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Existing U.S. Coal Plants

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This article is part of the Coal Issues portal on SourceWatch, a project of CoalSwarm and the Center for Media and Democracy.

To see a nationwide list of over 600 coal plants in the United States, click here. To see a listing of coal plants in a particular state, click on the map:

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This page provides information on existing U.S. coal-fired power plants. For a list of proposed coal plants and coal plants that are under construction, click here.

Contents

Overview

In 2005, the Energy Information Administration's inventory of coal plants - which includes virtually all coal plants over 5 MW, and many below that size - listed 614 coal-fired power plants in the U.S. These coal plants had a total of 1,522 coal-fired generating units (many plants have multiple units), and a total of 335,831 MW (Megawatts) of production capacity.[1] Given total U.S. electric capacity of 1,075,677 MW, coal provided 31.2% of U.S. electric capacity in 2005 – second only to natural gas (41.2%) in the share of U.S. power capacity, and far ahead of nuclear (9.8%), hydroelectric (7.2%), oil (6.0%), or renewables (2.5%).[2]

That said, for many years - due to low cost and reliable production of coal, and the frequently unstable cost of natural gas - coal plants have been used more heavily than other power plants, and the amount of power produced from coal grew from 1,594,011 Gigawatt-hours (Gwh) in 1990 to 1,994,305 Gwh in 2008. In 2005, coal provided 48.5% of U.S. electricity - far higher than coal's 31.2% share of electric generating capacity - due to coal plants being run at higher capacity rates.

However, in recent years - partly because of increased investment in renewables, partly because aging coal plants are increasingly being taken offline, and partly because the growing anti-coal movement is preventing many new plants from being built - the share of coal in U.S. power generation has dropped: in 2004, coal's share of electricity production fell below 50% for the first time since 1979. (At its most recent peak, in 1988, coal power plants produced 57.0% of U.S. power. For more information on coal plant capacity and generation, click here.)[3][4]

U.S. Coal-Fired Power Production in the Global Context

In 2007, the U.S. produced approximately 2,118,000 GWh (gigawatt hours) of electricity from coal (one GWh is how much power is produced by a 1,000 MW power plant running for one hour), accounting for about a quarter of the world's coal-fired electricity:[5]

Country 2007 Coal Power Prod.  % of World Total
China 2,656,000 GWh 32.3%
U.S.A. 2,118,000 GWh 25.7%
India 549,000 GWh 6.7%
Germany 311,000 GWh 3.8%
Japan 311,000 GWh 3.8%
South Africa 247,000 GWh 3.0%
Australia 194,000 GWh 2.4%
Korea 171,000 GWh 2.1%
Russia 170,000 GWh 2.1%
Poland 148,000 GWh 1.8%
All Other Countries 1,353,000 GWh 16.4%
World Total 8,228,000 GWh 100%


In 2004, U.S. coal-fired power plants produced 2,154.6 million tons of CO2 – 35.8% of total U.S. CO2 emissions, and 8.0% of total world CO2 emissions. To put this in perspective, U.S. coal-fired power plants produced more CO2 in 2004 than was emitted by all sources in all of Africa, South America, and Central America combined.[6]

Stagnant Capacity, Growing Output

From 1990 to 2007, the net capacity of the U.S. coal-fired power plant fleet remained virtually unchanged, increasing by only 7,617 megawatts (MW) or 2.5% during the entire 17-year period. The output of these plants, however, increased from 1,594,011 Gigawatt hours (Gwh) in 1990 to 2,020,572 Gwh in 2007, a 27% increase. This means that although the existing fleet was not growing in size, plants were being run more intensively. This is reflected in the average capacity factor of the fleet, which rose from 60% to 74% from 1990 to 2007. (Capacity factor refers to the ratio of the actual output of a plant to the theoretical maximum output if the plant ran continuously.)

Table 1: Coal-fired power plant capacity and generation[7][8]

Year Net Summer Capacity (Megawatts) Generation (Gigawatt hours) Capacity Factor
1950 N/A 154,520 N/A
1960 N/A 403,067 N/A
1970 N/A 704,394 N/A
1980 N/A 1,161,562 N/A
1990 302,296 1,594,011 60%
2000 310,198 1,966,265 72%
2005 309,000 2,013,179 74%
2007 309,913 2,020,572 74%


State-by-State Capacity and Output

Here's a ranking of U.S. states, ranked by the total amount of electricity each state produced from coal in 2005:[1]

