Chalk Point Generating Station
Encyclopedia
The Chalk Point Generating Station is a 2,647-MWe
electricity-generating
plant owned by GenOn (formerly Mirant
) which is located near the tiny incorporated town of Eagle Harbor
, Maryland
, United States
, on the Patuxent River
.
The site also contains six combustion turbines owned and operated by Mirant.
The combined name-plate capacity of all seven combustion turbines is 601 MWe
.
, which sold them to the Southern Company
in December 2000 as a result of the restructuring of the electricity generating industry in Maryland
. The station was included in the Mirant
spin-off from the Southern Company in April 2001. Mirant was merged into GenOn Energy in 2010.
trains via the Herbert Subdivision, a former Pennsylvania Railroad
(PRR) line. This line is accessed via the Amtrak
Northeast Corridor
line, with coal being delivered from trains staged at the CSX Benning Yard (also former PRR facilities) in Anacostia, Washington, DC. These trains are brought from the coal fields via the CSX Metropolitan Subdivision and Cumberland Subdivision
down the Potomac River
valley from Cumberland, Maryland
.
regional transmission organization
.
, according to pollution research site Scorecard.org. It produced 5271800 pound of air pollution
(not counting CO2) and 3702 pound of water pollution
in 2002. (The second largest polluter, the USDA's Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
, produced 79550 pound of mostly land pollution
in 2002.)
MWE
MWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
electricity-generating
Electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...
plant owned by GenOn (formerly Mirant
Mirant
Mirant Corporation, an Atlanta-based energy company, produces and sells electricity in the United States. The company was spun off from its former parent, Southern Company, on April 2, 2001...
) which is located near the tiny incorporated town of Eagle Harbor
Eagle Harbor, Maryland
Eagle Harbor is a very tiny incorporated town in the far extreme southeast corner of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States and near the rural community of Aquasco. The population was 55 at the 2000 census...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, on the Patuxent River
Patuxent River
The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast passing through Baltimore, and the Patuxent River between...
.
Individual Units
The facility consists of several units:- Units ST1 and ST2 are coalCoalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
-fired dry-bottom, wall-fired steam generating plants rated at 364 MWeMWEMWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
each. They were put into service in 1964 and 1965. - Units 3 and 4 are oil and natural gas fired units rated at 659 MWeMWEMWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
each, put into service in 1975 and 1981. These units are cooled by natural-draft cooling towers.
The site also contains six combustion turbines owned and operated by Mirant.
- Oil-fired units GT1 and GT2 (put into service in 1967 and 1974) are rated at 16 MWeMWEMWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
and 35 MWeMWEMWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
. - Oil/gas-fired units GT3–GT6 (put into service in 1991) are rated at 103, 103, 125, and 125 MWeMWEMWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
respectively.
- A seventh oil/gas-fired combustion turbine, unit SGT1, is rated at 94 MWeMWEMWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
(put into service in 1990). It is owned by the Southern Maryland Electric CooperativeSouthern Maryland Electric CooperativeThe Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative is an electric distribution cooperative which is headquartered in Hughesville, Maryland. SMECO serves approximately 144,000 customers in Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, and St. Mary's counties of southern Maryland...
(SMECO). This turbine is operated by Mirant under an agreement which expires in 2015.
The combined name-plate capacity of all seven combustion turbines is 601 MWe
MWE
MWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
.
History
The Chalk Point plant began service in 1964. All of the GenOn generating units at the Chalk Point Generating Station were built by the Potomac Electric Power CompanyPotomac Electric Power Company
The Potomac Electric Power Company, known as Pepco, is a public utility supplying electric power to the city of Washington, D.C., and to surrounding communities in Maryland...
, which sold them to the Southern Company
Southern Company
Southern Company is a public utility holding company of primarily electric utilities in the southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with executive offices also located in Birmingham, Alabama. The company is currently the 16th largest utility company in the world and the...
in December 2000 as a result of the restructuring of the electricity generating industry in Maryland
Maryland Electric Deregulation
Maryland Electric Deregulation is the result of a bill passed in 1999 by the Maryland General Assembly. This bill changed the entire face of the Maryland utility industry.The past several years have seen a flurry of changes in the energy industry in Maryland...
. The station was included in the Mirant
Mirant
Mirant Corporation, an Atlanta-based energy company, produces and sells electricity in the United States. The company was spun off from its former parent, Southern Company, on April 2, 2001...
spin-off from the Southern Company in April 2001. Mirant was merged into GenOn Energy in 2010.
Fuel delivery
Coal is delivered to the Chalk Point generating station by CSX TransportationCSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
trains via the Herbert Subdivision, a former Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(PRR) line. This line is accessed via the Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
line, with coal being delivered from trains staged at the CSX Benning Yard (also former PRR facilities) in Anacostia, Washington, DC. These trains are brought from the coal fields via the CSX Metropolitan Subdivision and Cumberland Subdivision
Cumberland Subdivision
The Cumberland Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and West Virginia. The line runs from Weverton, Maryland west to near Cumberland, Maryland along the old Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road main line...
down the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
valley from Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
.
Dispatch of electricity
The electrical output of Chalk Point Generating Station is dispatched by the PJM InterconnectionPJM Interconnection
PJM Interconnection LLC is a Regional Transmission Organization which is part of the Eastern Interconnection grid operating an electric transmission system serving all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee,...
regional transmission organization
Regional Transmission Organization
A regional transmission organization in the United States is an organization that is responsible for moving electricity over large interstate areas. Like a transmission system operator , an RTO coordinates, controls and monitors an electricity transmission grid that is larger with much higher...
.
Environment
Chalk Point plant is by far the leading polluter in Prince George's County, MarylandPrince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
, according to pollution research site Scorecard.org. It produced 5271800 pound of air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
(not counting CO2) and 3702 pound of water pollution
Water pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
in 2002. (The second largest polluter, the USDA's Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
The Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, or BARC, is a unit of the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. It is located at in Beltsville, Maryland, and is named for Henry A. Wallace, former United States vice president and secretary of...
, produced 79550 pound of mostly land pollution
Land pollution
Land pollution is the degradation of Earth's land surfaces often caused by human activities and their misuse of land resources. It occurs when waste is not disposed properly. Health hazard disposal of urban and industrial wastes, exploitation of minerals, and improper use of soil by inadequate...
in 2002.)