Urquhart Station
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Urquhart Station is an operating power station of at least 707-megawatts (MW) in Beech Island, Aiken, South Carolina, 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Urquhart Station | Beech Island, Aiken, South Carolina, United States | 33.434617, -81.910858 (exact)[1] |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- GT4, UR15, UR26, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3: 33.434617, -81.910858
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT4 | Operating[1] | fossil gas: natural gas, fossil liquids: fuel oil[2] | 59[1] | gas turbine[1] | no[1] | 1999[1] | – |
| UR15 | Operating[1] | fossil gas: natural gas, fossil liquids: fuel oil[2] | 274[1] | combined cycle[1] | no[1] | 2002[1] | – |
| UR26 | Operating[1] | fossil gas: natural gas, fossil liquids: fuel oil[2] | 274[1] | combined cycle[1] | no[1] | 2002[1] | – |
| Unit 1 | Retired | coal: unknown | 75 | subcritical | – | 1953 | 2013 |
| Unit 2 | Retired | coal: unknown | 75 | subcritical | – | 1954 | 2013 |
| Unit 3, timepoint 1 | Retired | coal: unknown | 100 | subcritical | no[1] | 1955 | 2012 |
| Unit 3, timepoint 2 | Operating[1] | fossil gas: natural gas[1] | 100[1] | steam turbine[1] | no[1] | 2012[1] | – |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GT4 | Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc [100%][3] | Dominion Energy Inc |
| UR15 | Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc [100%][3] | Dominion Energy Inc |
| UR26 | Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc [100%][3] | Dominion Energy Inc |
| Unit 1 | Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc [100%][3] | Dominion Energy Inc |
| Unit 2 | Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc [100%][3] | Dominion Energy Inc |
| Unit 3, timepoint 1 | Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc [100%][3] | Dominion Energy Inc |
| Unit 3, timepoint 2 | Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc [100%][3] | Dominion Energy Inc |
Unit-level fuel conversion details:
Unit 3: Converted from coal to fossil gas in 2012.
Background
Retirement and conversion plans
On May 30, 2012, SCE&G announced plans to retire up to six coal-fired generating units at three locations by the end of 2018. The units range in age from 45 to 57 years and are the utility's oldest and smallest coal-fired units. The announcement included the following:[4]
- Switching Unit 3 at the Urquhart Station near Aiken from coal to natural gas by the end of 2012, and planned retirement of Unit 3 at Urquhart by the end of 2018.
The coal plant was retired in 2012-2013 and converted to a 650 MW natural gas plant.[5]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 1,209,994 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions:
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions:
- 2005 Mercury Emissions:
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Urquhart 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.[6] 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.[7]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Urquhart Station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 8 | $59,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 11 | $1,200,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 140 | $7,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 6 | $140,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 5 | $2,200,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 8 | $3,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 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) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 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) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 https://web.archive.org/web/20191116210428/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/archive/xls/december_generator2018.xlsx. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "SCE&G Announces Plans to Retire a Portion of its Coal-fired Generation," SCE&G press release, May 30, 2012
- ↑ SCANA Corporation, "Urquhart Station", SCANA Corporation website, accessed April 2011.
- ↑ "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.
