Big Bend Station
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Big Bend Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by TECO Energy near Apollo Beach, Florida.
In 2018, TECO Energy announced plans to repower its Big Bend Unit 1 with a natural gas-fired combined-cycle unit by 2023, starting in 2019, and to retire its Big Bend Unit 2 in 2021.[1]
Contents
Location
The plant is located across Tampa Bay from Tampa, Florida on nearly 1,500 acres (6 km2) in southeastern Hillsborough County, close to Apollo Beach.
Plant Data
- Owner: Tampa Electric Company
- Parent Company: TECO Energy
- Plant Nameplate Capacity: 1,822.5 MW
- Units and In-Service Dates: Unit 1: 445.5 MW (1970), Unit 2: 445.5 MW (1973), Unit 3: 445.5 MW (1976), Unit 4: 486 MW (1985)
- Location: 13031 Wyandotte Rd., Apollo Beach, FL 33572
- GPS Coordinates: 27.797444, -82.405194
- Technology:
- Coal type:
- Coal Consumption:
- Coal Source: Alliance Coal Warrior Prep Plant; Dotiki Mine.[2]
- Number of Employees:
- Unit Retirements: Unit 1 scheduled to switch to natural gas before 2023, Unit 2 to retire in 2021
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 11,760,766 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 13,977 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 30,714 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 137 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Big Bend 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.[3] 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 Big Bend Station. 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.[4]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Big Bend Station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 17 | $120,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 23 | $2,500,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 240 | $12,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 13 | $290,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 9 | $4,200,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 14 | $5,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Accident
On June 29, 2017, molten slag from a coal boiler killed 5 and injured 1.[5]
Pilot CCS program
On July 26, 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it had partnered with Siemens for a pilot carbon capture and storage project at the plant.[6]
Coal Waste Site
Citizen groups
- Big Bend Climate Action Team
- Conservancy of Southwest Florida
- Environment Florida
- Florida Wildlife Federation
- Save It Now, Glades
- Sierra Club Florida Chapter
Articles and Resources
- ↑ "Big Bend Modernization," TECO, accessed June 2018
- ↑ "EIA 423 and Schedule 2 of EIA-923," EIA 923 Schedules 2, 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
- ↑ McGrory, Kathleen (2017-12-28). "OSHA: Tampa Electric ignored its own rules in accident that killed 5 workers", Tampa Bay Times.
- ↑ [http://www.sunherald.com/2010/07/26/2357868/tampa-electric-to-participate.html "Tampa Electric to Participate in Two U.S. Department of Energy Funded Demonstration Projects Designed to Advance Carbon Dioxide Capture Technologies" SunHerald.com, July 26, 2010.
Sources
- Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005, Energy Information Administration, accessed Jan. 2009.
- Environmental Integrity Project, "Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants", July 2007.
- Facility Registry System, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, accessed Jan. 2009.
Related SourceWatch Articles
External Articles
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