Kingston Fossil Plant

Kingston Fossil Plant, commonly known as Kingston Steam Plant, is a 1.4-gigawatt (1,398 MW) coal-fired power plant located in Roane County, just outside Kingston, Tennessee on the shore of Watts Bar Lake. It is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The plant is known for the Kingston Fossil Plant fly ash spill which occurred in December 2008.

Kingston Fossil Plant
Kingston Fossil Plant
CountryUnited States
LocationRoane County, Tennessee, near Kingston, Tennessee
Coordinates35°53′54″N 84°31′08″W
StatusOperational
Commission dateUnit 1: February 8, 1954[1]

Unit 2: April 29, 1954[1]
Unit 3: June 11, 1954[2]
Unit 4: July 27, 1954[1]
Unit 5: January 18, 1955[3]
Unit 6: March 3, 1955[1]
Unit 7: May 6, 1955[1]
Unit 8: August 3, 1955[1]

Unit 9: December 2, 1955[1]
Owner(s)Tennessee Valley Authority
Operator(s)Tennessee Valley Authority
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Cooling sourceWatts Bar Lake
Power generation
Units operational9
Nameplate capacity1,398 MW
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons

History

Construction of the Kingston Fossil Plant began on April 30, 1951.[4] It was the largest coal-fired power plant in the world when completed in 1955.[5] It was built primarily to provide electricity for the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory.[6] A dedication ceremony for the plant took place on November 17, 1955.[7] The plant is a popular site for birdwatchers, as many waterfowl come to the settling and treatment ponds nearby.[8]

The plant has nine generating units: Units 1–4, rated at 175 MW each (launched into service in 1954), and Units 5–9, rated at 200 MW each (launched in 1955).[9] Combined, the plant has a total capacity of 1,700 MWe (1,398 MWe net). It produces about ten billion kilowatt hours of electricity from some five million tons of coal each year. All nine generating units are equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems to reduce nitrogen oxide (NO
x ) emissions that contribute to the formation of ozone.[5][10] In 1976, its original nine stacks were taken out of service (though left standing) and replaced by a pair of 1,000-foot (304.8 meter) tall chimneys, one for Units 1–5 and one for Units 6–9.[11] These stacks were replaced with a single stack connected to scrubbers which were installed in 2007.

2008 spill
Main article: Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill

In December 2008, an impoundment at the plant failed, releasing 1.1 billion US gallons (4,200,000 m3) of coal fly ash slurry that covered up to 300 acres (1.2 km2) of the surrounding land, damaging homes and flowing into nearby waterways such as the Emory River and Clinch River, tributaries of the Tennessee River. This was the largest accidental release of coal fly ash in the United States.

EPA compliance agreement

On April 14, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations at 11 of its coal-fired plants in Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee.[12] Under the terms of the agreement, Units 1–9 will continuously operate Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems to reduce their emissions of NO
x .[13]

See also

References
  1. Tennessee Valley Authority (1965), p. 267
  2. "Kingston Starts Unit". Knoxville News Sentinel. June 12, 1954. Retrieved 2020-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "TVA Capacity Tops 7 Million KW". Knoxville News Sentinel. January 19, 1955. p. 17. Retrieved 2020-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Pittman, Bart. "Work On TVA's Kingston Steam Plant To Be Completed Next Year". The Knoxville Journal. p. 57. Retrieved 2020-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant page". Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  6. Office of Engineering Design and Construction (1965). The Kingston Steam Plant: A Report on the Planning, Design, Construction, Costs, and First Power Operations (Report). Tennessee Valley Authority. p. 1-12. Tennessee Valley Authority Technical Report no. 34. Retrieved 2020-08-23 – via Google Books.
  7. "Kingston Steam Plant Finish Celebrated". Knoxville News Sentinel. Associated Press. November 17, 1955. p. 18. Retrieved 2020-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Charles P. Nicholson and Ron Hoff, Birding at Kingston Steam Plant, Tennessee Ornithological Society, September 2006
  9. "Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2006" (Excel). Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  10. Donald Borio and Robert Babb, Technical and Economic Considerations in Hot or Cold Placement of SCR Systems for Utility Boilers Archived 2006-10-16 at the Wayback Machine, ICAC Forum '02
  11. "Kingston Power Plant entry at skyscraperpage.com".
  12. Tennessee Valley Authority Clean Air Act Settlement
  13. Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement Between EPA and TVA
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