Sammis Plant
{{#badges: CoalSwarm}} W.H. Sammis Plant is a 2,455.6-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station owned and operated by FirstEnergy near Stratton, Ohio.
Contents
Location
The undated satellite photo below shows the plant near Stratton.
Plant Data
- Owner: FirstEnergy
- Parent Company: FirstEnergy
- Plant Nameplate Capacity: 2,455.6 MW (Megawatts)
- Units and In-Service Dates: Unit 1: 190.4 MW (1959), Unit 2: 190.4 MW (1960), Unit 3: 190.4 MW (1961), Unit 4: 190.4 MW (1962), Unit 5: 334.0 MW (1967), Unit 6: 680.0 MW (1969), Unit 7: 680.0 MW (1971)
- Location: State Route 7, Stratton, OH 43961
- GPS Coordinates: 40.531322, -80.631731
- Technology:
- Coal type:
- Coal Consumption:
- Coal Source:
- Number of Employees:
- Unit Retirements:
Unit Retirements
Units 1-4, 190 MW each and commissioned between 1959 and 1962, are planned for retirement by May 2020.[1] Units 5-7, commissioned 1967 to 1971 and totaling 1694 MW gross capacity, are planned for retirement by June 1, 2022.[2]
In Juli 2019 is was reported that First Energy recinded the deactivation notice for units 5-7 origionaly planned for retirement in June 2022. [3]
Background
In 2005, FirstEnergy agreed to a US$1.5 billion overhaul of the plant that included adding an 850-foot smokestack. After the retrofit is completed, gypsum waste created by scrubbers will travel by closed conveyor belt to a landfill 2.4 miles from the plant, where the company will store as much as 1.6 million tons of sludge each year.[4]
The pollution controls were completed in 2010 at a cost of US$1.8 billion.[1]
In 2012, FirstEnergy said it would reduce operations at the plant because the electricity is not needed. Minimal operations would begin Sept. 16 and the cutbacks would continue indefinitely "until the stagnant economy improves."[5]
In September 2015 Vox reported that FirstEnergy was seeking a 15-year guaranteed agreement from the state to purchase all power that the plant produces, regardless of whether it is the lowest cost on the market. As stated in Vox, "ratepayers of three of [FirstEnergy's] distribution utilities — Illuminating Co., Ohio Edison, and Toledo Edison — would be forced to buy, through a power purchase agreement (PPA), all the power that the [Sammis plant] produces over the next 15 years, along with the output of two other very old coal plants in which FirstEnergy has a partial stake."[6]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 15,761,762 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 86,392 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 20,592 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 397 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Sammis Plant
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.[7] 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.[8]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Sammis Plant
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 160 | $1,200,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 270 | $29,000,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 2,500 | $130,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 120 | $2,900,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 96 | $43,000,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 120 | $46,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Articles and Resources
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "FirstEnergy to shut or sell last unit at Bay Shore," The Blade, July 23, 2016
- ↑ "FirstEnergy Solutions Files Deactivation Notice for Oil- and Coal-fired Plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania," PR Newswire, Aug 29, 2018
- ↑ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/firstenergy-solutions-rescinds-deactivation-notices-for-competitive-generating-plants-in-ohio-300891786.html
- ↑ "Scrubbing air," Columbus Dispatch, May 6, 2008
- ↑ Bob Downing, "FirstEnergy to cut back operations at Sammis power plant," McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - The Akron Beacon Journal, August 17, 2012.
- ↑ David Roberts, "This Ohio utility has an innovative plan to save coal power: force customers to buy it," Vox, Sep 3, 2015
- ↑ "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
- 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.
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