Cumberland Fossil Plant is a pulverized

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

- 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 electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

located west of

Cumberland City, Tennessee Cumberland City is a town in Stewart County, Tennessee. The population was 311 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Clarksville, TN — Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. Cumberland City is the site of a TVA Cumberland Fossil Plant al ...

, US, on the south bank of

Lake Barkley Lake Barkley, a reservoir in Livingston County, Lyon County and Trigg County in Kentucky and extending into Stewart County and Houston County in Tennessee, was impounded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 upon the completion of ...

on the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

. Owned and operated by

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

(TVA), it has a gross capacity of 2,470 MW, and is the most powerful power station in Tennessee.

Description

Commissioned in 1968, the Cumberland Fossil Plant contains two identical units, rated at 1.235 GWe gross each, Units 1 and 2 were launched into service in March and November 1973, respectively. In 2004, the two units accounted for almost 12% of TVA's total electricity generation. As of the mid 2010s, however, TVA's

Sequoyah Nuclear Plant The Sequoyah Nuclear Plant is a nuclear power plant located on located east of Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, and north of Chattanooga, abutting Chickamauga Lake on the Tennessee River. The facility is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Auth ...

near Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, with a slightly lower capacity, was generating more power. The Cumberland Fossil Plant has two of the tallest chimneys in the world at , built in 1970. These chimneys are no longer in use, having been replaced with smaller chimneys connected to the

scrubber Scrubber systems (e.g. chemical scrubbers, gas scrubbers) are a diverse group of air pollution control devices that can be used to remove some particulates and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams. An early application of a carbon dioxide scr ...

Bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

is delivered by

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

s along the

waterway. The plant consumes about 20,000 tons of coal per day. All of the waste heat is dumped into

water. On January 10, 2023, TVA announced plans to retire the first unit by the end of 2026 and the second by the end of 2028. The plant is tentatively planned to be replaced with a 1,450 MW

combined-cycle A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

generation plant, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups.

Pollution and releases into environment

Environmental protection measures

To reduce

sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...

(SO₂) emissions, both units at Cumberland use wet limestone

s. To 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 (), o ...

s (NO_x), the units use low-NO_x burners as well as selective catalytic reduction systems, which were completed in 2004.

References

External links

TVA Page for Cumberland Fossil PlantChimney Diagram
{{supertall chimneys Towers completed in 1970 Energy infrastructure completed in 1973 Towers in Tennessee Coal-fired power stations in Tennessee Buildings and structures in Stewart County, Tennessee Chimneys in the United States 1973 establishments in Tennessee

Description

Pollution and releases into environment

Environmental protection measures

See also

References

External links