Mayo Generating Plant
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Mayo Generating Plant is an operating power station of at least 735-megawatts (MW) in Bethel Hill, Person, North Carolina, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Mayo Generating Plant | Bethel Hill, Person, North Carolina, United States | 36.5278, -78.891869 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1: 36.5278, -78.891869
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | operating | coal: bituminous | 735.8 | subcritical | 1983 | 2030 (planned) |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Duke Energy Progress LLC [100%] | Duke Energy Corp [100.0%] |
Retirement discussions
In its 2020 Integrated Resource Plan's base case scenario, Duke used a 2029 retirement year for the plant (this was not a commitment to retire the coal plant and simply dates for planning purposes).[1] Under the plan, Duke would reportedly retire all of its power plants in the Carolinas that "rely exclusively on coal" within the next 10 years and add between 1,050 MW and 7,400 MW of storage to its portfolio under six scenarios outlined.[2]
As of 2022, Mayo Generating Plant was slated for retirement by the end of 2028.[3]
In their 2023 Impact Report, Duke Energy indicated that the Mayo plant was expected to retire in 2030.[4]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 4,768,258 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 24,499 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 5,058 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 270 lb.
Coal Waste Site
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Mayo Generating 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.[5] 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.[6]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Mayo Generating Plant
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 13 | $95,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 20 | $2,200,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 210 | $11,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 10 | $230,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 8 | $3,500,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 11 | $4,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Mayo Generating Plant ranked 46th 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.[7] The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.[8]
Mayo Generating Plant ranked number 46 on the list, with 786,128 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.[7]
Citizen groups
- Appalachian Voices
- Asheville Rising Tide
- Canary Coalition
- North Carolina Waste Awareness And Reduction Network
- Sierra Club North Carolina Chapter
- Southern Environmental Law Center
- StopCliffside.org
- Western North Carolina Alliance
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Duke’s $3 Billion Secret," Sierra Club, March 29, 2021
- ↑ "Duke Energy considers retiring 9,000 MW of coal, adding vast amounts of storage," S&P Global, September 29, 2020
- ↑ "Transmission System Planning and Grid Transformation," Carolinas Carbon Plan, May 17, 2022
- ↑ “2023 Duke Energy Impact Report,” Duke Energy, April 24, 2024
- ↑ "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
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 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.
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.
