Dan River Steam Station

Dan River Steam Station
View of the Dan River Steam Station from NC Highway 14 in Eden, NC.
Country United States of America
Location Eden, North Carolina
Status Operational
Commission date 1949
Owner(s) Duke Energy
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Coal,
natural gas
Type Steam,
gas turbine
Combined cycle? Planned
Cooling source Dan River
Power generation
Nameplate capacity 276 MW,
620 MW planned

The Dan River Steam Station is a power plant in Eden, North Carolina, owned by Duke Energy. The plant comprises three natural gas-fueled combustion turbines, which began operation in 1968.[1]), and two natural gas-fueled combined cycle turbines are planned for the near future.[2] A coal-fired electrical power plant at the site ceased operation in 2012.

History

The Dan River Steam Station began construction in 1949, and was finished the following year. Coal units 1 and 2 cost a combined $15 million and were, at the time, cutting-edge. The third unit was added six years later,[3] and two natural gas-fueled combined cycle turbines are planned for the near future.[2]

The station was the object of a 1971 United States Supreme Court Case, Griggs v. Duke Power Co., in which black employees contended that they were discriminated against when Duke required them to possess a high school diploma and/or pass a standardized general intelligence test in order to obtain certain positions at the station, neither of which was found to have bearing on the employee's ability to perform the sought positions.[4]

Coal plant closure

The coal-fired plant ceased operation in 2012, and Duke Energy completed demolition of the coal plant buildings in 2017.[5]

2014 Coal ash spill

On February 2, 2014 in an event called the 2014 Dan River Coal Ash Spill ,a drainage pipe for a coal ash containment pond burst, sending 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River and causing extensive water pollution. In addition to the coal ash, 27 million gallons of wastewater from the plant was also released into the river.[6] Duke Energy later pled guilty to criminal negligence in its handling of coal ash at the Dan River Plant and at other facilities, and paid substantial fines.[7]

Addition of combined cycle turbines

In 2007, Duke Energy began to pursue permission to add two new combined cycle, natural gas-fired, 620 MW generating units to its fleet: one at the Dan River Steam Station, the other at the Buck Steam Station in Rowan County. This was done in order to diversify the company's fuel sources, expand its generating capacity, and to modernize its energy generation by moving away from less efficient, more polluting coal. After the two turbines were added, the three older coal units went offline in 2012.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Powering Up". Go Dan River. 2010. Archived from the original on 2013-01-24.
  2. 1 2 Duke Energy: New Natural Gas Generation
  3. ↑ "Duke Power's Dan River Station Marks 50th Anniversary". Duke Power. 1999.
  4. ↑ Griggs v. Duke Power Co., Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424 (1971).
  5. ↑ "Dan River Steam Station". Power Plants. Charlotte, NC: Duke Energy Corporation. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  6. ↑ "Dan River Coal Ash Spill". Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program - Case Document Library. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  7. ↑ Downey, John (2016-09-23). "Duke Energy agrees to pay $6M fine in the Dan River coal ash spill case". Charlotte Business Journal.
  8. ↑ "Duke Energy Carolinas Advances Plan to Meet Growing Customer Demand". Duke Energy. 2007.

Coordinates: 36°29′13″N 79°43′05″W / 36.487°N 79.718°W / 36.487; -79.718

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