Marshall Steam Station is a

coal power plant A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide there are about 2,500 coal-fired power stations, on average capable of generating a gigawatt each. They generate ...

located at in Sherrills Ford,

Catawba County Catawba County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,610. Its county seat is Newton, and its largest community is Hickory. The county is part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States and owned by

Duke Energy Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company ranked as the 141st largest company in the United States in 2024 – its highest-ever placement on the ...

. Named for former company president E.C. Marshall, the station is located on

Lake Norman Lake Norman is an man-made lake, artificial fresh water lake in southwest North Carolina. The largest lake in the state, it was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Hydroelectric Station, Cowans Ford Dam by ...

and began commercial operation in 1965. Marshall is the second largest coal facility owned by Duke Energy in the

Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...

. It generates enough

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

(2.09 GW) to

power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

approximately two million homes.

Description

The plant consists of four units. The first two, at 350

MWe 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 in honor o ...

each, were launched in 1965 and 1966. The other two units, at 648 MWe each, were launched in 1969 and 1970. A unique type of burner arrangement in the

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

s keeps the

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 ...

emissions from the Marshall facility well below

regulatory Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

limits. In 2004, Duke Energy began installing

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 ...

s, which lower the station's

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 ...

emissions by approximately 95 percent. The project was completed in late 2007. On December 11, 2014, Duke Energy, to repair a rusted, leaking pipe, received approval from North Carolina to dump

coal ash Coal combustion products (CCPs), also called coal combustion wastes (CCWs) or coal combustion residuals (CCRs), are byproducts of burning coal. They are categorized in four groups, each based on physical and chemical forms derived from coal combust ...

(containing arsenic, lead, thallium and mercury, among other heavy metals) from the Marshall Steam Station into Lake Norman. A combination of factors has led to elevated levels of trihalomethanes, or THMs, in eight of the 12 water sampling stations around Charlotte, according to regularly scheduled water tests in August 2015. A Duke Energy spokeswoman called the utility's use of bromide cleaners at two area coal plants a "triggering event" contributing to the increase in THMs since January 2014. In 2013, Duke started using calcium bromide at Allen Steam Station in Gaston County and Marshall Steam Station in Catawba County to meet federal air-quality rules, including the removal of mercury. In May 2015, Duke stopped using bromide as a cleaner uke Energy has not yet commented on what they have replaced it with These effects are unrelated to continuing concerns over the disposal of coal-ash and its impact on drinking water. Groundwater at Marshall, north of Charlotte, does flow toward Lake Norman, and the contaminated field abuts the lake for about 30 feet of shoreline near its largest ash basin. On October 3, 2015, Duke reported that a sinkhole had formed at the base of the Marshall Steam Station dam north of Charlotte on Lake Norman. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) says Duke placed a liner in the hole and filled it with crushed stone.

References

{{reflist Energy infrastructure completed in 1965 Buildings and structures in Catawba County, North Carolina Coal-fired power stations in North Carolina Duke Energy

Description

See also

References