Harbor Beach Power Plant

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Harbor Beach Power Plant is a retired power station in Harbor Beach, Huron, Michigan, United States.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Harbor Beach Power Plant Harbor Beach, Huron, Michigan, United States 43.851828, -82.643631 (exact)

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

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1: 43.851828, -82.643631

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 retired coal: bituminous 121 subcritical 1968 2013

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner Parent
Unit 1 DTE Electric Co [100%] DTE Electric Co [100.0%]

Background

The Harbor Beach Power Plant was owned and operated by DTE Energy near Harbor Beach, Michigan.

In July 2012 DTE Energy said it planned to retire the Harbor Beach Power Plant in 2015 to comply with new US Environmental Protection Agency rules.[1] The power station was shut down in 2013.[2]

2005-2006 Emissions Data

  • 2006 CO2 Emissions: 90,876 tons
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions:
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
  • 2006 NOx Emissions:
  • 2005 Mercury Emissions:

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Harbor Beach 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.[3] 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.[4]

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Harbor Beach Power Plant

Type of Impact Annual Incidence Valuation
Deaths 7 $53,000,000
Heart attacks 12 $1,300,000
Asthma attacks 120 $6,000
Hospital admissions 6 $130,000
Chronic bronchitis 4 $1,900,000
Asthma ER visits 6 $2,000

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

Articles and Resources

References

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.