31,943
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
==Proposed coal unit closures==
===August 2009: TVA considering shutting down some aging coal plants===
In August 2009, CEO [[Tom D. Kilgore]] announced that [[Tennessee Valley Authority|TVA]] was studying the possibility of closing its [[John Sevier Fossil Plant]] in Tennessee and the oldest six units at Widows Creek. 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 Fossil Plant|Johnsonville]] plants.<ref>[http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/24/tva-may-shutter-aging-coal-fired-plants/?local "TVA may shutter aging coal-fired plants,"] ''Chattanooga Times Free Press,'' August 24, 2009.</ref>
===August 2010: TVA Announces Plans to Retire Widows Creek Units 1-6===
On August 24, 2010 TVA announced that it will retire 9 coal-fired generating units totalling about 1,000 megawatts of capacity at three locations beginning in fiscal year 2011: [[Shawnee Fossil Plant]] Unit 10 in Kentucky, [[John Sevier Fossil Plant]] Units 1 and 2 in Tennessee, and [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]] Units 1-6 in Alabama, including six units at the [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]]. In addition TVA stated that it will going to eliminate 200 jobs at these plants starting in 2011, but the workers will be placed in other positions within TVA. CEO [[Tom D. Kilgore]] said that TVA would replace the sidelined coal power with greater reliance on nuclear power and energy efficiency.<ref>[http://www.tva.com/news/releases/julsep10/coal_plants.html "TVA to idle 9 coal-fired units,"] Tennessee Valley Authority press release, August 24, 2010.</ref>
===April 2011: TVA to phase out 18 coal units, including Widows Creek===
On April 14, 2011, TVA and North Carolina settled the 5-year-old lawsuit - [[North Carolina v. TVA]] - over TVA emissions from its coal-fired plants. The deal was part of a larger settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over TVA violations of the clean air act at 11 of its coal-fired plants in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.<ref>[http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/14/1130021/tva-settles-with-nc-over-coal.html#ixzz1JWQu2mEb "TVA settles with N.C. over coal plant emissions"] News Observer.com, April 14, 2011.</ref>
As part of the North Carolina agreement, TVA agreed to phase out 18 units of its coal plants, adding up to 2,700 MW, and to install modern pollution controls on three dozen additional units.<ref>[http://action.sierraclub.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=203101.0&dlv_id=174621 "Blockbuster Agreement Takes 18 Dirty TVA Coal-Fired Power Plant Units Offline"] Sierra Club, April 14, 2011.</ref> The phase out includes two units at the [[John Sevier Fossil Plant]], all 10 units at the [[Johnsonville Fossil Plant]], both in Tennessee, and six units at the [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]] in north Alabama.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=13375691 "TVA Phasing out Hundreds of Jobs at Coal Plants"] ABC, April 14, 2011.</ref><ref name="TVA">[http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/decrees/civil/caa/tvacoal-fired-cd.pdf "Consent Decree,"] ''North Carolina v. TVA,'' U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville, accessed April 20, 2011</ref>
As part of the EPA agreement, TVA will invest an estimated $3 to $5 billion on pollution controls, invest $350 million on clean energy projects, and pay a civil penalty of $10 million.<ref>[http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/ab2d81eb088f4a7e85257359003f5339/45cbf1a4262af67b8525787200516dd7!OpenDocument "EPA Landmark Clean Air Act Settlement with TVA to Modernize Coal-Fired Power Plants and Promote Clean Energy Investments / State-of-the-art pollution controls and clean energy technology to provide up to $27 billion in annual health benefits"] EPA, April 14, 2011.</ref>
===Retirement plans for units 1-6===
On April 14, 2011, TVA and North Carolina settled a 5-year-old lawsuit - [[North Carolina v. TVA]] - over TVA emissions from its coal-fired plants. As part of the agreement, TVA agreed to phase out 18 units of its coal plants, including six units at the [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]], taking all but two offline.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=13375691 "TVA Phasing out Hundreds of Jobs at Coal Plants"] ABC, April 14, 2011.</ref><ref name="TVA">[http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/decrees/civil/caa/tvacoal-fired-cd.pdf "Consent Decree,"] ''North Carolina v. TVA,'' U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville, accessed April 20, 2011</ref> In May 2012, TVA began considering a switch to natural gas for the plant, linked up to a proposed natural gas pipeline from Tennessee through Alabama to Georgia.<ref>Ben Benton, [http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/13/TVA-natural-gas-pipeline-jackson-county-for-region/?print "Natural gas pipeline considered for tri-state region,"} Times Free Press, May 13, 2012.</ref>
Units 1-6 were etired in stages from May 2012 to July 2013.<ref name=TVA/>
===November 2013: TVA announces plan to retire unit 8===
On November 14, 2013, TVA announced that unit 8, one of the two remaining units of the plant, would be retired. The agency left the timeframe of the retirement to the discretion of the CEO. TVA also announced retirements at the [[Colbert Fossil Plant]] and the [[Paradise Fossil Plant]].<ref>Paul Gattis, [http://blog.al.com/breaking/2013/11/tva_to_cut_more_than_300_emplo.html#incart_river_default "TVA to cut more than 150 employees at two north Alabama plants,"] All Alabama, November 14, 2013</ref><Ref>Steven Mufson, [http://wapo.st/1adq28I "Tennessee Valley Authority to close 8 coal-fired power plants,"] Washington Post, November 14, 2013</ref>
Unit 8 retired October 2014<ref name=TVA/>
no edit summary
'''Widows Creek Fossil Plant''' is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] (TVA) and is located on Guntersville Reservoir on the Tennessee River in northeast Alabama.
