John E. Amos Power Plant
| Company type | Coal-fired power station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electric power generation |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Headquarters | Putnam County , United States |
Area served | Appalachian Power service area |
| Products | Electricity |
| Owner | Appalachian Power (a division of American Electric Power) |
Number of employees | 300 |
John E. Amos Power Plant consists of three coal-burning units and is owned by Appalachian Power, a division of American Electric Power (AEP). Boasting a total installed capacity of 2,933 MW, it stands as the largest power generation facility within the AEP network. The plant is named in honor of John E. Amos, who served as both a state senator and a member of AEP’s board, underscoring its significance in the regional electricity supply.
Background
Positioned between West Virginia Route 817 (Winfield Road) and the Kanawha River, this facility receives coal shipments via barge or rail, maintaining a coal inventory that can hold up to 1.75 million tons. When operating at full load, it consumes around 26,000 tons of coal daily. The coal is transported to pulverizers where it is finely ground before being burned in supercritical, dry-bottom boilers functioning at approximately 1000°F. The steam generated then powers turbines linked to generators that produce electricity initially at 26,000 volts; this voltage is subsequently increased to 345,000 and 765,000 volts for transmission purposes.
Units 1 and 2 each deliver 816.3 MW and commenced operations in 1971 and 1972 respectively. Their boilers produce steam at a rate of 5.3 million pounds per hour, utilizing six pulverizers per unit to process about 120,000 pounds of coal every hour. Unit 3, which began service in 1973, has a capacity of 1,300 MW with boilers generating 9.775 million pounds of steam hourly. The plant burns a mixture of low-sulfur coal along with high-sulfur coal from Northern Appalachia.
Phil Moye, an AEP spokesperson, stated that the John Amos facility supplies power sufficient to meet the needs of approximately two million households. The plant employs nearly 300 individuals and pays an annual payroll totaling $27.1 million.
As part of an agreement between Appalachian Power and the Sierra Club, a retirement study evaluating the plant’s economic performance and market conditions was planned for completion in 2022.
Environmental mitigation
Appalachian Power implemented selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology across all three units—Unit 3 in 2002, Unit 2 in 2004, and Unit 1 in 2005—achieving a reduction of around 90% in nitrogen oxide () emissions. The total expenditure for installing SCR systems reached $346 million. Furthermore, a $1.3 billion flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) upgrade finalized in 2010 lowered sulfur dioxide () emissions by approximately 95%.