Rank State # of Plants Total Capacity 2005 Power Prod.
1 Texas 20 21,238 MW 148,759 GWh
2 Ohio 35 23,823 MW 137,457 GWh
3 Indiana 31 21,551 MW 123,985 GWh
4 Pennsylvania 40 20,475 MW 122,093 GWh
5 Illinois 32 17,565 MW 92,772 GWh
6 Kentucky 21 16,510 MW 92,613 GWh
7 West Virginia 19 15,372 MW 91,601 GWh
8 Georgia 16 14,594 MW 87,624 GWh
9 North Carolina 25 13,279 MW 78,854 GWh
10 Missouri 24 11,810 MW 77,714 GWh
11 Michigan 33 12,891 MW 71,871 GWh
12 Alabama 11 12,684 MW 70,144 GWh
13 Florida 15 11,382 MW 66,378 GWh
14 Tennessee 13 10,290 MW 59,264 GWh
15 Wyoming 10 6,168 MW 43,421 GWh
16 Wisconsin 28 7,116 MW 41,675 GWh
17 Arizona 7 5,861 MW 40,730 GWh
18 South Carolina 16 6,469 MW 40,545 GWh
19 Oklahoma 7 5,720 MW 36,446 GWh
20 Utah 8 5,080 MW 36,008 GWh
21 Colorado 15 5,309 MW 35,671 GWh
22 Virginia 22 6,208 MW 35,099 GWh
23 Iowa 28 6,506 MW 34,729 GWh
24 Kansas 8 5,472 MW 34,595 GWh
25 Minnesota 21 5,670 MW 34,336 GWh
26 New Mexico 4 4,382 MW 29,990 GWh
27 North Dakota 10 4,246 MW 29,813 GWh
28 Maryland 9 5,236 MW 29,782 GWh
29 Arkansas 3 3,958 MW 23,356 GWh
30 Louisiana 4 3,764 MW 23,190 GWh
31 New York 18 4,273 MW 22,018 GWh
32 Nebraska 8 3,194 MW 20,175 GWh
33 Nevada 3 2,769 MW 18,412 GWh
34 Montana 4 2,536 MW 17,844 GWh
35 Mississippi 5 2,696 MW 16,661 GWh
36 Massachusetts 6 1,776 MW 12,095 GWh
37 New Jersey 7 2,237 MW 12,090 GWh
38 Washington 1 1,460 MW 10,483 GWh
39 Delaware 4 1,082 MW 5,185 GWh
40 New Hampshire 2 609 MW 4,097 GWh
41 Connecticut 2 614 MW 3,995 GWh
42 Oregon 1 601 MW 3,588 GWh
43 California 8 439 MW 3,024 GWh
44 South Dakota 2 481 MW 2,999 GWh
45 Hawaii 1 203 MW 1,548 GWh
46 Maine 1 103 MW 754 GWh
47 Alaska 5 118 MW 650 GWh
48 Idaho 2 19 MW 51 GWh
49 Rhode Island 0 0 MW 0 GWh
50 Vermont 0 0 MW 0 GWh


The median family income of the top 15 coal-producing states was $44,922 in 2006 ($3,529 below the U.S. median); the median family income of the bottom 15 coal-producing states was $52,833 ($4,382 above the U.S. median).

Here's a breakdown of existing U.S. coal-fired generating units by size:[1]

Unit Size # of Units Total Capacity
0-10 MW 37 192 MW
10-20 MW 25 345 MW
20-50 MW 75 2,427 MW
50-100 MW 73 5,269 MW
100-250 MW 85 14,000 MW
250-500 MW 97 34,396 MW
500-750 MW 69 42,655 MW
750-1,000 MW 28 23,612 MW
1,000-1,500 MW 59 72,366 MW
1,500-2,000 MW 38 66,657 MW
Over 2,000 MW 29 73,920 MW


Thus, the 29 plants that are larger than 2,000 MW have a greater generating capacity than the 392 plants that are smaller than 500 MW.

Here's a breakdown of existing U.S. coal-fired generating units (not overall plants) by age:[9]

Years Built # of Units Total Capacity (MW)
2005-2009 21 6,785
2000-2004 13 1,382
1995-1999 24 4,372
1990-1994 67 8,638
1985-1989 102 23,734
1980-1984 117 56,105
1975-1979 125 55,879
1970-1974 137 66,466
1965-1969 158 41,656
1960-1964 157 25,310
1955-1959 209 28,883
1950-1954 213 17,518
1940-1949 93 2,583
1930-1939 20 132
1920-1929 10 69
Total 1,466 339,509

The median existing U.S. coal-fired generating station was built in January 1966.

Ownership of Existing U.S. Coal-Fired Generating Stations

In 2005, there were 1,522 coal-fired generating units in the U.S., with 335,891 MW of capacity. The following companies (with their current subsidiaries) were the top producers of coal-fired electricity in the U.S. in 2005:[1][10]

Rank Company/Entity Number of Coal Plants (2005) Total Coal Capacity (2005) Total Coal Power Prod. (2005) Total Coal SO2 Emissions (2005) Coal SO2 Emissions Rate (lb/MWh) 2008 Revenue
1 American Electric Power 23 27,636 MW 167,422 GWh 1,043,582 tons 12.47 $13.33 billion
2 Southern Company 22 26,610 MW 163,360 GWh 1,090,967 tons 13.36 $17.00 billion
3 Duke Energy 20 18,585 MW 111,571 GWh 839,361 tons 15.05 $12.93 billion
4 Tennessee Valley Authority 12 17,647 MW 98,919 GWh 461,016 tons 9.32 $9.11 billion
5 Ameren 11 10,719 MW 67,477 GWh 302,285 tons 8.96 $7.67 billion
6 MidAmerican Energy 12 10,282 MW 67,028 GWh 172,946 tons 5.16 $12.38 billion
7 Edison International 11 10,253 MW 61,521 GWh 265,778 tons 8.64 $14.05 billion
8 Xcel Energy 15 8,961 MW 56,616 GWh 149,108 tons 5.27 $11.13 billion
9 NRG Energy 8 8,657 MW 53,586 GWh 180,696 tons 6.74 $6.89 billion
10 Dominion 16 9,031 MW 52,845 GWh 214,038 tons 8.10 $16.29 billion
11 FirstEnergy 9 8,495 MW 52,291 GWh 300,414 tons 11.49 $13.20 billion
12 E.ON 12 8,251 MW 47,307 GWh 236,000 tons 9.98 $116.95 billion
13 Progress Energy 9 7,925 MW 47,006 GWh 315,746 tons 13.43 $9.17 billion
14 Reliant Energy 11 8,134 MW 46,217 GWh 401,943 tons 17.39 $12.55 billion
15 Luminant 4 6,137 MW 45,911 GWh 273,126 tons 11.90 $8.50 billion
16 Allegheny Energy 10 7,636 MW 43,769 GWh 339,724 tons 15.52 $3.39 billion
17 DTE Energy 8 7,998 MW 41,782 GWh 199,337 tons 9.54 $9.33 billion
18 PPL 5 5,940 MW 38,512 GWh 260,936 tons 13.55 $8.04 billion
19 AES 14 5,371 MW 33,516 GWh 166,154 tons 9.91 $16.07 billion
20 Dynegy 6 3,755 MW 23,426 GWh 64,452 tons 5.50 $3.55 billion
21 Entergy 3 4,015 MW 23,038 GWh 70,502 tons 6.12 $13.09 billion
22 Alliant Energy 11 4,055 MW 21,456 GWh 97,114 tons 9.05 $3.68 billion
23 Great Plains Energy 4 3,462 MW 20,997 GWh 64,686 tons 6.16 $1.67 billion
24 CMS Energy 6 3,090 MW 20,367 GWh 91,317 tons 8.97 $6.82 billion
25 Westar Energy 3 2,958 MW 19,882 GWh 78,548 tons 7.90 $1.84 billion


