Difference between revisions of "Plant Bowen"

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'''Plant Bowen''' is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by [[Southern Company]]. It is located south of Euharlee, Georgia and west of Cartersville, Georgia.
 
 
 
{{#display_map:
 
34.125278, -84.92055
 
|width=600
 
|height=400
 
|type=satellite
 
|zoom=14
 
}}
 
 
 
==Photos==
 
 
 
* [http://www.panoramio.com/photo/8362846 Georgia Power Plant Bowen] at Panoramio
 
 
 
 
 
==Plant Data==
 
[[File:400px-Old Courthouse of Cartersville, Georgia.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Old Courthouse in Cartersville, Georgia, near Plant Bowen.]]
 
 
 
*'''Owner''': [[Georgia Power Company]]
 
*'''Parent Company''': [[Southern Company]]
 
*'''Plant Nameplate Capacity''': 3,499 MW
 
*'''Units and In-Service Dates''': 806 MW (1971), 789 MW (1972), 952 MW (1974), 952 MW (1975)
 
*'''Location''': 317 Covered Bridge Rd., Cartersville, GA 30120
 
*'''GPS Coordinates''': 34.125278, -84.92055
 
*'''Coal Consumption''':
 
*'''Coal Sources (2009)'''<ref>[http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/page/eia906_920.html Energy Information Administration Form 923 for 2009]</ref>
 
** N F C Mining #1 Plant (Kentucky)
 
** Leeco #64 (Kentucky)
 
** Apex #1 (Kentucky)
 
** B&D #3 (Kentucky)
 
** Bledsoe #1 (Kentucky)
 
** Cane Branch South #45 (Virginia)
 
** Cave Branch (Kentucky)
 
** [[Holden 22 Surface Mine]] (Kentucky)
 
** [[Hernshaw Mine|Hernshaw Mine 1]] (West Virginia)
 
** [[Highsplint Strip Mine]] (Kentucky)
 
** Perry County Coal Hz4-1 (Kentucky)
 
** [[Mill Branch Mine]] (Kentucky)
 
** [[Mill Creek Complex|Mill Creek Mine]] (Kentucky)
 
** [[Cloverlick Mine]] (Kentucky)
 
** [[McCoy Elkhorn Mine 16]] (Kentucky)
 
** McCoy Elkhorn Mine 14 (Kentucky)
 
** [[CONSOL Energy|CONSOL Energy Motts Branch]]a (Kentucky)
 
** Perry Branch (Kentucky)
 
** Nally & Hamilton Enterprises Peters Knob (Kentucky)
 
** [[Pine Branch Mine|Pine Branch #20 Strip Job]] (Kentucky)
 
** Pond Fork Processing (West Virginia)
 
** [[Raven Mine 1]] (Kentucky)
 
** [[Sigmon Strip 23 Mine]] (Virginia)
 
** [[Straight Creek Mine]] (Kentucky)
 
** [[Thunder Ridge Mine]] (Kentucky)
 
 
 
==Emissions Data==
 
*'''2006 CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions''': 22,756,191 tons
 
*'''2006 SO<sub>2</sub> Emissions''': 206,442 tons
 
*'''2006 SO<sub>2</sub> Emissions per MWh''':
 
*'''2006 NO<sub>x</sub> Emissions''': 28,636 tons
 
*'''2005 Mercury Emissions''': 967 lb.
 
 
 
==Coal Waste Site==
 
*[[Bowen Steam Plant Ash Pond]]
 
 
 
===Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Plant Bowen===
 
 
 
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 [[Particulates and coal|fine particle pollution]] from coal-fired power plants.<ref>[http://www.catf.us/resources/publications/files/The_Toll_from_Coal.pdf "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source,"] Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.</ref> Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of [[soot]], [[Heavy metals and coal|heavy metals]], [[Sulfur dioxide and coal|sulfur dioxide]], and [[Nitrogen oxide|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 of coal|external costs]], i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. [[Coal plants near residential areas|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.<ref>[http://www.catf.us/resources/publications/files/Abt-Technical_Support_Document_for_the_Powerplant_Impact_Estimator_Software_Tool.pdf "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool,"] Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010</ref>
 
 
 
====Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Plant Bowen====
 
 
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
!width="120"| Type of Impact!! width="120" | Annual Incidence !! width = "120" | Valuation
 
|-
 
| Deaths||align="right" |150||align="right" |$1,100,000,000
 
|-
 
| Heart attacks||align="right" |210||align="right" |$23,000,000
 
|-
 
| Asthma attacks||align="right" |2,500||align="right" |$130,000
 
|-
 
| Hospital admissions||align="right" |110||align="right" |$2,500,000
 
|-
 
| Chronic bronchitis||align="right" |92||align="right" |$41,000,000
 
|-
 
| Asthma ER visits||align="right" |150||align="right" |$56,000
 
|}
 
 
 
