Martin Drake Power Plant
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Martin Drake Power Plant is a retired power station in Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Drake Power Plant | Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado, United States | 38.825022, -104.832844 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- 7, Unit 5, Unit 6, Unit 7: 38.825022, -104.832844
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Retired[1] | fossil gas: natural gas[2] | 132[2] | steam turbine[2] | no[2] | 1974[2] | 2022[1] |
| Unit 5 | Retired | coal: subbituminous | 50 | subcritical | – | 1962 | 2017 |
| Unit 6 | Retired | coal: subbituminous | 75 | subcritical | – | 1968 | 2021 |
| Unit 7 | Retired | coal: subbituminous | 132 | subcritical | – | 1974 | 2021 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | City of Colorado Springs (Colorado) [100%] | City of Colorado Springs (Colorado) [100.0%] |
| Unit 5 | City of Colorado Springs (Colorado) [100%] | City of Colorado Springs (Colorado) [100.0%] |
| Unit 6 | City of Colorado Springs (Colorado) [100%] | City of Colorado Springs (Colorado) [100.0%] |
| Unit 7 | City of Colorado Springs (Colorado) [100%] | City of Colorado Springs (Colorado) [100.0%] |
Unit Retirements
The plant was made up of the coal-burning units 5-7. Unit 5 was taken off-line in March 2017.[3] Units 6-7 were to be closed by 2035,[4] and possibly by 2025 due to pollution concerns.[5]
In its 2020 Integrated Resource Plan, Colorado Springs Utilities said it was working on retiring all coal power generation before the end of 2030. The Martin Drake Power Plant is planned to retire before the end of 2023 and the Ray Nixon Power Plant before the end of 2030.[6]
In August 2021, it was announced that the plant was burning through its last delivery of coal.[7] The plant continued to operate on gas until it was permanently shuttered in August 2022.[8]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 2,256,177 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions:
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions:
- 2005 Mercury Emissions:
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Martin Drake 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.[9] 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.[10]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Martin Drake Power Plant
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 8 | $61,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 13 | $1,400,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 160 | $8,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 6 | $140,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 6 | $2,500,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 8 | $3,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Citizen groups
- Clean Energy Action
- Environment Colorado
- Rate Payers United of Colorado
- Sierra Club Rocky Mountain Chapter
- Wind Power Solutions
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20230122152327/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/xls/november_generator2022.xlsx. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20211122185052/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/archive/xls/july_generator2021.xlsx. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Do over planned on measuring air pollution at Drake power plant," KOAA News, Mar 1, 2017
- ↑ Billie Stanton Anleu, "Colorado Springs Utilities board seals fate for Drake unit," The Gazette, January 20, 2016
- ↑ "Colorado Springs still rolls coal in heart of city, but may shut Drake plant by 2025 as residents fume," Denver Post,Nov 16, 2017
- ↑ "Energy Integrated Resource Plans," csu.org, accessed June 21, 2020.
- ↑ Ali Budner. "The End Of An Era: The Martin Drake Coal Plant In Colorado Springs Burns Coal No Longer". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
- ↑ "End of an era: Drake Power Plant in downtown Colorado Springs shuts down for good," 11 News, August 30, 2022.
- ↑ "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.