Thus, these 25 entities (all privately-owned corporations, with the exception of the TVA, which is a publicly-owned corporation) own 264 out of the 614 coal-fired power plants in the U.S.; these 264 plants produced a total of 1,425,653 GWh of electricity in 2005 (70.8% of total U.S. coal-fired power production). The coal plants owned by these 25 entities also produced 7,679,776 tons of SO2 in 2005 - which is equivalent to 52.2% of all U.S. SO2 emissions from all sources.[1][11]

Additionally, these 25 entities had combined total revenues of $348.63 billion in 2007 (which is equivalent to 2.4% of the total U.S. GDP).[10] The U.S. coal industry is a big, big business, and its main players – who control the vast majority of U.S. coal power production – are among the biggest corporations in the country. (Dominion, Southern, AES, Duke, Edison, FirstEnergy, Entergy, Reliant, Progress, Xcel, DTE, Ameren, PPL, CMS, and NRG are all among the Fortune 500; MidAmerican is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the 13th biggest corporation in the U.S., and E.ON - based in Germany - is the biggest electric utility in the world.[12])

Cost of Electricity from Existing Coal Plants

As of July, 2008, the average cost of coal supplied to existing coal plants in the United States was $2.09 per million BTU.[13] At 34.3% efficiency for a typical coal plant, that translates to 2.08 cents per kilowatt hour for coal.[14] Operation and maintenance is approximately 0.75 cents per kilowatt hour.[15] So total fuel and operating costs for a typical coal plant is 2.83 cents per kilowatt hour. Since the median age of existing coal plants is 44 years, most are already fully amortized. That means their owners have fully paid off the construction costs, and operating and fuel costs are the only components of cost.

For more on the financial risks of coal energy investment, see Financial Risks of Coal Energy Investment.

External Costs of Existing Coal Plants

In economics, an external cost or externality is a negative effect of an economic activity on a third party.External costs of coal plants include the following:[16]

  • Reduction in life expectancy (particulates, sulfur dioxide, ozone, heavy metal, benzene, radionuclides, etc.)
  • Respiratory hospital admissions (particulates, ozone, sulfur dioxide)
  • Congrestive heart failure (particulates and carbon monoxide)
  • Non-fatal cancer, osteroporosia, ataxia, renal dysfunction (benzene, radionuclines, heavy metal, etc.)
  • Chronic bronchitis, asthma attacks, etc. (particulates, ozone)
  • Loss of IQ (mercury)
  • Degradation and soiling of buildings (sulfur dioxide, acid deposition, particulates)
  • Reduction of crop yields (NOx, sulfur dioxide, ozone, acid deposition); some emissions may also have a fertilizing effect (nitrogen and sulfur deposition)
  • Global warming (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide)
  • Ecosystem loss and degradation

Among the impacts of coal plants are the fine particulates released directly or produced indirectly by sulfur dioxide emissions.[17] According to a 2004 study released by the Clean Air Task Force, fine particulates from power plants result in nearly 24,000 annual deaths, with 14 years lost on average for each death.[17] Based on social decisions in other contexts such as transportation and medicine, researchers report (see below) that American society is willing to spend $129,090 to avoid the loss of a year of life.[18] This suggests that society would be willing to spend at an additional $40 billion (i.e., 24,000 annual deaths x 14 years lost x $129,000 per year lost) for alternative ways of generating electricity that did not produce deadly pollution. With US coal plants generating about 2 billion Gigawatt hours annually, the expenditure of an additional $40 billion would raise the cost of electricity by about two cents per kilowatt hour.[19]

For more on the external costs of coal, see External costs of coal.

Impact of Climate Change Legislation on Existing U.S. Coal Plants

It remains unclear how the proposed Waxman-Markey Climate Bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2009 and heads to discussion by the Senate in the Fall, will impact existing coal plants. Although the version of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) that passed the House requires a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions from new coal plants by 2025, it mandates no specific reduction requirements for existing plants. Environmental groups and public health advocates are concerned that, by driving up the cost of new plants and offering free emissions allowances or carbon offsets for older facilities, the bill may result in even heavier reliance on an aging fleet of coal plants. Some groups have expressed concern that the climate change legislation may end up having similar issues to the 1977 Clean Air Act, which grandfathered in older plants and largely exempted them from requirements that facilities use the best available pollution-control technologies. Environmental advocates hope that the Senate will add regulations to ACES that will lead to the closure of older, highly polluting plants.[20]

Retrofitting Existing Coal Plants for Carbon Capture

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, it is not economical to retrofit existing coal plants with carbon capture technology:

