Cumberland Power Plant

Cumberland Power Plant at Cumberland City

Cumberland Power Plant is a 2.6-GW pulverized coal-powered power station located at 36°23′29″N 87°39′17″W / 36.39139°N 87.65472°WCoordinates: 36°23′29″N 87°39′17″W / 36.39139°N 87.65472°W in Cumberland City, Tennessee, USA, on the south bank of Lake Barkley on the Cumberland River. Owned and operated by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), it produces the most electricity of all plants in the TVA system.^[1]

Tall chimneys

It has two of the tallest chimneys in the world at 1,001 feet (305 m), built in 1970.

Individual units

Its identical Units 1 and 2, rated at 1.3 GW each, were launched into service in March and November, 1973.^[2] In 2004, the two units accounted for almost 12% of TVA's total electricity generation.^[1]

Coal delivery

Bituminous coal is delivered by barges along the Cumberland River waterway. The plant consumes about 20,000 tons of coal a day.^[1]

Water use

All of the waste heat is dumped into Cumberland River water.

Pollution and releases into environment

Toxic release inventory from Cumberland power plant for 2005.^[3] All quantities are in pounds.

Pollutant	Air	Water	Land	Offsite disposal	Total
Antimony compounds	39	178	8,947	0	9,164
Arsenic compounds	182	119	46,096	0	46,397
Barium compounds	142	0	279,200	25	279,367
Beryllium compounds	10	0	9,952	1	9,963
Cadmium compounds
Chromium compounds	368	142	87,420	7	87,937
Cobalt compounds	63	89	19,887	1	20,040
Copper compounds	286	6,798	64,120	3	71,207
Lead compounds	253	0	59,122	3	59,378
Manganese compounds	558	33,864	177,130	18	211,570
Mercury compounds	240	0	346	0	586
Nickel compounds	516	2,504	98,180	6	101,206
Selenium compounds	2,501	2,075	6,573	0	11,149
Silver compounds
Thallium compounds	36	0	30,200	2	30,239
Vanadium compounds	290	0	191,560	13	191,864
Zinc compounds	2,006	2,447	248,070	12	252,534
Hydrochloric acid (aerosol)	340,006	0	0	0	340,006
Hydrogen fluoride	72,006	0	0	0	72,006
Sulfuric acid (aerosol)	8,793,606	0	0	0	8,793,606
Benzo(g,h,i)perylene	0.21	0	0.65	0	0.87
Dioxins	0.008	0	0	0	0.008
Polycyclic aromatic compounds	49.8	0	59.2	0.0	109.0
Naphthalene	100	0	0	0	100
Ammonia	3,640	316	0	0	3,956
Nitrate compounds	0	128,879	0	0	132,407

Environmental protection measures

To reduce sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions, both units at Cumberland use wet limestone scrubbers. To reduce nitrogen oxides (NO_x), the units use low-NO_x burners as well as selective catalytic reduction systems, which were completed in 2004.^[1]

References

1. "Cumberland Fossil Plant". Tennessee Valley Authority. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
2. "Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2006" (Excel). Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
3. "Cumberland Fossil Plant, Emissions". Tennessee Valley Authority. Retrieved 2008-07-18.

External links

• Chimney Diagram