State Line Generating Plant
Encyclopedia
The State Line Generating Plant is a coal
-fired electrical generating station located on the coast of Lake Michigan
, bordering the state line separating Indiana
from Illinois
but within the corporate limits of Hammond, Indiana
. As of 2008–2009, it had a year-round capacity of 515 megawatts.
Most of the plant's exterior and some of its interior infrastructure date back to its date of original operation in 1929, making this plant one of the oldest large-scale urban electrical generating stations in the United States. The plant's age means that it generates more toxic waste
, such as airborne mercury
and nitrogen oxides, than most other U.S. generating plants. Historically owned and operated by Commonwealth Edison
, the State Line Generating Plant is currently owned and operated by Dominion Resources
. It is a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. The plant is planned to be shut down in 2013 or 2014.
. Insull, who led a holding company that controlled Chicago's Commonwealth Edison electric utility, dedicated his working life to the implementation of economies of scale
in the generation and supply of electricity.
During the 1920s, many residents of Greater Chicago had signed up to receive electrical service for the first time. Generating plants throughout the metropolitan area had developed the capacity to produce 1,310 megawatts of power to serve 1,300,000 customer households. At the same time, however, it was expected that demand for electricity would further increase. In particular, inhabitants of many rural areas throughout the United States, including rural areas adjacent to greater Chicago, did not yet have electrical service in 1929.
In addition to increased demand for electricity from households for purposes such as lighting and appliances
, Insull expected substantial increases in demand for electricity from industrial-scale purchasers. In particular, Insull's holding companies also controlled the Chicago South Shore and South Bend, an electric railroad that ran near the site of the State Line Power Plant.
In order to fulfill the increased demand for electricity that Insull's engineers told him was expected and which he concurred was going to occur, the Insull holding companies constructed the State Line Power Plant and the Unit 1 generator within the plant. With a capacity of 208 megawatts, Unit 1 upon its operational date in 1929 was the largest turbine
generator constructed up to that time. The turbine plant was built by General Electric
at their plant in Schenectady, New York
, and carried to Hammond for assembly. Its operation increased total Chicago-area electrical generation capacity by more than 15%, to 1,518 megawatts.
Insull's optimism was sufficient that he ordered that the State Line Power plant be constructed on a scale sufficient to allow for the insertion of further turbines in the building. Commonwealth Edison's goal was to eventually insert enough capacity into State Line to generate more than 1,000 megawatts of power - which would make the State Line Power Plant the world's first one-gigawatt plant.
Unfortunately, the 1929 infrastructure projects of Insull's holding companies were financed with highly-leveraged junk bonds. The Insull firms
could not survive the shock of the Great Depression
, and Insull and his investors suffered devastating financial losses. However, the State Line Power Plant had been professionally engineered and constructed, and continued to operate through the Depression, World War II, and into the postwar years.
As a result of various factors, including the advent of nuclear power
and the passage of the Clean Air Act
, by the late 20th and early 21st centuries the State Line Power Plant was entering the latter phase of its useful life. The historic Unit 1 turbine was taken out of service in 1978, followed by Unit 2 in 1979.
As of 2011, the State Line Power Plant's two newer coal-fired units, historically Units 3 and 4 (but renamed as Units 1 and 2) continued to operate with a maximum capacity of 515 megawatts. The plant employed approximately 120 full-time employees.
The State Line Power Plant's age meant that it has not been fitted with many of the pollution control equipment that is mandated on more modern generating plants. Instead, State Line's operations are grandfathered, giving the plant the right to vent nitrogen oxides, airborne mercury, and sulphur dioxide into the air. According to a September 2010 article in the Chicago Tribune
, the State Line Power Plant is described as one of the greatest single point-source contributors to the Chicago area's ongoing noncompliant status under the Clean Air Act
.
In early May 2011, Dominion Resources informed Wall Street financial analysts that the firm did not plan to retrofit State Line with Clean Air Act pollution controls, and will instead shut the plant down in the three-year 2012--2014 period.
Coal
Coal 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 electrical generating station located on the coast of Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
, bordering the state line separating Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
from Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
but within the corporate limits of Hammond, Indiana
Hammond, Indiana
Hammond is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 80,830 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hammond is located at ....
. As of 2008–2009, it had a year-round capacity of 515 megawatts.
Most of the plant's exterior and some of its interior infrastructure date back to its date of original operation in 1929, making this plant one of the oldest large-scale urban electrical generating stations in the United States. The plant's age means that it generates more toxic waste
Toxic waste
Toxic waste is waste material that can cause death or injury to living creatures. It spreads quite easily and can contaminate lakes and rivers. The term is often used interchangeably with “hazardous waste”, or discarded material that can pose a long-term risk to health or environment.Toxic waste...
