General James M. Gavin Power Plant is a 2,600-

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

supercritical coal-fired

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

in the village of Cheshire, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Lightstone Generation LLC, a 50–50 joint venture of The Blackstone Group L.P. and ArcLight Capital Partners. Gavin is the largest coal-fired power facility in Ohio, and one of the largest in the US, capable of powering two million homes. In February 2017, the plant represented slightly more than 11% of the total electric generation capacity in Ohio according to the

Energy Information Administration The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System responsible for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and publ ...

(EIA). The plant was named in honor of James Maurice "Jumpin' Jim" Gavin, the third

Commanding General The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitud ...

(CG) of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from tho ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

History

Gavin's two units, rated at 1,300 MW each, were placed into service in 1974 and 1975. The power plant is connected to the electric transmission grid by 765-kilovolt transmission lines. In 2002, to avoid lawsuits relating to air pollution in the village of Cheshire, the

American Electric Power American Electric Power (AEP), (railcar reporting mark: AEPX) is a major investor-owned electric utility in the United States, delivering electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest g ...

(AEP) corporation decided to buy out the town, by paying every homeowner 3.5 times the market value of their home to move. The total deal came to around $20 million. AEP sold Gavin along with three other plants to Blackstone and ArcLight as a part of a $2.17 billion deal in 2016. The power plant has been using unlined pits to store its

fly ash Fly ash, flue ash, coal ash, or pulverised fuel ash (in the UK) plurale tantum: coal combustion residuals (CCRs)is a coal combustion product that is composed of the particulates (fine particles of burned fuel) that are driven out of coal-fired ...

, which could contaminate

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

. The facility's owners applied for a permit from the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

(EPA) to continue operating and using the unlined pits. In November 2022, the EPA ordered the utility to stop dumping coal ash into unlined storage ponds and speed cleanup of the site. The plant may have to pause or even cease operations in order to comply with the order. The order becomes effective 135 days after publication in the Federal Register. If additional time is needed, the order included a process to address demonstrated grid reliability issues.

Operations

Gavin is equipped with a suite of air quality controls. These include

selective catalytic reduction Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is a means of converting nitrogen oxides, also referred to as with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen (), and water (). A reductant, typically anhydrous ammonia (), aqueous ammonia (), or a urea () s ...

units that reduce

nitrogen oxide Nitrogen oxide may refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds: Charge-neutral *Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen(II) oxide, or nitrogen monoxide * Nitrogen dioxide (), nitrogen(IV) oxide * Nitrogen trioxide (), or ...

() emissions by 82%;

flue-gas desulfurization Flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) is a set of technologies used to remove sulfur dioxide () from exhaust flue gases of fossil-fuel power plants, and from the emissions of other sulfur oxide emitting processes such as waste incineration. Methods ...

(FGD) units (scrubbers) that remove 94% of

sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic a ...

() emissions and

electrostatic precipitator An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is a filterless device that removes fine particles, like dust and smoke, from a flowing gas using the force of an induced electrostatic charge minimally impeding the flow of gases through the unit. In con ...

s for particulate control. Together the controls reduce mercury emissions by up to 91% and particulates by 99%. The plant contributes approximately $6 million a year in property taxes that support the

Gallia County Gallia County (pronunciation: ''GAL-yuh'') is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,220. Its county seat is Gallipolis. Named after the French people who originally settled there, its nam ...

school system and government. The plant is Gallia County's largest taxpayer and makes annual contributions of more than $50,000 to local charities and non-profits.

References

Energy infrastructure completed in 1974 Energy infrastructure completed in 1975 Coal-fired power stations in Ohio Buildings and structures in Gallia County, Ohio {{US-powerstation-stub

History

Operations

See also

References