Paradise Fossil Plant
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Paradise Fossil Plant is an operating power station of at least 1910-megawatts (MW) in Drakesboro, Muhlenberg, Kentucky, United States with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Paradise Fossil Plant | Drakesboro, Muhlenberg, Kentucky, United States | 37.260342, -86.979172 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- 4, 5, 6, CC1, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3: 37.260342, -86.979172
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Operating[1][2][3] | fossil gas: natural gas[3] | 250[3] | gas turbine[3] | not found | 2023[4][3] | – |
| 5 | Operating[1][2][3][4] | fossil gas: natural gas[3] | 250[3] | gas turbine[3] | not found | 2023[4][3] | – |
| 6 | Operating[1][2][3][4] | fossil gas: natural gas[3] | 250[3] | gas turbine[3] | not found | 2023[4][3] | – |
| CC1 | Operating[5] | fossil gas: natural gas[6] | 1160[5] | combined cycle[6] | no[6] | 2017[6] | – |
| Unit 1 | Retired | coal: bituminous | 704 | subcritical | – | 1963 | 2017 |
| Unit 2 | Retired | coal: bituminous | 704 | subcritical | – | 1963 | 2017 |
| Unit 3 | Retired | coal: bituminous | 1150.2 | supercritical | – | 1970 | 2020 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Tennessee Valley Authority [100%] | Tennessee Valley Authority [100.0%] |
| 5 | Tennessee Valley Authority [100%] | Tennessee Valley Authority [100.0%] |
| 6 | Tennessee Valley Authority [100%] | Tennessee Valley Authority [100.0%] |
| CC1 | Tennessee Valley Authority [100%] | Tennessee Valley Authority [100.0%] |
| Unit 1 | Tennessee Valley Authority [100%] | Tennessee Valley Authority [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Tennessee Valley Authority [100%] | Tennessee Valley Authority [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Tennessee Valley Authority [100%] | Tennessee Valley Authority [100.0%] |
Background
The power station has three coal-fired generating units and "net dependable generating capacity" of approximately 2,273 megawatts (MW) and a nameplate capacity of 2,558 MW.[7] TVA states that "the plant consumes some 12,350 tons of coal a day." Construction of the power station commenced in 1959 and was commissioned in 1970. According to the TVA the "plant consumes about 20,000 tons of coal a day."[8]
Unit Retirement
On November 14, 2013, TVA announced that it would retire units 1 and 2. The board also approved construction of a new gas-fired plant at a cost not to exceed $1.12 billion. The time frame for the retirements was left to the discretion of the CEO.[9][10]
According to the US EIA, units 1-2 are planned for retirement in 2017.[11]
Paradise units 1 and 2 (704 MW each) were retired in 2017. Unit 3 (1,150 MW) will continue operation. TVA is invested approximately US$1 billion to build a gas-fired plant to replace Paradise units 1 and 2, which opened in April of 2017.[12]
In February 2019, TVA's final environmental assessment concluded the company should shut down the final coal unit, unit 3, by 2023.[13]
On February 10, 2020, TVA released an updated assessment of the Paradise plant that concluded the plant is unreliable, no longer needed, and too expensive to repair and operate. According to the assessment, shutting the Paradise Plant down would avoid customers having to pay for the aging plant’s frequent repairs, and would reduce smog emissions up to 11.5 percent across TVA’s seven-state system, as well as cut TVA's greenhouse gas emissions by more than 4 percent.[14]
Shortly after the assessment was released, President Trump called on the TVA to keep the coal plant operating, tweeting, "Coal is an important part of our electricity generation mix and @TVAnews should give serious consideration to all factors before voting to close viable power plants, like Paradise #3 in Kentucky!" Trump's move drew scrutiny because the Paradise plant buys coal from Murray Energy Corporation's Paradise Mine, owned by Trump campaign donor Robert Murray.[15] Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, in a video, urged TVA to wait until the TVA board gets two new Trump appointees, saying, “Kentuckians strongly oppose moving away from coal, and I would hope that the TVA listens to our voices."[14]
Despite the pressure from Trump and McConnell, on February 14, 2019 the TVA board voted 5-2 to shut down unit 3 by 2020.[16]
In February 2020, unit 3 was retired.[17]
Gas-Fired Generation
In 2021, combustion turbine Units 1-20 located on the TVA’s Allen Reservation in Memphis, Tennessee, and Units 1-16 located on TVA’s Johnsonville Reservation in New Johnsonville, Tennessee (total of 1,400 MW capacity) were recommended for retirement and replacement. To provide the required capacity resulting from replacement of these units, TVA proposed the addition of 1,500 MW to be split between Paradise and Colbert power stations for commercial operation no later than December 31, 2023. Once completed, three gas turbine generators, each with a generation capacity of about 250 MW for a combined 750 MW of power, will be added to the Paradise power station.[18] As of June 2023, the construction is ongoing.[19]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 15,497,610 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 83,926 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 43,022 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 490 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Paradise Fossil 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.[20] 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 Paradise Fossil 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.[21]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Paradise Fossil Plant
