Edge Moor Power Plant

From Global Energy Monitor

Edge Moor Power Plant is an operating power station of at least 698-megawatts (MW) in Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, United States with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Hay Road Power Complex.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Edge Moor Power Plant Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, United States 39.738611, -75.504167 (exact)

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

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • 3, 4, 5, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5: 39.738611, -75.504167

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year Retired year
3 Operating[1] fossil gas: natural gas, fossil liquids: fuel oil[2] 75[1] steam turbine[1] no[1] 1954[1]
4 Operating[1] fossil gas: natural gas, fossil liquids: fuel oil[2] 177[1] steam turbine[1] no[1] 1966[1]
5 Operating[1] fossil gas: natural gas, fossil liquids: fuel oil[2] 446[1] steam turbine[1] no[1] 1973[1]
Unit 3 Retired coal: bituminous 75 subcritical 1954 2010
Unit 4 Retired coal: bituminous 177 subcritical 1966 2010
Unit 5 Retired coal: bituminous 446 subcritical 1973 2010

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
3 Calpine Mid-Atlantic Generation LLC [100%] CPN Management LP [100.0%]
4 Calpine Mid-Atlantic Generation LLC [100%] CPN Management LP [100.0%]
5 Calpine Mid-Atlantic Generation LLC [100%] CPN Management LP [100.0%]
Unit 3 Calpine Mid-Atlantic Generation LLC [100%] CPN Management LP [100.0%]
Unit 4 Calpine Mid-Atlantic Generation LLC [100%] CPN Management LP [100.0%]
Unit 5 Calpine Mid-Atlantic Generation LLC [100%] CPN Management LP [100.0%]

Background

Edge Moor Power - Hay Road Power Complex consisted of four Edge Moor units totaling 720 megawatts (MW) powered by coal, natural gas and #6 fuel oil and eight Hay Road combustion turbine units totaling 1,082 MW powered by natural gas and low sulfur diesel.

On April 21, 2010, Pepco Holdings, Inc. (PHI) sold the generation assets owned by Conectiv Energy to Calpine Corporation, an electric generation company based in Houston, Texas. The sale consisted of the Conectiv Energy power generation assets for $1.65 billion plus the value of the fuel inventory at closing, which was roughly $50 million.[3] The sale closed June 30, 2010.

On July 1, 2010, Edge Moor and Pepco Holdings' Deepwater Generating Station began burning natural gas exclusively. All coal power will be discontinued. [4]

Edge Moor Energy Center The first two units at Edge Moor Power Plant were completed in 1951, and have since been retired. Currently in operation are units 3, 4, 5 and 10. Unit 3 began commercial operation in 1954; Unit 10 in 1963; Unit 4 in 1966; and Unit 5 in 1973.

Unit Name Plate Capacity
Edge Moor 3 75 MW
Edge Moor 4 176.8 MW
Edge Moor 5 446 MW
Edge Moor 10 12.5 MW
Hay Road 1 115 MW
Hay Road 2 115 MW
Hay Road 3 115 MW
Hay Road 5 122 MW
Hay Road 6 122 MW
Hay Road 7 122 MW

This plant was one of the first built with a fully centralized control system, which creates better operating efficiency and safety. When Calpine acquired the 725 MW facility in 2010 as part of its purchase of the Conectiv Energy assets, the company made the decision to discontinue burning coal at the site. Calpine’s decision to run Edge Moor primarily using natural gas is in keeping with its corporate philosophy to produce power in an environmentally sensitive fashion.

Currently, the plant uses state-of-the-art technologies, installed in early 2009, to control emissions. Unit 10 is a combustion turbine unit which uses low-sulfur diesel and is Black Start capable, meaning that in an emergency if the whole grid system goes down (causing a blackout), the self-sufficient unit can be used to bring the system back online. The unit can be started without needing a feed from a larger unit and, in turn, can feed the power needed by larger units to restart after a blackout.

