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Lawrence Energy Center (Kansas) is an operating power station of at least 517-megawatts (MW) in Lawrence, Douglas, Kansas, United States with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Lawrence Energy Center.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Lawrence Energy Center (Kansas) | Lawrence, Douglas, Kansas, United States | 39.00845, -95.269736 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5: 39.00845, -95.269736
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 3 | Retired | coal: subbituminous | 49 | subcritical | – | 1955 | 2015 |
| Unit 4 | Operating | coal: subbituminous | 114 | subcritical | – | 1960 | 2028 (planned) |
| Unit 5, timepoint 1 | Operating | coal: subbituminous | 403 | subcritical | no[1] | 1971 | 2028 (planned) |
| Unit 5, timepoint 2 | Shelved[2][3][4] | fossil gas: natural gas[2] | 403[1] | steam turbine[1] | no[1] | – | – |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 3 | Evergy Kansas Central Inc [100%] | Evergy Inc [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Evergy Kansas Central Inc [100%] | Evergy Inc [100.0%] |
| Unit 5, timepoint 1 | Evergy Kansas Central Inc [100%] | Evergy Inc [100.0%] |
| Unit 5, timepoint 2 | Evergy Kansas Central Inc [100%] | Evergy Inc [100.0%] |
Unit-level fuel conversion details:
Unit 5: Planned conversion from coal to fossil gas was shelved.
Unit Retirements
Unit 3 was retired on December 31, 2015.[5][6]
In April 2021 Evergy reported that it would cease operations at the Lawrence Energy Center by the end of 2023.[7]
In June 2023, Evergy stated that, despite commitments to stop burning coal by the end of 2023, the Lawrence Energy Center would now burn coal until 2028. They claimed that the decision was made "in order to effectively serve new customer demand" including a new Meta demand center, and to adapt to "changes in requirements of the Southwest Power Pool".[8]
Conversion to gas
In 2021, Evergy submitted a filing to the State Corporation Commission of the State of Kansas where the company was requesting approval of the retirement of Unit 4 and coal handling facilities for Units 4 and 5. The document also mentioned that initially Evergy had been planning to retire Unit 4 between December 2023 and the first half of 2024 and retain Unit 5 to operate for reliability purposes only on natural gas[9]; however, no further plans were announced. After pledging to stop burning coal at its Lawrence power plant by the end of 2023, Evergy’s president and CEO David Campbell recently decided to keep the plant open indefinitely without any public process or new retirement date. [10]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 4,181,452 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 2,612 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 4,671 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 174 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Lawrence Energy Center
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.[11] 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 Lawrence Energy Center. 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.[12]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Lawrence Energy Center
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 9 | $63,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 13 | $1,500,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 150 | $8,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 6 | $150,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 5 | $2,400,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 10 | $4,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20220712171434/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/xls/april_generator2022.xlsx. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220806191357/https://estar.kcc.ks.gov/estar/ViewFile.aspx/S202109200727054038.pdf?Id=7918cb08-a60d-4dea-b4b0-eeafa61bc0d0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 06 August 2022.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230617121618/https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-06-16/evergy-slashes-its-plans-to-expand-renewable-energy-and-proposes-more-natural-gas. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.sierraclub.org/kansas/blog/2023/04/evergy-close-lawrence-power-plant.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Form 10-K," SEC, Feb 2016
- ↑ Form EIA-860 Data - Schedule 3, 'Generator Data' US EIA, 2014
- ↑ "Evergy Sets Goal for Net-Zero Carbon Emissions by 2045, Interim Carbon Reduction Target of 70 percent by 2030" Evergy.com, April 30, 2021
- ↑ "Evergy updates long-term plan for meeting customer energy needs" Evergy.com, June 15, 2023
- ↑ "Petition of Evergy Kansas Central, Inc. and Evergy Kansas South, Inc. for Determination of Ratemaking Principles and Treatment" (PDF). estar.kcc.ks.gov. September 20, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Evergy, Close the Lawrence Power Plant". Sierra Club. April 2, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "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
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.