The last unit of the power station is planned for retirement by October 2015. Google has eight coalproposed a US$600 million project that will use the plant’s preexisting electric transmission lines to power a clean energy center. Google pledges to run the 350-fired generating units and "net dependable generating capacity" acre facility entirely off of either solar or wind power (or a combination of approximately 1,629 megawattsboth). Construction of the power station commenced data center is slated to begin in 1950 and was commissioned in 19652016. According to the TVA the "plant consumes about 10,000 tons of coal a day."<ref>Tennessee Valley AuthorityNatasha Geiling, [http://wwwthinkprogress.tva.comorg/climate/2015/06/25/sites3673875/google-coal-data-center-is-coolgle/widowscreek.htm "Widows Creek Fossil The Future Is Here: Google Is Turning An Old Coal PlantInto A Clean Energy-Powered Data Center,"]Climate Progress, Tennessee Valley Authority websiteJune 25, accessed June 2008.2015</ref>
{{#display_map:
34.891361, -85.750778
|width=600
|height=400500
|type=satellite
|zoom=14
}}
==Background==
The power station has eight coal-fired generating units and "net dependable generating capacity" of approximately 1,629 megawatts. Construction of the power station commenced in 1950 and was commissioned in 1965. According to the TVA the "plant consumes about 10,000 tons of coal a day."<ref>Tennessee Valley Authority, [http://www.tva.com/sites/widowscreek.htm "Widows Creek Fossil Plant"], Tennessee Valley Authority website, accessed June 2008.</ref>
==Coal unit closures==
===August 2009: TVA considering shutting down some aging coal plants===
In August 2009, CEO [[Tom D. Kilgore]] announced that [[Tennessee Valley Authority|TVA]] was studying the possibility of closing its [[John Sevier Fossil Plant]] in Tennessee and the oldest six units at Widows Creek. 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 Fossil Plant|Johnsonville]] plants.<ref>[http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/24/tva-may-shutter-aging-coal-fired-plants/?local "TVA may shutter aging coal-fired plants,"] ''Chattanooga Times Free Press,'' August 24, 2009.</ref>
===August 2010: TVA Announces Plans to Retire Widows Creek Units 1-6===
On August 24, 2010 TVA announced that it will retire 9 coal-fired generating units totalling about 1,000 megawatts of capacity at three locations beginning in fiscal year 2011: [[Shawnee Fossil Plant]] Unit 10 in Kentucky, [[John Sevier Fossil Plant]] Units 1 and 2 in Tennessee, and [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]] Units 1-6 in Alabama, including six units at the [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]]. In addition TVA stated that it will going to eliminate 200 jobs at these plants starting in 2011, but the workers will be placed in other positions within TVA. CEO [[Tom D. Kilgore]] said that TVA would replace the sidelined coal power with greater reliance on nuclear power and energy efficiency.<ref>[http://www.tva.com/news/releases/julsep10/coal_plants.html "TVA to idle 9 coal-fired units,"] Tennessee Valley Authority press release, August 24, 2010.</ref>
===April 2011: TVA to phase out 18 coal units, including Widows Creek===
On April 14, 2011, TVA and North Carolina settled the 5-year-old lawsuit - [[North Carolina v. TVA]] - over TVA emissions from its coal-fired plants. The deal was part of a larger settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over TVA violations of the clean air act at 11 of its coal-fired plants in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.<ref>[http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/14/1130021/tva-settles-with-nc-over-coal.html#ixzz1JWQu2mEb "TVA settles with N.C. over coal plant emissions"] News Observer.com, April 14, 2011.</ref>