Location: Wilmington, DE

Commercial Operation Date: January 1965

Calpine Net Interest Baseload (MW): 0 megawatts

Calpine Net Interest With Peaking (MW): 725 megawatts

Ownership: Calpine 100%

Technology: Natural gas-fired/oil, simple-cycle

Turbines: Two General Electric ST, one Westinghouse ST, one TP&M FT-4A-5

NERC Region: RFC [5]

Hay Road Energy Center Calpine acquired the 1,130 MW Hay Road facility in 2010 as part of its purchase of the Conectiv Energy assets. Units at the complex use an advanced dry combustion process to limit the formation of pollutants, thus preserving valuable water resources.

Location: Wilmington, DE

Commercial Operation Date: January 1989

Calpine Net Interest Baseload (MW): 1030 megawatts

Calpine Net Interest With Peaking (MW): 1130 megawatts

Ownership: Calpine 100%

Technology: Natural gas-fired/oil, combined-cycle

Turbines: Six Siemens V84.2, one ABB ST, one Alstrom ST

NERC Region: RFC [6]

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Edge Moor Power Plant

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.[7] The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma-related episodes and asthma-related emergency room visits, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, peneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal-fired power plants. Fine particle pollution is formed from a combination of soot, acid droplets, and heavy metals formed from sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and soot. Among those particles, the most dangerous are the smallest (smaller than 2.5 microns), 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. 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.

The table below estimates the death and illness attributable to the Edge Moor Power 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.[8]

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Edge Moor Power Plant

Type of Impact Annual Incidence Valuation
Deaths 31 $230,000,000
Heart attacks 54 $6,000,000
Asthma attacks 510 $27,000
Hospital admissions 25 $580,000
Chronic bronchitis 19 $8,500,000
Asthma ER visits 21 $8,000

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

Emissions Data

  • 2006 CO2 Emissions: 1,964,871 tons
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions:
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
  • 2006 NOx Emissions:
  • 2005 Mercury Emissions:


State Plant Owner/ Operator County Year Tons of Coal Waste Fly Ash Total Bottom Ash Total
Delaware Edge Moor New Castle Conectiv Energy Supply Inc 2005 74,600 62,900 11,700

[9]


State Facility ID# Unit Year Op. hrs Months SO2 Tons NOx Rate(lb/mmBtu) NOx Tons CO2 Tons Heat Input(mmBtu)
DE Edge Moor 593 10 2009 2 6 0.25 0.0 366
DE Edge Moor 593 3 2009 6,541 12 738.9 0.13 212.6 317,033.8 3,095,937
DE Edge Moor 593 4 2009 3,307 12 1,404.6 0.16 273.7 322,045.0 3,174,808
DE Edge Moor 593 5 2009 217 12 150.3 0.19 72.8 46,266.8 594,682
DE Facility Total 2009 ' ' '




State Facility ID# Unit Year Op. hrs Months SO2 Tons NOx Rate(lb/mmBtu) NOx Tons CO2 Tons Heat Input(mmBtu)
DE Hay Road 7153 3 2009 1531 12 1.3 0.07 50.0 103,208.7 1,723,618
DE Hay Road 7153 1 2009 1624 12 1.6 0.08 62.0 109,712.1 1,827,102
DE Hay Road 7153 2 2009 1610 12 1.6 0.08 65.4 109,417.9 1,822,667
DE Hay Road 7153 5 2009 1707 12 1.3 0.05 33.5 112,978.6 1,888,399
DE Hay Road 7153 6 2009 1618 12 1.3 0.05 28.4 108,261.4 1,805,958
DE Hay Road 7153 7 2009 1531 12 1.3 0.07 50.0 103,208.7 1,723,618
Facility Total 2009 ' ' '

Source: http://camddataandmaps.epa.gov/gdm/index.cfm?fuseaction=emissions.wizard

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 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. 2.0 2.1 2.2 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)
  3. Andre, "Pepco Holdings, Inc. Sells Conectiv Energy", PepcoConnect's Blog, April 21, 2010.
  4. "Calpine | Investor Relations | Press Release - April 21, 2010"
  5. Capline [1], Calpine website, accessed Dec 2010.
  6. Capline [2], Calpine website, accessed Dec 2010.
  7. "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
  8. "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool," Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010
  9. Natural Resources Defense Council, "Contaminated Coal Waste: data and Projections for Existing and Proposed U.S. Coal Fired Plants", Natural Resources Defense Council, December 2009.

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.