Mill Creek Station
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Mill Creek Station is an operating power station of at least 1717-megawatts (MW) in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Mill Creek Generating Station.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Mill Creek Station | Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States | 38.052378, -85.909811 (exact)[1] |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5: 38.052378, -85.909811
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Operating | coal: bituminous | 355.5 | subcritical | – | 1972 | 2024 (planned) |
| Unit 2 | Operating | coal: bituminous | 355.5 | subcritical | – | 1974 | 2028 (planned) |
| Unit 3 | Operating | coal: bituminous | 462.6 | subcritical | – | 1978 | 2035 (planned) |
| Unit 4 | Operating | coal: bituminous | 543.6 | subcritical | – | 1982 | 2035 (planned) |
| Unit 5 | Construction[2][3][4][5] | fossil gas: natural gas[6] | 645[7][6][5] | combined cycle[6][5] | no[1] | 2027 (planned)[8][2][5] | – |
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 1 | Louisville Gas & Electric Co [100%][1] | PPL Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Louisville Gas & Electric Co [100%][1] | PPL Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Louisville Gas & Electric Co [100%][1] | PPL Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Louisville Gas & Electric Co [100%][1] | PPL Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 5 | Louisville Gas & Electric Co [100%][1] | PPL Corp [100.0%] |
Gas-Fired Generation
In December 2022, Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities companies announced that they plan to retire nearly a third of the capacity of their aging generation fleet by 2028 and build two gas plants, including one combined-cycle unit at the Mill Creek station. As of June 2023, the company was seeking approval from the Kentucky Public Service Commission, which was expected to be received by October, 2023.[9] In November 2023, PSC approved the LG&E/KU’s request to build the gas-fired Unit 5 at the Mill Creek station.[10] In April 2024, GE Vernova announced that it had received an order for two hydrogen-ready 7HA.03 gas turbines for the project.[11][12]
Unit Retirements
In their 2021 Integrated Resource Plan, Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities (LGE/KU) indicated that Mill Creek Unit 1 was expected to retire in 2024 and Unit 2 was expected to retire in 2028.[13]
In July 2023, LGE/KU requested approval from the utilities regulator to close four coal units, including E.W. Brown Generating Station Unit 3, Ghent Generating Station Unit 2, and Mill Creek Units 1 and 2. LGE/KU proposed retiring these units between 2024 and 2027, replacing them and other aging generating systems with fossil gas combined cycle units, solar and battery storage facilities, as well as solar power purchase agreements.[14]
According to reporting from October 2024, LG&E/KU’s latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) indicated that Mill Creek Units 3 and 4 were slated for retirement in 2035.[15]
2022 winter blackouts
In January 2023, the CEO of Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities (LGE/KU) blamed blackouts on December 23, 2022, on a frozen gas pipeline. The blackouts affected 35,000 customers and the utility shed 317 MW in load to stabilize the system. The CEO’s comments were cited by Republican legislators the following month before they adopted Senate Bill 4, which made it harder for utilities to retire coal and other fossil fuel power plants. In August 2023, however, the Kentucky Public Service Commission held a hearing in which LGE/KU revealed that 800 MW of coal capacity was offline during the outage. At Mill Creek station, 121 MW were offline due to frozen components in a coal delivery system. Also offline were 639 MW at Trimble County power station and 62 MW at E.W. Brown Generating Station.[16]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 10,089,535 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 25,464 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 12,594 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 361 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Mill Creek Station
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.[17] 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 Mill Creek Station. 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.[18]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Mill Creek Station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 75 | $550,000 |
| Heart attacks | 110 | $12,000,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 1,200 | $64,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 54 | $1,300,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 45 | $20,000,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 73 | $27,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Coal Waste
Water Contamination