Existing CO2 capture technologies are not cost-effective when considered in the context of large power plants. Economic studies indicate that carbon capture will add over 30 percent to the cost of electricity for new integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) units and over 80 percent to the cost of electricity if retrofitted to existing pulverized coal (PC) units. A recent study from the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) confirms that additional alternatives need to be pursued to bring the cost of carbon capture down. In addition, the net electricity produced from existing plants would be significantly reduced - often referred to as parasitic loss - since 20 to 30 percent of the power generated by the plant would have to be used to capture and compress the CO2.[21]

SO2 Pollution and Pollution Controls

In 1970, the U.S. Congress passed the Clean Air Act, which regulated the emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2), among other forms of pollution. SO2 contributes strongly to acid rain, and causes or exacerbates respiratory illnesses. However, the legislation allowed for exemptions for older power plants. This legislation has been strengthened since then: in 1977, the New Source Review increased compliance by states, while the EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule, passed in 2005, requires a 57% cut in U.S. SO2 emissions by 2015. (Roughly 60% of U.S. SO2 emissions come from coal-fired power plants.) Especially since 2005, many utilities have begun attaching SO2 scrubbers to their coal-fired generating stations. However, many plants still do not have adequate - or even any - SO2 controls.[22][23][24]

According to data from the Energy Information Administration, the following proportions of coal-fired power plants with capacity over 100 MW had SO2 scrubbers in 2005:[25]

SO2 Removal Rate # of Plants Total Capacity
Over 90% 94 46,734 MW
80-89% 49 21,613 MW
70-79% 52 20,950 MW
16-69% 11 3,825 MW
None 628 220,664 MW


It is possible that some coal-fired plants with SO2 scrubbers did not report their scrubbers to the EIA, and thus that the above table overstates the number of plants without SO2 controls. However, out of 257 U.S. coal-fired power plants which produced more than 2,000 GWh of power in 2006, 86 had SO2 emissions that were higher than 10 lb/MWh – compared with an average of 1 lb/MWh for coal plants with state-of-the-art SO2 scrubbers.[26][27] We can surmise that these 86 plants almost certainly have zero or extremely minimal SO2 scrubbers, or have SO2 scrubbers that were not functioning in 2006.

Here is a comprehensive list of these 86 dirtiest large U.S. coal-fired power plants in 2006, in terms of SO2 emissions:[26][28]