Source: [http://www.catf.us/coal/problems/power_plants/existing/ "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution,"] Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
 
 
 
==Plant Bowen ranked 25th 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 waste|coal combustion waste]] (CCW) stored in surface impoundments like the one involved in the [[TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill]].<ref name="iss">Sue Sturgis, [http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/01/coals-ticking-timebomb-could-disaster-strike-a-coal-ash-dump-near-you.html "Coal's ticking timebomb: Could disaster strike a coal ash dump near you?,"] Institute for Southern Studies, January 4, 2009.</ref> The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer/ TRI Explorer,] EPA, accessed January 2009.</ref>
 
 
 
Plant Bowen ranked number 25 on the list, with 1,684,118 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.<ref name="iss"/>
 
 
 
==Carbon dioxide emissions==
 
According to a 2009 report by Environment America, "America's Biggest Polluters," Plant Bowen is the third dirtiest plant in the nation, releasing 23.2 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2007. Ranking is based upon [[Environmental Protection Agency]] data.<ref>[http://www.environmentamerica.org/home/reports/report-archives/global-warming-solutions/global-warming-solutions/americas-biggest-polluters-carbon-dioxide-emissions-from-power-plants-in-2009#tduTppMOy9H6e9Y0dyCUeg "America's Biggest Polluters: Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants in 2007"] Environment America, November 24, 2009</ref>
 
 
 
In January 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a [http://ghgdata.epa.gov/ghgp/main.do new website] that identifies most of the nation's biggest emitters of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases. Two [[Southern Company]] coal plants near Atlanta are identified as the biggest contributors to U.S. global greenhouse gases - the [[Scherer Steam Generating Station]] in Juliette and [[Plant Bowen]] west of Cartersville, respectively - with a third Southern plant in Alabama identified as the third-biggest emitter, the [[Miller Steam Plant]] in Quinton.<ref>David Ibata, [http://www.ajc.com/news/study-southern-company-plants-1299806.html "Study: Southern Company plants are 3 biggest greenhouse gas emitters"] Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 11, 2012.</ref>
 
 
 
==Legislative issues==
 
'''House Bill 276''', proposed by Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), would put a 5-year moratorium on building new coal plants and eliminate the burning of Appalachian coal mined by [[Mountaintop removal|mountaintop removal]] by mid-2016. The Appalachian Mountain Preservation Act would gradually prohibit Georgia coal consumers from using Central Appalachian mountaintop removal beginning in 2011. The bill is backed by environmental groups including [[Appalachian Voices]] but received strong opposition from [[POWER4Georgians]], a coalition of 10 electric co-operatives seeking to build a $2 billion 850-megawatt supercritical [[Washington Plant|coal plant in Washington County]].<ref>[http://uk.reuters.com/article/behindTheScenes/idUKTRE5130E720090204 "Georgia bill proposes moratorium on new coal plants,"] Reuters, February 4, 2009.</ref><ref>Margaret Newkirk, [http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/02/04/legcoal0204.html "Bill would restrict coal power plants,"] ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', February 4, 2009.</ref>
 
 
 
==Citizen groups==
 
{{#ev:youtube|QAWk8194D3U|400|right|Focus the Nation: Valdosta State University|frame}}
 
*[http://cleanpower4georgians.com/ CleanPower4Georgians]
 
*[http://www.facenvironment.org/ Fall-line Alliance for Clean Environment]
 
*[http://www.focusthenation.org/ Focus the Nation]
 
*[[Friends of the Chattahoochee]]
 
*[[GreenLaw]]
 
*[http://georgia.sierraclub.org/ Sierra Club Georgia Chapter]
 
*[http://www.co-opconversations.org/UnitedStates/Georgia/ Co-op Conversations Georgia]
 
*[http://www.cobbemcwatch.org/ Cobb Alliance for Smart Energy]
 
 
 
==Articles and Resources==
 
===Sources===
 
<references/>
 
*[http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epat2p2.html Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005], Energy Information Administration, accessed Jan. 2009.
 
*Environmental Integrity Project, [http://www.dirtykilowatts.org/Dirty_Kilowatts2007.pdf "Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants"], July 2007.
 
*[http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/fii/fii_query_java.html Facility Registry System], U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, accessed Jan. 2009.
 
 
 
===Related SourceWatch Articles===
 
*[[Existing U.S. Coal Plants]]
 
*[[Georgia and coal]]
 
*[[Southern Company]]
 
*[[United States and coal]]
 
*[[Global warming]]
 
 
 
===External Articles===
 
 
 
{{stub}}
 
 
 
[[Category:United States]]
 
[[Category:Corporations]]
 
[[Category:Environment]]
 
[[Category:Energy]]
 
[[Category:Climate change]]
 
[[Category:Existing coal plants in the United States]]
 
[[Category:Existing coal plants in Georgia]]
 

Latest revision as of 15:01, 15 January 2020

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