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 93 | $680,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 140 | $15,000,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 1,500 | $79,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 66 | $1,600,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 56 | $25,000,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 91 | $34,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Emissions
2011: Paradise second highest in U.S. toxic power plant emissions
A 2011 joint report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), EarthJustice, and the Sierra Club rated the top power plants for toxic power plant emissions. Some of the chemicals used to rank the states’ emission status included chromium, arsenic, lead, and mercury. In terms of sheer pounds of emissions of the four highly toxic heavy metals, Paradise ranked second highest in the nation.[22]
2009: Paradise ranked 21st 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.[23] The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.[24]
Paradise Fossil Plant ranked number 21 on the list, with 1,765,148 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.[23]
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 https://web.archive.org/web/20230322122157/https://www.cdrecycler.com/news/tennessee-valley-authority-implodes-paradise-fossil-plant-cooling-towers/. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20230610111817/https://www.desmog.com/2023/06/08/tva-coal-natural-gas-plant-fossil-fuels/. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220709070647/https://tva-azr-eastus-cdn-ep-tvawcm-prd.azureedge.net/cdn-tvawcma/docs/default-source/environment/environmental-stewardship/nepa-environmental-reviews/tva-pct-cct-draft-ea_012721.pdf?sfvrsn=8a812944_3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 09 July 2022.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 https://www.powermag.com/three-combustion-turbines-added-to-tvas-paradise-site-more-to-come-at-other-locations/?oly_enc_id=4979F0150545J4A.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20230918190319/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/archive/xls/may_generator2023.xlsx. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20200612191408/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/archive/xls/november_generator2019.xlsx. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Form EIA-860 Data - Schedule 3, Generator Data, US EIA, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Valley Authority, "Paradise Fossil Plant", Tennessee Valley Authority website, accessed June 2008.
- ↑ TVA Board Meeting Presentation, November 14, 2013, page 54.
- ↑ Steven Mufson, "Tennessee Valley Authority to close 8 coal-fired power plants," Washington Post, November 14, 2013
- ↑ Form EIA-860 Data - Schedule 3, Generator Data, US EIA, 2014
- ↑ "Paradise Fossil Plant," TVA website, accessed Nov 2017
- ↑ "TVA proposes to shut down Bull Run, Paradise coal plants despite opposition from Trump, Senate majority leader," Times Free Press, February 11, 2019
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Bruggers, James (2019-02-13). "Trump's Fighting to Keep a Costly, Unreliable Coal Plant Running. TVA Wants to Shut It Down". Inside Climate News. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
- ↑ Brady, Jeff (2019-02-12). "President Trump And Allies Push To Save A Very Specific Coal Plant". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Divided TVA board votes to shut down Paradise, Bull Run fossil plants despite appeals by Trump, Senate Majority leader for delay," Times Free Press, February 14, 2019
- ↑ "Paradise lost: TVA shuts down another coal plant unit (and could do a lot more)," Electrek, Feb 5, 2020
- ↑ "Paradise and Colbert Combustion Plants - Draft Environmental Assessment" (PDF). Tennessee Valley Authority. February 21, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Replace fossil fuels — with more fossil fuels? That's one major utility's plan". DeSmog. June 8, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 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
- ↑ "Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Texas are Top States in Terms of Toxic Power Plant Air Pollution" EIP, December 7, 2011.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 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 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.