Rank Plant Name State Year(s) Built Parent Company Capacity Total SO2 Emissions SO2 Rate
1 R. Gallagher IN 1958-61 Duke Energy 600 MW 50,819 tons 40.38 lb/MWh
2 Muskingum River OH 1953-58, 1968 American Electric Power 1529 MW 122,984 tons 32.78 lb/MWh
3 Warrick IN 1960-70 Alcoa 755 MW 92,919 tons 32.69 lb/MWh
4 Hatfield's Ferry Power Station PA 1969-71 Allegheny Energy 1728 MW 135,082 tons 28.91 lb/MWh
5 Portland PA 1958-62 Reliant Energy 427 MW 30,685 tons 28.30 lb/MWh
6 Wabash River IN 1953-56, 1968, 1995 Duke Energy 1165 MW 58,793 tons 27.66 lb/MWh
7 Shawville PA 1954-60 Reliant Energy 626 MW 47,287 tons 26.96 lb/MWh
8 Cayuga IN 1970-72 Duke Energy 1062 MW 86,174 tons 26.68 lb/MWh
9 Morgantown MD 1970-71 Mirant 1252 MW 98,073 tons 26.08 lb/MWh
10 Keystone PA 1967-68 Reliant Energy 1872 MW 164,354 tons 25.83 lb/MWh
11 Avon Lake OH 1949, 1970 Reliant Energy 766 MW 43,479 tons 24.50 lb/MWh
12 Harding Street IN 1958-61, 1973 AES 698 MW 46,346 tons 24.00 lb/MWh
13 Jefferies SC 1970 Santee Cooper 346 MW 26,299 tons 23.92 lb/MWh
14 E.W. Brown KY 1957-63, 1971 E.ON 739 MW 45,191 tons 23.75 lb/MWh
15 Montour PA 1972-73 PPL 1624 MW 129,357 tons 23.70 lb/MWh
16 Kammer WV 1958-59 American Electric Power 713 MW 119,369 tons 23.58 lb/MWh
17 Cheswick PA 1970 Reliant Energy 637 MW 32,373 tons 23.01 lb/MWh
18 E.C. Gaston AL 1960-62, 1974 Southern Company 2013 MW 130,494 tons 22.91 lb/MWh
19 Dickerson MD 1959-62 Mirant 588 MW 35,954 tons 22.82 lb/MWh
20 Johnsonville Fossil Plant TN 1951-59 Tennessee Valley Authority 1485 MW 86,793 tons 22.67 lb/MWh
21 Fort Martin Power Station WV 1967-68 Allegheny Energy 1152 MW 87,565 tons 21.79 lb/MWh
22 Yates GA 1950-58, 1974 Southern Company 1487 MW 75,476 tons 21.63 lb/MWh
23 Big Brown TX 1971-72 Luminant 1187 MW 96,221 tons 21.59 lb/MWh
24 Chalk Point MD 1964-65 Mirant 728 MW 49,591 tons 21.14 lb/MWh
25 Merrimack NH 1960-68 Northeast Utilities 459 MW 32,726 tons 20.70 lb/MWh
26 Leland Olds ND 1966, 1975 Basin Electric Power Cooperative 656 MW 40,027 tons 20.50 lb/MWh
27 Brunner Island PA 1961-69 PPL 1559 MW 93,545 tons 20.49 lb/MWh
28 Walter C. Beckjord OH 1952-62, 1969 Duke Energy 1221 MW 62,480 tons 20.32 lb/MWh
29 Hammond GA 1954-55, 1970 Southern Company 953 MW 40,579 tons 20.25 lb/MWh
30 Conesville OH 1962, 1973-78 American Electric Power 1891 MW 90,540 tons 20.00 lb/MWh
31 Yorktown VA 1957-59 Dominion 375 MW 21,685 tons 19.86 lb/MWh
32 Gorgas AL 1951-58, 1972 Southern Company 1417 MW 81,268 tons 19.53 lb/MWh
33 Greene County AL 1965-66 Southern Company 568 MW 37,863 tons 18.99 lb/MWh
34 Eastlake OH 1953-56, 1972 FirstEnergy 1257 MW 82,705 tons 18.87 lb/MWh
35 Harllee Branch GA 1965-69 Southern Company 1746 MW 95,990 tons 18.73 lb/MWh
36 Miami Fort OH 1949, 1960, 1975-78 Duke Energy 1378 MW 62,028 tons 18.63 lb/MWh
37 Canadys Steam SC 1962-67 SCANA 490 MW 22,984 tons 18.58 lb/MWh
38 Kyger Creek OH 1955 American Electric Power and FirstEnergy 1086 MW 67,157 tons 18.30 lb/MWh
39 Bowen GA 1971-75 Southern Company 3499 MW 206,442 tons 18.24 lb/MWh
40 Homer City PA 1969, 1977 Exelon 2012 MW 106,772 tons 17.42 lb/MWh
41 Philip Sporn WV 1950-52, 1960 American Electric Power 1106 MW 39,741 tons 15.69 lb/MWh
42 Chesterfield VA 1952-1969 Dominion 1353 MW 64,863 tons 15.55 lb/MWh
43 Wateree SC 1970-71 SCANA 772 MW 32,797 tons 15.30 lb/MWh
44 Jack McDonough GA 1963-64 Southern Company 598 MW 28,835 tons 15.29 lb/MWh
45 E.D. Edwards IL 1960, 1968-72 Ameren 780 MW 50,126 tons 15.28 lb/MWh
46 Wansley GA 1976-78 Southern Company 1904 MW 96,200 tons 15.25 lb/MWh
47 Herbert A. Wagner MD 1959, 1966 Constellation Energy 495 MW 19,646 tons 15.13 lb/MWh
48 Cardinal OH 1967, 1977 American Electric Power 1880 MW 86,880 tons 15.12 lb/MWh
49 Clifty Creek IN 1955-56 American Electric Power and FirstEnergy 1303 MW 65,372 tons 14.32 lb/MWh
50 Cliffside NC 1940-48, 1972 Duke Energy 781 MW 28,878 tons 14.30 lb/MWh
51 G.G. Allen NC 1957-61 Duke Energy 1155 MW 45,395 tons 14.13 lb/MWh
52 J.M. Stuart OH 1970-74 DPL 2441 MW 103,649 tons 14.11 lb/MWh
53 L.V. Sutton NC 1954-55, 1972 Progress Energy 672 MW 19,159 tons 13.85 lb/MWh
54 Gibson IN 1975-82 Duke Energy 3340 MW 155,057 tons 13.80 lb/MWh
55 Sioux MO 1967-68 Ameren 1100 MW 44,148 tons 13.80 lb/MWh
56 Mitchell WV 1971 American Electric Power 1633 MW 53,152 tons 13.67 lb/MWh
57 Trenton Channel MI 1949-50, 1968 DTE Energy 776 MW 29,066 tons 13.52 lb/MWh
58 Clinch River VA 1958-61 American Electric Power 713 MW 27,134 tons 13.17 lb/MWh
59 Marshall NC 1965-70 Duke Energy 1996 MW 85,050 tons 13.17 lb/MWh
60 Hudson NJ 1968 Public Service Enterprise Group 660 MW 19,709 tons 13.04 lb/MWh
61 Big Sandy KY 1963-69 American Electric Power 1097 MW 46,476 tons 12.96 lb/MWh
62 Roxboro NC 1966-73, 1980 Progress Energy 2558 MW 92,259 tons 12.55 lb/MWh
63 Williams SC 1973 SCANA 633 MW 28,147 tons 12.53 lb/MWh
64 Belews Creek NC 1974-75 Duke Energy 2160 MW 95,290 tons 12.30 lb/MWh
65 Sandow 4 TX 1981 Luminant 591 MW 23,747 tons 12.25 lb/MWh
66 Indian River DE 1957-59, 1970, 1980 NRG Energy 782 MW 20,705 tons 12.24 lb/MWh
67 Tanners Creek IN 1951-54, 1964 American Electric Power 1100 MW 35,494 tons 12.08 lb/MWh
68 John Sevier Fossil Plant TN 1955-57 Tennessee Valley Authority 800 MW 30,126 tons 11.95 lb/MWh
69 Jack Watson MS 1968, 1973 Southern Company 750 MW 29,113 tons 11.94 lb/MWh
70 Bull Run Fossil Plant TN 1967 Tennessee Valley Authority 950 MW 27,987 tons 11.92 lb/MWh
71 John E. Amos WV 1971-73 American Electric Power 2933 MW 117,299 tons 11.68 lb/MWh
72 Paradise Fossil Plant KY 1963, 1970 Tennessee Valley Authority 2558 MW 83,926 tons 11.55 lb/MWh
73 Monroe MI 1970-74 DTE Energy 3280 MW 103,570 tons 11.52 lb/MWh
74 St. Clair MI 1953-54, 1961, 1969 DTE Energy 1547 MW 42,374 tons 11.39 lb/MWh
75 Crist FL 1959-61, 1970-73 Southern Company 1135 MW 35,614 tons 11.34 lb/MWh
76 Genoa WI 1969 Dairyland Power Cooperative 346 MW 11,420 tons 11.26 lb/MWh
77 Michigan City IN 1974 NiSource 540 MW 15,993 tons 11.21 lb/MWh
78 Mayo NC 1983 Progress Energy 736 MW 24,499 tons 11.20 lb/MWh
79 W.H. Sammis OH 1959-62, 1967-71 FirstEnergy 2456 MW 86,392 tons 11.08 lb/MWh
80 Milton R. Young ND 1970, 1977 Minnkota Power Cooperative 734 MW 26,879 tons 11.06 lb/MWh
81 Killen OH 1982 DPL 666 MW 22,825 tons 10.97 lb/MWh
82 Kingston Fossil Plant TN 1954-55 Tennessee Valley Authority 1700 MW 55,473 tons 10.69 lb/MWh
83 Winyah SC 1975-81 Santee Cooper 1260 MW 42,709 tons 10.68 lb/MWh
84 Colbert Fossil Plant AL 1955, 1965 Tennessee Valley Authority 1350 MW 39,942 tons 10.41 lb/MWh
85 Monticello TX 1974-78 Luminant 1980 MW 77,538 tons 10.37 lb/MWh
86 H.L. Spurlock KY 1977-81, 2005 East Kentucky Power Cooperative 1279 MW 38,877 tons 10.22 lb/MWh


