Sandow Power Plant

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Sandow Power Plant
CountryUnited States
LocationRockdale, Texas
Coordinates30°33′51″N 97°3′50″W / 30.56417°N 97.06389°W / 30.56417; -97.06389Coordinates: 30°33′51″N 97°3′50″W / 30.56417°N 97.06389°W / 30.56417; -97.06389
StatusDecommissioned
Commission dateUnits 1–3: 1954
Unit 4: 1981
Unit 5: 2009
Decommission dateUnits 1–3: 2009
Units 4–5: January, 2018
Owner(s)Luminant
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Cooling sourceAlcoa Lake
Power generation
Units operational2
Nameplate capacity1,137 MW
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Sandow Power Plant was a 1.1-gigawatt (1,137 MW) coal power plant located southwest of Rockdale, Texas in Milam County, Texas. It was operated by Luminant, a subsidiary of Vistra Energy. The plant closed in 2018.

Sandow Power Plant Units 1–3[]

Sandow was constructed by Alcoa in 1951 to power its nearby aluminium smelting facility.[1] Operations of Sandow's first three units began in 1954 with a nearby reservoir called Alcoa Lake utilized to cool the plant.[2] In the 1980s, Alcoa commenced a mid-life update to Units 1–3 at a cost of $63 million. After its completion, pollution from the plant increased by 13,000 tons annually. A settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was agreed upon in 2003 to remedy the plant for violating the Clear Air Act.[3] Ultimately, Units 1–3 would be decommissioned in 2009.[4]

Sandow Power Plant Units 4–5[]

The plant had two active units at the time of its closure: Unit 4 began operation in 1981 and Unit 5 began operation in 2009.[5] The power plant used lignite from the Three Oaks Mine in nearby Bastrop County, Texas.[6] Unit 4 was retrofitted with a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system by Fluor in 2008 to reduce nitrogen oxide (NO x ) emissions.[7] Transmission of electricity to the nearby aluminum smelter stopped in 2008 when Alcoa ceased smelting operations at its Rockdale facility and accused Luminant of power supply issues.[8] It was announced on October 13, 2017 that Luminant would shut down Sandow Power Plant in early-2018 due to economic factors such as low natural gas prices and growth in renewable energy.[9] The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) approved of the shut down the following month.[10] ERCOT found the plant was "not required to support ERCOT transmission system reliability," and closed by January 11, 2018.[11]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Power Plant Construction Activity Now Under Way". The Rockdale Reporter and Messenger. November 22, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved January 13, 2018 – via https://texashistory.unt.edu/. {{cite news}}: External link in |via= (help)
  2. ^ "Power Plant in Operation at Alcoa Rockdale Works". The Rockdale Reporter and Messenger. January 21, 1954. p. 1. Retrieved January 13, 2018 – via https://texashistory.unt.edu/. {{cite news}}: External link in |via= (help)
  3. ^ "U. S. Announces Clean Air Act Coal-fired Power Plant Settlement with Alcoa - Settlement Will Reduce Nitrogen Oxide and Sulfur Dioxide Emissions from Facility by More than 90 Percent". U.S. EPA. April 9, 2003. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  4. ^ "Luminant Texas Sandow coal unit seen back in service". Reuters. July 12, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  5. ^ "Sandow Power Plant". Luminant. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  6. ^ Koenig, Allan (October 13, 2017). "Luminant to Close Two Texas Power Plants" (PDF). Luminant. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  7. ^ "Fluor to provide air quality upgrades". Power Engineering. April 17, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  8. ^ "Alcoa stops aluminum production at Texas smelter". Reuters. September 30, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  9. ^ "Vistra Energy to close two more Texas coal plants". Houston Chronicle. October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  10. ^ Handy, Ryan Maye (November 20, 2017). "Layoffs on way as grid operator approves coal plant closures". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  11. ^ "ERCOT OKs Vistra's plan to retire 2,400 MW coal capacity in Texas". S&P Global Platts. November 6, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

External links[]

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