Riverside Generating Station
Encyclopedia
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
operated by Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is an energy producer, trader, and distributor. The company operates over 35 power plants in 11 states under its operating company Constellation Commodities Group and/or Constellation Generation Group...
that is located at 4000 Broening Highway in Dundalk
Dundalk, Maryland
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 62,306 people, 24,772 households, and 16,968 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,689.5 people per square mile . There were 26,385 housing units at an average density of 1,985.9 per square mile...
, 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...
. The station is on Sollers Point on the Patapsco River
Patapsco River
The Patapsco River is a river in central Maryland which flows into Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore...
.
Plant description
Riverside consists of Unit 4, a natural gasNatural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
-fired steam electric unit with a nominal capacity of 78 MW, Unit 5, an 85 MW steam generating unit, Unit 6, a 135 MW natural gas and fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
-fired gas turbine, and Units 7 and 8, each 25 MW natural gas-fired gas turbines. Water from the Patapsco River is used as the heat sink of the condensors of the steam turbines.
History
Coal gas
Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made by the destructive distillation of coal containing a variety of calorific gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and volatile hydrocarbons together with small quantities of non-calorific gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen...
facility that was never built. In 1942, the 60 MW steam turbine and boiler Unit 1 was installed at a cost of US$6.5 million. Two additional 60 MW steam electric units, Unit 2 and Unit 3, were placed in service in 1944 and 1948, and Units 4 and 5 entering commercial operation in 1951. Units 1, 2, 3, and 5 were shut down in 1993. In 2008, authorization was granted to modify and reactivate Unit 5 to operate only on natural gas at an estimated cost of US$25 million.
Operations
Constellation Energy normally operates the Riverside Generating Station as a peaking power plantPeaking power plant
Peaking power plants, also known as peaker plants, and occasionally just "peakers," are power plants that generally run only when there is a high demand, known as peak demand, for electricity.-Peak hours:...
. As the mid-Maryland region is a summer peaking load, the majority of the plant's operating time will be during hot summer days. The Riverside Generating Station is dispatched by the PJM Interconnection
PJM 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...
.