Allen Combined Cycle Plant

Allen Combined Cycle Plant
Country United States
Location Memphis, Tennessee
Coordinates 35°04′01″N 90°08′40″W / 35.06694°N 90.14444°W / 35.06694; -90.14444Coordinates: 35°04′01″N 90°08′40″W / 35.06694°N 90.14444°W / 35.06694; -90.14444
Status Operational
Commission date Coal Units 1–3: 1959
Natural Gas Units 1–2: April, 2018
Decommission date Coal Units 1–3: March, 2018
Owner(s) Tennessee Valley Authority
Operator(s) Tennessee Valley Authority
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Natural gas
Cooling source Memphis Light, Gas and Water
Power generation
Nameplate capacity 1,070 MW

The Allen Combined Cycle Plant is a 1-gigawatt (1,070 MW) natural gas power plant located south of Memphis, Tennessee that began generating electricity in 2018. A coal power plant named the Allen Fossil Plant ran at the site from 1959 to 2018. It is operated by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

Coal units

Former Allen Fossil Plant in 2010.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) began construction of the Allen Fossil Plant in 1956 with commercial generation beginning in 1959. The plant was named after Thomas H. Allen, a former president of MLGW. The TVA took over plant operations in 1964 as a lease with MLGW before buying the plant outright in 1984. Allen had a generating capacity of 741 MW.[1] TVA announced plans that Allen would be replaced with a natural gas plant to reduce emissions by 2018 set by a 2011 agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).[2] TVA shut down the plant on March 31, 2018.[3]

Natural gas units

In 2014, it was announced by TVA that a $975 million natural gas plant would be constructed. This was a part of a 2011 agreement with the EPA to reduce plant emissions by 2018.[2] The TVA had plans to utilize greywater from the nearby Maxson Wastewater Treatment Plant, but was unviable and expensive. Instead, the TVA drilled wells on the Memphis Sand Aquifer to use for the plant's cooling source.[4] During subsequent testing of groundwater and alluvial aquifer in the vicinity of the combined cycle plant, TVA discovered that water contained arsenic and lead which raised concerns that use of the on-site wells may lead to cross-contamination of the Memphis Sand aquifer. As a result, the use of wells on site was suspended and all water for the plant was supplied from the MLGW system.[5] As MLGW could not supply sufficient steady-state water flow to operate the combined cycle plant at full capacity in summer, TVA constructed four water storage tanks with 10 million gallon total capacity.[6] The Allen Combined Cycle Plant went into commercial operations on April 30th, 2018.[3]

In addition to the natural gas plant, there is a 1 MW solar farm on site. The facility is also expected to burn biogas produced by the nearby Maxson wastewater treatment and biogas plant biogas plant.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Allen Fossil Plant". Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Dries, Bill (August 21, 2014). "TVA to Replace Allen Plant With Natural Gas". The Daily News. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "TVA Closes Allen Fossil Plant, Opens Gas Replacement". Associated Press. Power Engineering. May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  4. ↑ Dries, Bill (February 24, 2017). "TVA's Nearly $1B Natural Gas Plant 70 Percent Complete". The Daily News. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Congressman wants answers on toxins at TVA coal-fired plant". Chattanooga Times Free Press. The Associated Press. July 17, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  6. ↑ Charlier, Tom (March 7, 2018). "TVA probe finds 'connection' between Memphis Sand and contaminated aquifer". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Allen Combined-Cycle Power Plant, Tennessee". Power Technology. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
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