Thus, while these 86 plants have a capacity of 107.1 GW, or 9.9% of total U.S. electric capacity, they emitted 5,389,592 tons of SO2 in 2006 – which represents 28.6% of U.S. SO2 emissions from all sources.[28]

These dirtiest big coal-fired power plants – many of which are among the oldest in the country (the median age of the 86 plants is 45 years) – are mostly owned by the biggest U.S. coal energy companies. Here is a list of the owners of these 86 dirtiest big coal-fired power plants, ranked by total capacity of the dirtiest coal plants that they own, and including a ranking of the company's position in the coal energy industry:

Rank Company/Entity Rank in U.S. Coal Energy Production # of Dirtiest Big Coal Plants Total Capacity of Dirtiest Big Coal Plants
1 Southern Company 2 11 16,071 MW
2 American Electric Power 1 11 15,766 MW
3 Duke Energy 3 10 14,858 MW
4 Tennessee Valley Authority 4 6 8,843 MW
5 DTE Energy 14 3 5,602 MW
6 Reliant Energy 13 5 4,328 MW
7 FirstEnergy 10 3 4,203 MW
8 Progress Energy 15 3 3,966 MW
9 Luminant 17 3 3,757 MW
10 PPL 18 2 3,183 MW
11 DPL 24 2 3,107 MW
12 Allegheny Energy 16 2 2,880 MW
13 Mirant 20 3 2,568 MW
14 Exelon 7 1 2,012 MW
15 SCANA 34 3 1,894 MW
16 Ameren 5 2 1,880 MW
17 Dominion 11 2 1,728 MW
18 Santee Cooper 33 2 1,606 MW
19 East Kentucky Power Co-op N/A 1 1,279 MW
20 AES 19 1 842 MW
21 NRG Energy 9 1 782 MW
22 Alcoa N/A 1 755 MW
23 E.ON 12 1 739 MW
24 Minnkota Power Cooperative N/A 1 734 MW
25 Public Service Enterprise Group N/A 1 660 MW
26 Basin Electric Power Co-op 29 1 656 MW
27 NiSource 25 1 540 MW
28 Constellation Energy 36 1 495 MW
29 Northeast Utilities N/A 1 459 MW
30 Dairyland Power Cooperative N/A 1 346 MW


Thus, even though SO2 scrubbers have become significantly less expensive in recent years, many of the biggest coal energy companies in the country – many of which have billions of dollars of annual revenues – have failed to install SO2 scrubbers on many of their oldest and dirtiest coal plants.

Oldest existing coal plants

These are the oldest existing coal plants in the U.S.:[29]

Rank State Plant Name Date Plant Began Operation 2007 Power Prod.
1 IN Perry K Steam Plant Aug, 1938 72 GWh
2 WI Blount Street Station Dec, 1938 2,031 GWh
3 IA Sixth Street Generating Station Apr, 1940 321 GWh
4 NC Cliffside Plant (existing) Jul, 1940 4,336 GWh
5 IA Dubuque Generating Station Jun, 1941 338 GWh
6 NC Buck Steam Station Jul, 1941 1,847 GWh
7 MN High Bridge Generating Plant Jan, 1942 939 GWh
8 IN Harding Street Station Apr, 1942 4,115 GWh
9 WI Pulliam Power Plant Jan, 1943 2,519 GWh
10 NY AES Westover Generation Plant Oct, 1943 496 GWh
11 OH Burger Plant Jan, 1944 1,297 GWh
12 WV Rivesville Power Station Jan, 1944 271 GWh
13 VA Glen Lyn Plant Jun, 1944 1,612 GWh
14 IN Edwardsport Plant Jul, 1944 254 GWh
15 NY Huntley Generating Station Jan, 1945 2,756 GWh
16 VA Potomac River Generating Station Oct, 1946 1,601 GWh
17 MD R. Paul Smith Power Station Jan, 1947 698 GWh
18 IL Havana Power Station Jul, 1947 3,460 GWh
19 KY Tyrone Generating Station Oct, 1947 429 GWh
20 IA Lansing Power Station Jan, 1948 1,724 GWh
21 PA Mitchell Plant Jan, 1948 952 GWh
22 IL Meredosia Power Station Jun, 1948 1,952 GWh
23 OH Hutchings Station Jul, 1948 691 GWh
24 MI Cobb Generating Plant Sep, 1948 2,339 GWh
25 NY Russell Station Dec, 1948 1,315 GWh
26 KS Riverton Power Plant Jan, 1949 672 GWh
27 MN Riverside Generating Plant (Minnesota) Jan, 1949 2,344 GWh
28 IN Eagle Valley Station Feb, 1949 1,577 GWh
29 AL Gadsden Steam Plant Apr, 1949 539 GWh
30 MI Trenton Channel Power Plant May, 1949 3,388 GWh
31 WI Stoneman Generating Station May, 1949 66 GWh
32 PA Sunbury Steam Station Aug, 1949 1,910 GWh
33 NC Weatherspoon Plant Sep, 1949 1,018 GWh
34 IL Wood River Station Nov, 1949 3,041 GWh
35 OH Avon Lake Power Plant Dec, 1949 3,078 GWh
36 OH Miami Fort Station Dec, 1949 7,399 GWh
37 NY Dunkirk Steam Station Jan, 1950 3,646 GWh

