Ghent Generating Station
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Ghent Generating Station is an operating power station of at least 2225-megawatts (MW) in Ghent, Carroll, Kentucky, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Ghent Generating Station | Ghent, Carroll, Kentucky, United States | 38.748617, -85.0374 (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: 38.748617, -85.0374
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | operating | coal: bituminous | 556.9 | subcritical | 1974 |
| Unit 2 | operating | coal: bituminous | 556.3 | subcritical | 1977 |
| Unit 3 | operating | coal: bituminous | 556.5 | subcritical | 1981 |
| Unit 4 | operating | coal: bituminous | 556.2 | subcritical | 1984 |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Kentucky Utilities Co [100%] | PPL Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Kentucky Utilities Co [100%] | PPL Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Kentucky Utilities Co [100%] | PPL Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Kentucky Utilities Co [100%] | PPL Corp [100.0%] |
Unit Retirements
In July 2023, Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities (LGE/KU) requested approval from the utilities regulator to close four coal units, including E.W. Brown Generating Station Unit 3, Ghent Unit 2, and Mill Creek Station Units 1 and 2. LGE/KU proposed retiring these units between 2024 and 2027, replacing them and other aging generating systems with fossil gas combined cycle units, solar and battery storage facilities, as well as solar power purchase agreements.[1]
In November 2023, the Kentucky Public Service Commission denied LGE/KU's request to retire Unit 2 at Ghent.[2]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 12,933,318 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 49,913 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 14,318 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 413 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Ghent Generating 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.[3] 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 Ghent Generating Station. 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.[4]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Ghent Generating Station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 110 | $800,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 170 | $18,000,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 1,800 | $1,900,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 80 | $180,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 66 | $29,000,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 110 | $39,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Ghent ranked 10th 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.[5] The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.[6]
Ghent Generating Station ranked number 10 on the list, with 2,664,501 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.[5]
"High Hazard" Surface Impoundments
Ghent Generating Station has 3 coal ash surface impoundments 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.[7]
Citizen groups
- Coal River Mountain Watch
- Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
- Kentucky Environmental Foundation
- Kentucky Riverkeeper
- New Power
- Kentucky Environmental Foundation, Berea, KY, phone: (859) 986-7565
- Sierra Club Cumberland Chapter
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "PSC to retire several coal, natural gas plants," Middlesboro News, July 24, 2023
- ↑ "Ky. regulators approve some LG&E coal unit retirements, new natural gas unit," Louisville Public Media, November 7, 2023
- ↑ "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
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 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.
