Hal B. Wansley Power Plant
| Company type | Consortium |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy generation |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Headquarters | Heard County , United States |
Area served | Georgia, United States |
| Products | Electricity (coal, oil, natural gas) |
| Owner | Southern Company, Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, Dalton Utilities |
Hal B. Wansley Power Plant is an energy generation facility located in the northeastern region of Heard County, Georgia, positioned between the cities of Franklin, Georgia and Carrollton, Georgia. The plant's generating units, which utilize coal, oil, and natural gas as fuel sources, are managed by a consortium including Southern Company, Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, and Dalton Utilities.
Location
This power station is found in the northeastern quadrant of Heard County, Georgia, situated roughly south of Carrollton and an equivalent distance northeast of Franklin.
Yellow Dirt Church Cemetery controversy
The historic Yellow Dirt Church Cemetery is located within the boundaries of the power plant property. Visitors must register and be accompanied by security personnel while on site.
Originally part of land owned by Yellow Dirt Baptist Church (established in 1872), the church sold the majority of its property to Georgia Power in 1971 but retained ownership of a two-acre section containing the cemetery. Disputes emerged when employees of Georgia Power attempted to exert control over this privately held parcel.
In September 2011, seven Confederate flags placed on veterans’ graves were removed by Georgia Power. The Sons of Confederate Veterans reinstated the flags in October 2011; however, the utility removed them once more citing a company policy prohibiting "offensive materials" on its premises. Members of the church, including descendants of those interred there, protested this action, asserting their property rights and emphasizing that the flags were not located on company-owned land. Following a title search conducted in November 2011, Georgia Power acknowledged the cemetery’s private status. Subsequently, the Sons of Confederate Veterans and family members restored the flags.
Georgia Power Company owned
- Two dual-fuel Units 1 and 2 (also designated SG01 and SG02) capable of operating on either bituminous coal or oil. Each unit has a capacity of 952 MWe, began operation in 1976 and 1978 respectively, and were decommissioned by August 2022.
- An oil-powered unit 5A, with a generating capacity of 52.8 MWe, which commenced operation in 1980.
Southern Power owned
- Natural gas-fired combined-cycle steam turbines Units ST6 and ST7, each rated at 213.3 MWe, entered service in 2002.
- Combined-cycle steam turbine units CT6A, CT6B, CT7A, and CT7B, each with a capacity of 203.1 MWe, also commissioned in June 2002.
Units ST6, CT6A, and CT6B are collectively referred to as unit 6; their counterparts form unit 7.
Oglethorpe Power Corporation owned
Unit 8, known as the Chattahoochee Energy Facility, consists of three combined-cycle gas turbines: Units 1 and 2 at 176 MWe each, and Unit 3 at 187.7 MWe; all began operations in 2003.
Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia owned
Wansley’s Unit 9 includes three combined-cycle gas turbines: CT1 and CT2, each rated at 171 MWe, along with ST1 rated at 226 MWe; all commissioned in 2004.
Coal delivery
Coal is transported to the plant via Norfolk Southern Railway unit trains comprising approximately 100 cars carrying a total of about 10,000 tons. Automated unloading systems clear an entire train within roughly 30 minutes. Conveyor belts then move coal either to storage piles or directly to bunkers designed to hold a reserve sufficient for about 14 hours of operation; overall inventory targets maintain around a month’s supply.
Initially crushed at the mining site, coal undergoes further pulverization on-site before being stored. Pulverizers grind the coal into fine powder mixed with air for combustion within boilers. When operating at full capacity, Plant Wansley consumes around 14,000 tons daily, amounting to an annual usage between four and five million tons.
Cooling water
The source of cooling water is the "service water pond," which is created by damming a creek that feeds into the Chattahoochee River located just southeast of the facility.
Within the coal-fired units 1 and 2, water undergoes transformation into steam at and . When operating at maximum capacity of 920 MWe, each turbine handles of steam hourly. The low-pressure steam then moves into a condenser where it cools down and reverts to water, allowing the cycle to continue. The heat released during steam condensation is absorbed by warm water circulating through cooling towers, where it dissipates through evaporation and forced air convection.
Environment
Electrostatic precipitators installed on units 1 and 2 capture more than 99% of fly ash present in the exhaust gases. The implementation of digital boiler controls, low NOx burners, and selective catalytic reduction systems has reduced nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by close to 90%. The use of cooling towers combined with a closed-loop steam cycle ensures that thermal pollution in the Chattahoochee River is avoided.
Almost all sulfur oxides in the flue gas are removed by employing wet scrubbers alongside hydrated lime injection technology.
External links
- Articles with short description
- Energy infrastructure completed in 1976
- Energy infrastructure completed in 1978
- Energy infrastructure completed in 1980
- Energy infrastructure completed in 2002
- Energy infrastructure completed in 2003
- Energy infrastructure completed in 2004
- Towers completed in 1976
- Towers in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Buildings and structures in Heard County, Georgia
- Natural gas-fired power stations in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Coal-fired power stations in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Chimneys in the United States
- 1976 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Oglethorpe Power
- Georgia Power