Plant Retirements

Boardman Plant

On January 14, 2010 it was announced that Portland General Electric will be closing its 601 MW Boardman Plant twenty years ahead of schedule. The plant will close in 2020 instead of 2040. The plant was originally going to invest more than a half billion dollars in pollution controls (scrubbers) by 2017 to comply with EPA and state clean air regulations, then keep it running until 2040.

Instead, the company wants regulators to allow it to make a $45 million investment by 2011 to partially clean up its emissions of mercury and oxides of nitrogen, then operate the plant until 2020.[30] The Oregon Sierra Club and Friends of the Columbia Gorge argue, that while a 2020 close date is better than a 2040 closure, it is still more economical for the plant to shut its doors in 2014. [31]

On February 1, 2010 it was announced that PGE was considering using biomass to continue operating the plant after it ends its use of coal in the future. PGE is said to be considering if it can replace all of the millions of tons of coal it burns every year at Boardman with plant based material that has been pre-treated through a process called torrefaction. While still in experimental phases, torrefaction produces a substance similar to coal, and is also energy intensive to produce. Critics on the other hand cite that no commercial size torrefaction facilities exist and it is still not clear how much carbon will be used in the process of torrefaction.[32]

Duke ordered to shut down three coal-fired units in Indiana

On May 29, 2009, U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney ordered Duke to shut down three units of the Wabash River Generating Station in Indiana for violations of the federal Clean Air Act. In 2008, a jury found that Duke-owned Cinergy had modified the facilities without installing best-available pollution control technology. In his ruling, Judge McKinney cited increased sulfur dioxide emissions from the units and gave a deadline of September 30, 2009 for closing them. Duke's Chief Legal Officer Marc Manly said the company was disappointed with the court's decision to "accelerate the shutdown." The units, which supply 39 percent of the station's power, were slated to be taken off line in 2012.[33]

S.D. Warren Muskegon Power Plant

S.D. Warren Muskegon Power Plant was a 51-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station owned and operated by Sappi, a South African multinational pulp & paper corporation, in Muskegon, Michigan. The plant provided power to Sappi's Muskegon pulp & paper mill until the entire facility was shut down in 2009.

Mohave Generating Station

In 2005, the Mohave Generating Station ceased operations due to a Clean Air Act lawsuit and because Navajo and Hopi tribes passed resolutions ending Peabody’s use of the Black Mesa aquifer. According to the EPA, the coal plant was the dirtiest in the Western U.S., emitting up to 40,000 tons of sulfur dioxide per year.[34]

Arapahoe Station and Cameo Station

In August 2008, Colorado regulators approved Xcel Energy’s plan to shut down two coal plants: the Arapahoe Station (Denver) and the Cameo Station (east of Grand Junction). According to Western Resource Advocates, "The utility’s decision to shut down the plants has been praised as the nation’s first voluntary effort to cut coal power generation in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In its decision to support Xcel’s plan, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) cited public health benefits and shared concerns about carbon emissions as major selling-points in the company’s groundbreaking proposal. The verdict marks a collective effort to move the state and its utilities toward the carbon reduction goals outlined in Governor Bill Ritter’s Climate Action Plan."[35]

Xcel plans to replace the combined 229 MW of coal power with 850 MW of wind power and a 200 MW utility-scale solar power plant with storage capacity by 2015. Another key component of Xcel’s proposal, to build a 480 MW natural gas plant at the Arapahoe station, has been postponed pending approval by the Colorado PUC.[35]

TVA considering shutting down some aging coal plants

In August 2009, CEO Tom D. Kilgore announced that TVA was studying the possibility of closing its John Sevier Fossil Plant in Tennessee and the oldest six units at its Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Alabama. A federal judge has ordered TVA to install pollution equipment on the plants by the end of 2013, at an estimated cost of more than $1 billion. However, the company has not yet budgeted any money for the improvements. In 2010 TVA is planning to begin building an $820 million gas-powered plant to replace the generation at its John Servier Plant. The agency has already reduced power production from the oldest six units at Widows Creek. Environmental groups want TVA to shut down or convert to cleaner fuels the oldest and least efficient of its coal plants, including Widows Creek, John Sevier, and Johnsonville plants.[36]

Progress Energy to shut four N.C. coal plants

On December 1, 2009, Progress Energy Carolinas announced that by the end of 2017 it would permanently close all of its North Carolina coal plants without sulfur dioxide scrubbers. The 11 units at L.V. Sutton, Cape Fear, Weatherspoon, and Lee total almost 1,500 megawatts and represent about a third of the utility's coal-fired power generation in N.C. The retirement plan includes the following:

  • Lee is scheduled for retirement in 2013.
  • Sutton is slated for closure in 2014. Progress hopes to replace it with a natural gas-fired power plant.
  • Cape Fear and Weatherspoon will be shut down between 2013 and 2017. The company is considering converting 50 to 150MW of the total capacity to burn wood waste.