As part of the North Carolina agreement, TVA agreed to phase out 18 units of its coal plants, adding up to 2,700 MW, and to install modern pollution controls on three dozen additional units.<ref>[http://action.sierraclub.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=203101.0&dlv_id=174621 "Blockbuster Agreement Takes 18 Dirty TVA Coal-Fired Power Plant Units Offline"] Sierra Club, April 14, 2011.</ref> The phase out includes two units at the [[John Sevier Fossil Plant]], all 10 units at the [[Johnsonville Fossil Plant]], both in Tennessee, and six units at the [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]] in north Alabama.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=13375691 "TVA Phasing out Hundreds of Jobs at Coal Plants"] ABC, April 14, 2011.</ref><ref name="TVA">[http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/decrees/civil/caa/tvacoal-fired-cd.pdf "Consent Decree,"] ''North Carolina v. TVA,'' U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville, accessed April 20, 2011</ref>
As part of the EPA agreement, TVA will invest an estimated $3 to $5 billion on pollution controls, invest $350 million on clean energy projects, and pay a civil penalty of $10 million.<ref>[http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/ab2d81eb088f4a7e85257359003f5339/45cbf1a4262af67b8525787200516dd7!OpenDocument "EPA Landmark Clean Air Act Settlement with TVA to Modernize Coal-Fired Power Plants and Promote Clean Energy Investments / State-of-the-art pollution controls and clean energy technology to provide up to $27 billion in annual health benefits"] EPA, April 14, 2011.</ref>
===Retirement plans for units 1-6===
On April 14, 2011, TVA and North Carolina settled a 5-year-old lawsuit - [[North Carolina v. TVA]] - over TVA emissions from its coal-fired plants. As part of the agreement, TVA agreed to phase out 18 units of its coal plants, including six units at the [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant]], taking all but two offline.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=13375691 "TVA Phasing out Hundreds of Jobs at Coal Plants"] ABC, April 14, 2011.</ref><ref name="TVA">[http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/decrees/civil/caa/tvacoal-fired-cd.pdf "Consent Decree,"] ''North Carolina v. TVA,'' U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville, accessed April 20, 2011</ref> In May 2012, TVA began considering a switch to natural gas for the plant, linked up to a proposed natural gas pipeline from Tennessee through Alabama to Georgia.<ref>Ben Benton, [http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/13/TVA-natural-gas-pipeline-jackson-county-for-region/?print "Natural gas pipeline considered for tri-state region,"} Times Free Press, May 13, 2012.</ref>
Units 1-6 were retired in stages from May 2012 to July 2013.<ref name=TVA/>
===November 2013: TVA announces plan to retire unit 8===
On November 14, 2013, TVA announced that unit 8, one of the two remaining units of the plant, would be retired. The agency left the timeframe of the retirement to the discretion of the CEO. TVA also announced retirements at the [[Colbert Fossil Plant]] and the [[Paradise Fossil Plant]].<ref>Paul Gattis, [http://blog.al.com/breaking/2013/11/tva_to_cut_more_than_300_emplo.html#incart_river_default "TVA to cut more than 150 employees at two north Alabama plants,"] All Alabama, November 14, 2013</ref><Ref>Steven Mufson, [http://wapo.st/1adq28I "Tennessee Valley Authority to close 8 coal-fired power plants,"] Washington Post, November 14, 2013</ref>
Unit 8 retired October 2014.<ref name=TVA/>
===Unit 7===
In May 2015 TVA said it would close the last remaining unit 7 at its Widows Creek coal plant in October 2015. Unit 7 was scheduled to be shut down in 2019, but TVA Chief Operating Officer Chip Pardee said early closure would be more favorable for TVA financially than continuing to operate it.<ref>[http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/05/tva_to_close_last_unit_at_wido.html "TVA to close last unit at Widows Creek coal plant, 90 jobs lost,"] Alabama.com, May 7, 2015</ref>
==Plant Data==
*'''Plant Nameplate Capacity''': 1,969 MW
*'''Units and In-Service Dates''': 141 MW (1952), 141 MW (1952), 141 MW (1952), 141 MW (1953), 141 MW (1954), 141 MW (1954), 575 MW (1961), 550 MW (1965)
*'''Retirement:''' Units 1-6: Retired in stages from May 2012 to July 2013; Unit 8 retired October 2014<ref name=TVA>[http://www.tva.com/sites/widowscreek.htm "Widows Creek Fossil Plant,"] Tennessee Valley Authority, accessed June 2015</ref>; Unit 7 is planned for October 2015
*'''Location''': County Road 96, Stevenson, AL 35772
*'''GPS Coordinates''': 34.891361, -85.750778
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
==Coal Waste Site==