, such as airborne mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
and nitrogen oxides, than most other U.S. generating plants. Historically owned and operated by Commonwealth Edison
Commonwealth Edison
Commonwealth Edison is the largest electric utility in Illinois, serving the Chicago and Northern Illinois area...
, the State Line Generating Plant is currently owned and operated by Dominion Resources
Dominion Resources
Dominion Resources Inc. , commonly referred to as Dominion, is a power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia and North Carolina and supplies natural gas to parts of West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and eastern North Carolina...
. It is a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. The plant is planned to be shut down in 2013 or 2014.
Samuel Insull
The State Line Generating Plant was built in 1926-1929 under the orders of industrial magnate Samuel InsullSamuel Insull
Samuel Insull was an Anglo-American innovator and investor based in Chicago who greatly contributed to creating an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. Insull was notable for purchasing utilities and railroads using holding companies, as well as the abuse of them...
. Insull, who led a holding company that controlled Chicago's Commonwealth Edison electric utility, dedicated his working life to the implementation of economies of scale
Economies of scale
Economies of scale, in microeconomics, refers to the cost advantages that an enterprise obtains due to expansion. There are factors that cause a producer’s average cost per unit to fall as the scale of output is increased. "Economies of scale" is a long run concept and refers to reductions in unit...
in the generation and supply of electricity.
During the 1920s, many residents of Greater Chicago had signed up to receive electrical service for the first time. Generating plants throughout the metropolitan area had developed the capacity to produce 1,310 megawatts of power to serve 1,300,000 customer households. At the same time, however, it was expected that demand for electricity would further increase. In particular, inhabitants of many rural areas throughout the United States, including rural areas adjacent to greater Chicago, did not yet have electrical service in 1929.
In addition to increased demand for electricity from households for purposes such as lighting and appliances
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
, Insull expected substantial increases in demand for electricity from industrial-scale purchasers. In particular, Insull's holding companies also controlled the Chicago South Shore and South Bend, an electric railroad that ran near the site of the State Line Power Plant.
In order to fulfill the increased demand for electricity that Insull's engineers told him was expected and which he concurred was going to occur, the Insull holding companies constructed the State Line Power Plant and the Unit 1 generator within the plant. With a capacity of 208 megawatts, Unit 1 upon its operational date in 1929 was the largest turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
generator constructed up to that time. The turbine plant was built by General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
at their plant in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, and carried to Hammond for assembly. Its operation increased total Chicago-area electrical generation capacity by more than 15%, to 1,518 megawatts.
Insull's optimism was sufficient that he ordered that the State Line Power plant be constructed on a scale sufficient to allow for the insertion of further turbines in the building. Commonwealth Edison's goal was to eventually insert enough capacity into State Line to generate more than 1,000 megawatts of power - which would make the State Line Power Plant the world's first one-gigawatt plant.
Unfortunately, the 1929 infrastructure projects of Insull's holding companies were financed with highly-leveraged junk bonds. The Insull firms
Insull Utilities Investment Inc.
Insull Utilities Investment Inc. was a corporation securities firm based in Chicago, Illinois which became insolvent in 1932. It was formed in December 1928 with assets of $23,000,000 to $24,000,000. The firm was...
could not survive the shock of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, and Insull and his investors suffered devastating financial losses. However, the State Line Power Plant had been professionally engineered and constructed, and continued to operate through the Depression, World War II, and into the postwar years.
Today
Commonwealth Edison expanded the State Line Power Plant according to plan, with Unit 2 going into operation in 1938, Unit 3 in 1955, and Unit 4 in 1963.As a result of various factors, including the advent of nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
and the passage of the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
, by the late 20th and early 21st centuries the State Line Power Plant was entering the latter phase of its useful life. The historic Unit 1 turbine was taken out of service in 1978, followed by Unit 2 in 1979.
As of 2011, the State Line Power Plant's two newer coal-fired units, historically Units 3 and 4 (but renamed as Units 1 and 2) continued to operate with a maximum capacity of 515 megawatts. The plant employed approximately 120 full-time employees.
The State Line Power Plant's age meant that it has not been fitted with many of the pollution control equipment that is mandated on more modern generating plants. Instead, State Line's operations are grandfathered, giving the plant the right to vent nitrogen oxides, airborne mercury, and sulphur dioxide into the air. According to a September 2010 article in the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, the State Line Power Plant is described as one of the greatest single point-source contributors to the Chicago area's ongoing noncompliant status under the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act (United States)
The Clean Air Act is a United States federal law enacted by Congress, and signed by President Richard Nixon on December 31, 1970 to control air pollution on a national level. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from...
.
In early May 2011, Dominion Resources informed Wall Street financial analysts that the firm did not plan to retrofit State Line with Clean Air Act pollution controls, and will instead shut the plant down in the three-year 2012--2014 period.