The closure plan was filed in response to a request by the N.C. Utilities Commission, which ordered Progress to provide its retirement schedule for "unscrubbed" coal-fired units in North Carolina. The request was a condition of the commission's approval of Progress' plan to close Lee and build a 950-MW natural gas plant at the site.[37][38]

Exelon to shut coal plants in Pennsylvania

On December 2, 2009, Exelon announced that it would retire Cromby Generating Station and two units at Eddystone Generating Station in 2011. The closures include 144 MW of coal-fired power at Cromby and another 588 MW at Eddystone. Eddystone will continue to operate 820 MW of natural gas- and oil-fired generation. Exelon senior vice president Doyle Beneby said the retirements were due to "decreased power demand, over supply of natural gas and increasing operating costs," adding that, "these aging units are no longer efficient enough to compete with newer resources."[39] The announcement comes just one day after Progress Energy said it would shut 11 aging coal-fired power units totaling almost 1,500 MW in North Carolina.[40]

Resources

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005", Energy Information Administration website, accessed April 2008.
  2. ↑ "Existing Capacity by Energy Source", Energy Information Administration website, accessed April 2008.
  3. ↑ Net Generation by Energy Source: Total (All Sectors), 1995 through January 2009, Energy Information Administration, Apr. 22, 2009.
  4. ↑ Electricity Net Generation: Electric Power Sector, 1949-2007, Energy Information Administration, accessed May 2009.
  5. ↑ “Key World Energy Statistics 2009”, International Energy Agency, 2009, p. 25.
  6. ↑ Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Report”, Energy Information Administration, 2007.
  7. ↑ "Electricity Net Generation: Electric Power Sector, 1949-2007," U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review, Table 8.2b
  8. ↑ "Electric Net Summer Capacity: Electric Power Sector by Plant Type, 1989-2007," U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review, Table 8.11c
  9. ↑ Energy Information Agency, "Existing Electrical Generating Units in the United States, 2008 (By Energy Source)", Preliminary Data; Figures for 2009 from National Energy Technology Laboratory, "Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants," January 8, 2010
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Company Insight Center, BusinessWeek website, accessed April 2008.
  11. ↑ National Emissions Trends, Energy Information Administration, accessed May 2009.
  12. ↑ Industries: Utilities: Gas & Electric, Fortune 500 website, accessed May 2009.
  13. ↑ "Average Cost of Coal Delivered for Electricity Generation by State," U.S. Energy Information Administration, October 28, 2008
  14. ↑ The conversion factor is 3413 BTUs per kilowatt hour
  15. ↑ "The Future of Coal," MIT, Table 3.1, p. 19, 2007
  16. ↑ "Damages assessed," ExternE website, accessed March 2009
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Conrad G. Schneider, Abt Associates, "Dirty Air, Dirty Power: Mortality and Health Damage Due to Air Pollution from Power Plants," Clean Air Task Force, June 2004 (Synopsis)
  18. ↑ "Cost-effective Medical Treatment: Putting an Updated Dollar Value on Human Life," Knowledge@Wharton, April 30, 2008
  19. ↑ Coal-fired power plant capacity and generation
  20. ↑ Kari Lydersen, "'The Clunkers of the Power-Plant World': Old Coal-Fired Facilities Could Escape New Rules," Washington Post, August 17, 2009.
  21. ↑ "Retrofitting the Existing Coal Fleet with Carbon Capture Technology," U.S. Department of Energy, accessed December 2008
  22. ↑ A Timeline of the Clean Air Act, Environmental Defense Fund, accessed April 2008.
  23. ↑ "Utilities amassing landfills: Tougher air standards send tons of plants' sludge, coal ash into ground", Columbus Dispatch, April 14, 2008.
  24. ↑ Coal Combustion Residues and Mercury Control, EPA Interim Report on the Control of Mercury Admissions from Coal-Fired Electric Boilers, April 2002.
  25. ↑ Form EIA-767 Database, Energy Information Administration website, 2005.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Dirty Kilowatts 2007 Report Database, Environmental Integrity Project, accessed May 2008.
  27. ↑ Environmental Integrity Project, "Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants", July 2007, p. 8.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Technology Transfer Network: State Emission Index", accessed May 2008.
  29. ↑ "America's Biggest Polluters: Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants in 2007" Environment America, November 24, 2009
  30. ↑ "PGE moves to close Boardman by 2020", OregonBusiness.com, accessed January 15, 2010.
  31. ↑ "PGE moves to close Boardman by 2020", Oregon Beyond Coal Campaign, accessed January 19, 2010.
  32. ↑ Matthew Preusch, "http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/coal-burning_power_plant_in_bo.html" Boardman coal-burning power plant may have a future after all: biomass>OregonLive.com, accessed February 1, 2010.
  33. ↑ Andrew M. Harris, "Duke Energy Ordered to Shut Indiana Coal-Fired Units," Bloomberg, May 29, 2009.
  34. ↑ “Making a Just Transition” Timothy Lesle, Sierra Club newsletter, May 2006
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "Clean Energy Accomplishments," Western Resource Advocates, accessed April 2009
  36. ↑ "TVA may shutter aging coal-fired plants," Chattanooga Times Free Press, August 24, 2009.
  37. ↑ "Progress Energy Carolinas Plans to Retire Remaining Unscrubbed Coal Plants in N.C.," PRNewswire, December 1, 2009.
  38. ↑ Tina Casey, "Progress Energy Joins Stampede Away from Coal," Reuters, December 2, 2009.
  39. ↑ "Exelon to retire 933 MW of capacity in 2011," Power Engineering, December 2, 2009.
  40. ↑ Progress Energy

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