John W. Turk Jr. Coal Plant
| Company type | Power station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electric power generation |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Headquarters | Fulton , United States |
Area served | Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas |
| Products | Electricity |
| Owner | Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), a subsidiary of American Electric Power |
The John W. Turk Jr. Coal Plant is a megawatt coal-fired power station located in Fulton, Arkansas. It is managed by Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), a subsidiary of American Electric Power, and provides electricity to consumers across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
Named in honor of former SWEPCO president and CEO John W. Turk Jr., the facility commenced operations in 2012 as the United States' inaugural continuous "ultra"-supercritical coal-fired power plant, reaching boiler temperatures exceeding and pressures surpassing .[1] The plant utilizes low-sulfur coal sourced from the Powder River Basin.
With an investment of $1.8 billion, this project stands as the most costly development in Arkansas history. Its construction was met with regulatory hurdles and environmental litigation.[2]
Litigation
Since 2006, environmental lawsuits aimed at safeguarding the surrounding ecosystem delayed the plant’s construction, raising concerns about potential harm to local fish populations, wildlife habitats, grasslands, and hardwood forests.
In December 2011, American Electric Power/SWEPCO reached a settlement with the Sierra Club, National Audubon Society, Audubon Arkansas, and Hempstead County Hunting Club. The agreement mandated shutting down one 528-megawatt unit at the J. Robert Welsh Power Plant in Texas by 2016 and acquiring 400 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2014.
Additional terms included an $8 million donation to The Nature Conservancy, $2 million to the Arkansas Community Foundation, reimbursement of $2 million for legal expenses, and a pledge not to expand generating units at the Turk facility or construct another coal plant within a 30-mile radius.
In January 2012, SWEPCO finalized contracts spanning two decades to purchase 359 megawatts of wind energy from sources in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas—effectively quadrupling its wind energy holdings. The Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority, which owns a 7% stake in the Turk plant, entered into a 25-year agreement for 49 megawatts of wind capacity.
Generation
American Electric Power/SWEPCO reports that the plant’s ultra-supercritical combustion technology delivers efficiency rates between 39% and 40%. To withstand extreme pressures and temperatures, engineers incorporated advanced nickel-chromium alloys into the boiler and associated equipment.
Emissions and waste
Compared with conventional coal-fired power plants producing similar output levels, AEP/SWEPCO estimates that the ultra-supercritical process at Turk reduces coal consumption by approximately 180,000 tons annually and cuts carbon dioxide emissions by around 320,000 tons per year. Solid waste such as ash is managed onsite within a landfill lined with synthetic materials to prevent contamination.
Emission reduction systems employed include selective catalytic reduction targeting nitrous oxide, flue-gas desulfurization for sulfur dioxide removal, activated carbon injection to capture mercury emissions, and a pulse-jet fabric filter baghouse designed to control particulate matter.
Groundwater pollution
A 2019 analysis conducted by the Environmental Integrity Project detected lithium concentrations in groundwater near the facility at levels three times above accepted safety thresholds. However, utility operators challenged the validity of this study’s methodology.
Greenhouse gas emissions
According to EPA statistics, the facility released a total of 4,011,207 metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2017, which included:
- Carbon dioxide: 3,979,770 metric tons
- Methane: 11,500 metric tons
- Nitrous oxide: 19,937 metric tons
Awards and honors
The plant was recognized as the 2013 Plant of the Year by POWER Magazine. Additionally, in 2015, Peabody Energy acknowledged it for achieving the lowest nitrous oxide emission rate and heat rate among coal-fired power plants in the United States.
See also
External links
- Generation and fuel usage data provided by the Energy Information Administration Electricity Data Browser
- ↑ "Can "Ultrasupercritical" Technology Save Coal Power?". Thomasnet.com. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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