John W. Turk Jr. Coal Plant

John W. Turk Jr. Coal Plant
Location of John W. Turk Jr. Coal Plant in Arkansas
Country United States
Location Fulton, Hempstead County, Arkansas
Coordinates 33°39′02″N 93°48′42″W / 33.6505187°N 93.8115353°W / 33.6505187; -93.8115353Coordinates: 33°39′02″N 93°48′42″W / 33.6505187°N 93.8115353°W / 33.6505187; -93.8115353
Status Operational
Construction began 2008 (2008)
Commission date December 20, 2012 (2012-12-20)
Construction cost $1.8 billion
Owner(s) American Electric Power/SWEPCO (73%),
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (12%),
East Texas Electric Cooperative (8%),
Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (7%)
Operator(s) AEP/SWEPCO
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Sub-bituminous pulverized coal
Power generation
Units operational 1
Nameplate capacity 600 MW
[1][2]

The John W. Turk Jr. Coal Plant is a base load 600-megawatt coal-fired power station in Fulton, Arkansas, operated by the American Electric Power subsidiary Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO). It provides power to customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.

It came online in 2012 as the first sustained "ultra"-supercritical coal plant in the United States, reaching boiler temperatures above 1,112 °F and pressures above 4,500 psi.[3] The plant relies on low-sulfur coal from the Powder River Basin and is named for John W. Turk Jr., president and CEO of SWEPCO from 1983 to 1988.

Its construction was embroiled in regulatory roadblocks and environmental lawsuits. At a total cost of $1.8 billion, it was the most expensive project in the state's history.[2]

Controversy

Though first proposed in 2006, regulatory issues and lawsuits delayed completion by 15 months. As part of a settlement reached in December 2011 with the Sierra Club, the National Audubon Society, Audubon Arkansas and the Hempstead County Hunting Club, American Electric Power/SWEPCO agreed to close one of the 528-megawatt generating units at its J. Robert Welsh Power Plant in Texas by the end of 2016 and purchase 400 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by the end of 2014.

The settlement also required the company to contribute $8 million to The Nature Conservancy, $2 million to the Arkansas Community Foundation and reimburse $2 million in legal fees.[4][5] American Electric Power/SWEPCO agreed to never install additional generating units at the plant or build another coal-fired facility within 30 miles.

SWEPCO announced in January 2012 it had reached 20-year agreements to purchase 359 megawatts of wind power from sources in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas, more than quadrupling its wind power portfolio.[6] The Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority, 7 percent owner of the Turk plant, entered a 25-year agreement in 2012 to purchase 49 megawatts of wind power capacity.[7]

Generation

American Electric Power/SWEPCO estimates the plant's ultra-supercritical generation process achieves between 39 and 40 percent efficiency. To overcome material stress from the plant's higher pressure and temperature, engineers used new nickel and chrome alloys in the boiler and its components.[8]

Emissions and waste

Compared to a conventional coal-fired plant of similar output, AEP/SWEPCO estimated the Turk facility's ultra-supercritical process would use 180,000 fewer tons of coal and produce 320,000 fewer tons of carbon dioxide annually.[9] Ash and other solid waste is disposed of at an on-site landfill lined with a synthetic material.[10]

Emissions controls at the plant include selective catalytic reduction for nitrous oxide, flue-gas desulfurization for sulfur dioxide, activated carbon injection for mercury and pulse-jet fabric filter baghouse for particulate matter.[11]

Greenhouse gases

According to data reported to the EPA, the plant released 3.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2013.[12] The emissions in metric tons comprised:

References

  1. ↑ "John W. Turk Jr. Power Plant". American Electric Power. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "AEP’s John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant Earns POWER’s Highest Honor". Power Magazine. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Can "Ultrasupercritical" Technology Save Coal Power?". Thomasnet.com. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  4. ↑ "AEP Resolves All Legal Challenges Against Turk Plant". Arkansas Electric Power. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  5. ↑ "SWEPCO: Legal challenges to Turk plant settled". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  6. ↑ Turner, Lance (January 25, 2012). "As Part of Turk Settlement with Sierra Club, Swepco Buys Wind Energy". Arkansas Business. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  7. ↑ "OMPA To Purchase 49.2 Megawatts Of Canadian Hills Wind Farm". Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Ultra-supercritical generation: Increased Efficiency with Increased Environmental Performance" (PDF). American Electric Power. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Boilermakers help build first U.S. ultra-supercritical unit". The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  10. ↑ "John W. Turk Jr. Power Plant – Environmental Fact Sheet" (PDF) (PDF). Southwestern Electric Power Company. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  11. ↑ "John W. Turk Power Plant Update" (PDF). American Electric Power. May 31, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  12. ↑ "EPA Facility Level GHG Emissions Data". Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
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