In August 2010 a study released by the Environmental Integrity Project, the Sierra Club and Earthjustice reported that Kentucky, along with 34 states, had significant groundwater contamination from coal ash that is not currently regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report, in an attempt to pressure the EPA to regulate coal ash, noted that most states do not monitor drinking water contamination levels near waste disposal sites.[19] The report mentioned Kentucky based Mill Creek Station, Shawnee Fossil Plant and the Spurlock Power Station were three sites that have groundwater contamination due to coal ash waste.[20]
EPA "high hazard" dam
In November 2011, the EPA released a new set of data that revealed 181 “significant” hazard dams in 18 states - more than three times the 60 significant-hazard ponds listed in the original database released in 2009. In addition to the increase in the number of significant hazard-rated ponds, eight previously unrated coal ash ponds were found to be high hazard ponds in information released by the EPA earlier in 2011. Because of the switch in ratings after the EPA inspections, the total number of high hazard ponds has stayed roughly the same at a total of 47 ponds nationwide.[21]
According to the National Inventory of Dams (NID) criteria, “high” hazard coal ash ponds are categorized as such because their failure will likely cause loss of human life. Six states that gained high hazard ponds include:[21]
- Kentucky: Mill Creek Station, Louisville: 1 high hazard pond
Other coal waste sites
To see a nationwide list of over 350 coal waste sites in the United States, click here. To see a listing of coal waste sites in a particular state, click on the map:
<us_map redirect=":Category:Existing coal waste sites in {state}"></us_map>
Citizen groups
- Coal River Mountain Watch
- Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
- Kentucky Environmental Foundation
- Kentucky Riverkeeper
- New Power
- Kentucky Environmental Foundation, Berea, KY, phone: (859) 986-7565
- Sierra Club Cumberland Chapter
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 https://web.archive.org/web/20230509053328/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/. Archived from the original on 09 May 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240607180636/https://www.gevernova.com/news/articles/coal-country-ge-vernova-helping-usher-energy-transition-through-lower-emitting-natural-gas. Archived from the original on 07 June 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230407223456/http://www.lge-ku.com/future. Archived from the original on 07 April 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.lpm.org/news/2023-11-07/ky-regulators-approve-some-lg-e-coal-unit-retirements-new-natural-gas-unit.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20240606041731/https://www.powermag.com/coal-fired-mill-creek-generating-station-readies-for-new-7ha-03-gas-fired-unit/. Archived from the original on 06 June 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20230321143518/https://lge-ku.com/newsroom/press-releases/2022/12/15/nearly-one-third-lge-and-kus-aging-generation-be-retired-2028. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240607180240/https://www.gastopowerjournal.com/itemlist/tag/Kiewit. Archived from the original on 07 June 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240606041818/https://lge-ku.com/sites/default/files/media/files/downloads/PSC-Order-110623.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 06 June 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Nearly one-third of LG&E and KU's aging generation to be retired by 2028". LG&E KU. December 15, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Ky. regulators approve some LG&E coal unit retirements, new natural gas unit". www.lpm.org. November 7, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Coal-Fired Mill Creek Generating Station Readies for New 7HA.03 Gas-Fired Unit". www.powermag.com. April 30, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "In Coal Country, GE Vernova Is Helping to Usher In the Energy Transition Through Lower-Emitting Natural Gas". GE Vernova. April 30, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "2021 Integrated Resource Plan," Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, October 2021
- ↑ "PSC to retire several coal, natural gas plants," Middlesboro News, July 24, 2023
- ↑ “LG&E and KU forecast load growth due to data centers and economic development,” Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities, October 18, 2024
- ↑ "Coal-fired power failures during winter storm come to light months later," Kentucky Lantern, September 8, 2023
- ↑ "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
- ↑ "Study of coal ash sites finds extensive water contamination" Renee Schoff, Miami Herald, August 26, 2010.
- ↑ "Enviro groups: ND, SD coal ash polluting water" Associated Press, August 24, 2010.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Ken Ward Jr., "EPA data reveals more dangerous coal ash ponds" Coal Tattoo, Oct. 31, 2011.
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.
