Gibson Generating Station
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Gibson Generating Station is an operating power station of at least 3339-megawatts (MW) in East Mount Carmel, Gibson, Indiana, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Gibson Generating Station | East Mount Carmel, Gibson, Indiana, United States | 38.371381, -87.768189 (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, Unit 5: 38.371381, -87.768189
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | operating | coal: bituminous | 667.9 | supercritical | 1975 | 2038 (planned) |
| Unit 2 | operating | coal: bituminous | 667.9 | supercritical | 1976 | 2038 (planned) |
| Unit 3 | operating | coal: bituminous | 667.9 | supercritical | 1978 | 2029 (planned)[1] |
| Unit 4 | operating | coal: bituminous | 667.9 | supercritical | 1979 | 2029 (planned)[1] |
| Unit 5 | operating | coal: bituminous | 667.9 | supercritical | 1982 | 2030 (planned)[1] |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Duke Energy Indiana LLC [100%] | Duke Energy Corp |
| Unit 2 | Duke Energy Indiana LLC [100%] | Duke Energy Corp |
| Unit 3 | Duke Energy Indiana LLC [100%] | Duke Energy Corp |
| Unit 4 | Duke Energy Indiana LLC [100%] | Duke Energy Corp |
| Unit 5 | Wabash Valley Power Association Inc [25%]; Indiana Municipal Power Agency [24%]; Duke Energy Indiana LLC [50%] | Wabash Valley Power Association Inc [25.0%]; Indiana Municipal Power Agency [25.0%]; Duke Energy Corp |
Retirement plans
In their 2019 sustainability report, Duke Energy listed potential retirement dates of 2038 for Gibson Units 1 and 2, 2034 for Units 3 and 4, and 2026 for Unit 5.[2]
As of April 2024, Units 1 and 2 were slated to retire in 2035, Units 3 and 4 were slated to retire in 2029, and Unit 5 was slated to retire in 2030.[3]
In October 2024, Duke Energy proposed extending the life of Units 1 and 2 at Gibson by three years, backtracking on its plan to go coal-free by 2035. Duke’s preferred plan in their Indiana 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) included converting Units 1 and 2 to co-fire coal and gas, enabling the units to burn coal until 2038.[4] Duke reportedly expected increased demand for electricity in Indiana from growing businesses, data centers coming online, and people buying more electric cars.[5] Duke’s plan was met with criticism from the Sierra Club, who also noted that the latest IRP eliminated 3,798 MW of clean energy investments outlined in Duke’s 2021 energy plan.[6]
Financing
- Unit 5: Duke Energy Indiana 50.05%[7] Wabash Valley Power 25%[8] Indiana Municipal Power Agency 24.95%[9]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 21,447,980 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 155,057 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 28,533 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 577 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Gibson 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.[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 Gibson Generating Station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 84 | $610,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 130 | $14,000,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 1,400 | $73,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 61 | $1,400,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 51 | $23,000,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 88 | $32,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed March 2011
Coal Waste Sites
- Gibson Generating Station East Ash Pond Number 1
- Gibson Generating Station East Ash Pond Number 2
- Gibson Generating Station East Ash Pond Number 3
- Gibson Generating Station East Ash Pond Settling Basin
- Gibson Generating Station North Ash Pond
- Gibson Generating Station North Settling Basin
Gibson ranked 6th 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.[12] The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.[13]
Gibson Generating Station ranked number 6 on the list, with 3,030,524 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.[12]
Gibson ranked 4th in terms of largest carbon dioxide emissions
According to a 2009 report by Environment America, "America's Biggest Polluters," the Gibson station is the fourth dirtiest plant in the nation, releasing 22.4 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2007. Ranking is based upon Environmental Protection Agency data.[14]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 (PDF) https://p-micro.duke-energy.com/impact/-/media/pdfs/our-company/esg/2023-impact-report.pdf?rev=7b7bcad8db084cd5b92b2ff123bd08c2.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "2019 Sustainability Report," Duke Energy, April 2020
- ↑ "2023 Duke Energy Impact Report," Duke Energy, April 24, 2024
- ↑ “2024 Duke Energy Indiana Integrated Resource Plan - Stakeholder Meeting 5,” Duke Energy, October 3, 2024
- ↑ “Duke Energy plans to delay Gibson coal plant retirement. Activists say it's a 'step backward',” Indiana Public Media, October 7, 2024
- ↑ “Duke Failing Clean Energy Transition Compared to Hoosier Peers,” Sierra Club, October 9, 2024
- ↑ "Duke Energy 10-k filing 2019" duke-energy.com, 10-k filing 2019, accessed June 2020.
- ↑ "Wabash Valley Power 2019 financial statement" wvpa.com, accessed June 2020.
- ↑ "Gibson Station" impa.com, accessed June 2020.
- ↑ "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
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 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.
- ↑ "America's Biggest Polluters: Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants in 2007" Environment America, November 24, 2009
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.
