  7. "Environmental Group Challenging Permit Allowing Coal Ash Discharge into White River," Indiana Environmental Reporter, May 2, 2023

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.