Big Sandy Power Plant
Encyclopedia
The Big Sandy Power Plant is a coal-fired power plant owned and operated by American Electric Power
near Louisa, Kentucky
. It was established in 1963.
In January 2009, Sue Sturgis of the Institute of Southern Studies compiled a list of the 100 most polluting coal plants in the United States in terms of coal combustion waste (CCW) stored in surface impoundments like the one involved in the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill. The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.
Big Sandy Plant ranked number 40 on the list, with 915,079 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.
Big Sandy Plant's Fly Ash surface impoundment is on the EPA's official June 2009 list of Coal Combustion Residue (CCR) Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not assess of the likelihood of such an event.
American Electric Power
American Electric Power is a major investor-owner electric utility in various parts of the United States. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S...
near Louisa, Kentucky
Louisa, Kentucky
Louisa is a city in Lawrence County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,018 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lawrence County. The Levisa Fork River and Tug Fork River join at Louisa to form the Big Sandy River...
. It was established in 1963.
Plant Data
- Owner: Kentucky Power Company
- Parent Company: American Electric PowerAmerican Electric PowerAmerican Electric Power is a major investor-owner electric utility in various parts of the United States. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S...
- Plant Nameplate Capacity: 1,097 MW
- Units and In-Service Dates: 281 MW (1963), 816 MW (1969)
- Location: 23000 Highway 23 North, Louisa, KY 41230
- GPS Coordinates: 38.1722222, -82.6174900
- Number of Employees: 135
- Customers: 175,000+
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 6,830,275 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 46,476 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 13,851 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 281 lb.
In January 2009, Sue Sturgis of the Institute of Southern Studies compiled a list of the 100 most polluting coal plants in the United States in terms of coal combustion waste (CCW) stored in surface impoundments like the one involved in the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill. The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.
Big Sandy Plant ranked number 40 on the list, with 915,079 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.
Big Sandy Plant's Fly Ash surface impoundment is on the EPA's official June 2009 list of Coal Combustion Residue (CCR) Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not assess of the likelihood of such an event.
External links
- Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005, Energy Information Administration, accessed Jan. 2009.
- Environmental Integrity Project, "Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants", July 2007.
- Facility Registry System, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, accessed Jan. 2009.