New Madrid Power Plant
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New Madrid Power Plant is an operating power station of at least 1300-megawatts (MW) in New Madrid, Missouri, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| New Madrid Power Plant | New Madrid, New Madrid, Missouri, United States | 36.51475, -89.561761 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2: 36.51475, -89.561761
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | operating | coal: subbituminous | 650 | subcritical | 1972 |
| Unit 2 | operating | coal: subbituminous | 650 | subcritical | 1977 |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Associated Electric Cooperative Inc [100%] | Central Electric Power Cooperative Inc; KAMO Electric Cooperative Inc; M&A Electric Power Cooperative; N.W. Electric Power Cooperative Inc; Northeast Missouri Electric Power Cooperative Inc; Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative |
| Unit 2 | Associated Electric Cooperative Inc [100%] | Central Electric Power Cooperative Inc; KAMO Electric Cooperative Inc; M&A Electric Power Cooperative; N.W. Electric Power Cooperative Inc; Northeast Missouri Electric Power Cooperative Inc; Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative |
Modifications
According to the EIA 860 database there are modifications planned for the New Madrid Power Plant scheduled for January 2021, unknown what there modification include.[1]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 7,757,564 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 14,678 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 28,757 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 160 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from New Madrid 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.[2] 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.[3]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the New Madrid Power Plant
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 70 | $510,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 100 | $11,000,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 1,200 | $60,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 49 | $1,100,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 42 | $19,000,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 72 | $27,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Coal Waste Site
- New Madrid Power Plant Ash Pond 1
- New Madrid Power Plant Ash Pond 2
- New Madrid Power Plant Slag Pond 1
- New Madrid Power Plant Slag Pond 2
New Madrid ranked 27th 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.[4] The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.[5]
New Madrid Power Plant ranked number 27 on the list, with 1,514,440 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.[4]
New Madrid produced the most smog-causing emissions in the U.S. in 2021
In April 2023, Reuters reported that a loophole in the U.S. Clean Air Act had allowed the owner of the New Madrid power plant, Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (AECI), to buy emissions allowances for nitrogen oxide (NOx) in 2021 and emit the most NOx in the nation that year. AECI had reportedly purchased the emissions allowances from another power plant that had closed in 2013 but was still able to continue collecting emissions credits for an additional five years after shutting down. The extra credits purchased for the New Madrid power plant enabled the plant to comply with emissions regulations while exceeding their own allowances for emitting NOx. According to the report, buying unused credits from other power plants can often be cheaper than purchasing pollution-control equipment. The New Madrid plant had reportedly agreed with state regulators to restart its pollution-control equipment as of October 2022.[6]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "EIA 860 2018" EIA.gov, accessed October 2020.
- ↑ "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
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 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.
- ↑ "How the Clean Air Act lets closed coal plants keep polluting for years," Reuters, April 24, 2023
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.
