Gorgas Steam Plant
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Gorgas Steam Plant is a retired power station in Parrish, Walker, Alabama, United States. It is also known as Gorgas Two power station.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Gorgas Steam Plant | Parrish, Walker, Alabama, United States | 33.645461, -87.200264 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 10, Unit 6, Unit 7, Unit 8, Unit 9: 33.645461, -87.200264
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 10 | retired | coal: bituminous | 788.8 | supercritical | 1972 | 2019 |
| Unit 6 | retired | coal: bituminous | 125 | subcritical | 1951 | 2015 |
| Unit 7 | retired | coal: bituminous | 125 | subcritical | 1952 | 2015 |
| Unit 8 | retired | coal: bituminous | 187.5 | subcritical | 1956 | 2019 |
| Unit 9 | retired | coal: bituminous | 190.4 | subcritical | 1958 | 2019 |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 10 | Alabama Power Co [100%] | Southern Co [100.0%] |
| Unit 6 | Alabama Power Co [100%] | Southern Co [100.0%] |
| Unit 7 | Alabama Power Co [100%] | Southern Co [100.0%] |
| Unit 8 | Alabama Power Co [100%] | Southern Co [100.0%] |
| Unit 9 | Alabama Power Co [100%] | Southern Co [100.0%] |
Unit Retirements
In August 2014, Alabama Power announced that they will retire units 6 & 7 at the Gorgas facility ahead of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards 2015 compliance date.[1] The two units were retired in August 2015.[2]
In February 2019, Alabama Power announced plans to close the remaining units at Gorgas in April 2019.[3] Units 8, 9 and 10 were retired on schedule in April 2019.[4]
Investments
Alabama Power spent more than US$400 million at the plant since 2010 on environmental upgrades, in efforts to keep the plant -- which has been in operation since 1917 -- in compliance with tightening federal environmental laws, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's MATS (mercury and air toxics standards) rule, meant to limit the amount of mercury emitted to the air at coal-fired power plants.[5]
The company invested US$375 million in a “baghouse” at the plant for units 8, 9 and 10, a massive system of air filters meant to remove mercury from the plant’s air emissions, which was scheduled for completion by the end of 2015.[5]
Critics like the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said the power company was spending too much money on keeping old coal plants in operation rather than exploring alternatives.[5][6] According to AL.com, Alabama Power customers will be repaying about US$740 million in costs related to the plant long after it closes, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, coming out to about US$500 for each customer.[5]
Fire Retardant Compound Spil
On March 26, 2019, Alabama Power Company officials told environmental regulators that the company spilled about 700 gallons of a fire retardant compound near its Gorgas Steam Plant on March 23, 2019 - a few days before about 100 dead fish were seen floating on the river nearby. The incident happened after the primary fire control system lost air pressure and a backup system failed to activate.[7]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 8,141,864 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 81,268 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 13,076 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 1,004 lb.
Coal Waste Site
Gorgas ranked 7th 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.[8] The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.[9]
Gorgas Steam Plant ranked number 7 on the list, with 2,888,290 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.[8]
Carbon Capture and Storage research
In June 2010 the University of Alabama announced that it had "been awarded a U.S. Department of Energy grant totaling more than $4.85 million for a multidisciplinary project that will characterize geologic formations for carbon dioxide storage in Alabama". The project aims to "define an estimated 28 gigatons of carbon dioxide storage capacity underlying northwest Alabama". The funds originated from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. UA News reported that the project will "investigate the possibility for storage in an underground reservoir in the vicinity of the Alabama Power Gorgas Steam Plant. Successful completion of the project has the potential to extend the useful life of coal-fired power plants throughout the region. By investigating the geology near existing power plants, transportation costs to a carbon dioxide storage area would be greatly reduced." Other groups involved in the project are the Alabama Geological Survey and Rice University and industry co-funders are Alabama Power and Southern Company.[10]
Citizen Groups
See also Alabama and coal
- Black Warrior Riverkeeper
- GASP (formerly Alabama First)
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Alabama Power changes driven by federal regulations," AP statement, August 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Alabama Power agrees to shutter 3 coal-fired units, convert 4 others to natural gas in EPA deal," AL.com, June 25, 2015
- ↑ "Alabama Power to shutter coal plant, cites environmental laws," AL.com, February 20, 2019
- ↑ 860M, US EIA, April 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Alabama Power customers to pay $740 million after coal plant closes," AL.com, Mar 3, 2019
- ↑ "Alabama Power to shutter coal plant, cites environmental laws," AL, Feb 20, 2019
- ↑ "Alabama Power spills fire retardant chemical days before fish kill on Black Warrior," AL.com, Apr 4, 2019
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 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.
- ↑ "UA Receives DOE Grant for Carbon Storage Research", UA News (University of Alabama), June 8, 2010.
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.
