The W. H. Sammis Coal Power Plant is a coal-fired power plant in Stratton, Ohio, USA. The plant, operated by FirstEnergy, was the subject of a Clean Air Act case by the Environmental Protection Agency filed in 1999. Current renovations and construction are being designed and managed by Bechtel Power, one of the world's largest and most successful engineering firms. Block 7 includes one of the tallest chimneys in the world (305 m), which was built in 1970. The power plant includes a tunnel for State Route 7, a four-lane freeway. The tunnel goes under the Baghouse structure, which filters particulate and toxic gases from the exhaust before entering the smoke stack.

Rockport Coal Power Plant, located just off the new U.S. 231 Route (Now known as the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Parkway) just North of the Natcher Bridge near Rockport, Indiana, in the United States, is a 2.6-GW power plant with one of the tallest smokestacks in the world (316.4 meters).

The central smokestack and two cooling towers can be seen from as far west as Evansville, 45 miles to the west, as far north as the U.S. 231-Interstate 64 Junction, and as far east as Lewisport, Kentucky and Tell City, Indiana. It can also be seen as far south as Owensboro, Kentucky as well.

Rockport Coal Power Plant is operated by Indiana Michigan Power, a branch of American Electric Power. During the 1980s a brief public walk-through simulator was set up in an office building across the road from the plant. It allowed the public to literally walk through and see how electricity was made at this power plant at that time. A decline in visitors and overhead needed to run the office, as well as the plants change in ownership, figured well into the closing of this public service. It is now offices for the Warrick Economic Development Corporation. Two identical non-cyclonic Babcock & Wilcox units (1.3 GW each) were launched into service in December 1984 and December 1989. They are among the largest coal units built.

The coal is delivered to the plant by rail road and by barges along the Ohio River.

Rockport Generating Station
Country	United States
Locale	near Rockport, Indiana
Coordinates	37°55′32″N 87°02′02″W / 37.92556°N 87.03389°W / 37.92556; -87.03389 / 37.92556; -87.03389
Status	Active
Commission date	Unit 1: December 1984 Unit 2: December 1989
Owner(s)	Indiana-Michigan Power
Power station information
Primary fuel	Bituminous coal
Generation units	2 each producing 1300 MW
Power generation information
Maximum capacity	2,600 MW

General James M. Gavin Power Plant is a 2.6-Gigawatt coal-fired power station in Cheshire, Ohio, USA operated by American Electric Power. Named after James M. Gavin, it is the largest coal fired power facility in Ohio, and one of the largest in the nation. Its two units, rated at 1300 MWe each, were launched into service in 1974 and 1975. The plant is located at 38°56′09″N 82°07′00″W / 38.93583°N 82.1166667°W / 38.93583; -82.1166667, just 2.5 km (1.6 mi) upstream along the Ohio River from a smaller, older coal-fired Kyger Creek Power Plant.

Cumberland Coal Power Plant is a 2.6-GW pulverized coal-powered power station located in Cumberland City, Tennessee, USA, on the south bank of Lake Barkley on the Cumberland River. Owned and operated by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), it produces the most electricity of all plants in the TVA system.

Cumberland Coal Power Plant has one of the tallest chimneys in the world (305 m), built in 1970. Its identical Units 1 and 2, rated at 1.3 GW each, were launched into service in March and November, 1973. In 2004, the two units accounted for almost 12% of TVA's total electricity generation. Bituminous coal is delivered by barges along the Cumberland River waterway.

The Cumberland Coal Power Plant consumes about 20,000 tons of coal a day. All of the waste heat is dumped into Cumberland River water. To reduce sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions, both units at Cumberland use wet limestone scrubbers. To reduce nitrogen oxides (NO_x), the units use low-NO_x burners as well as selective catalytic reduction systems, which were completed in 2004.

Toxic release inventory from Cumberland power plant for 2005. All quantities are in pounds.

Pollutant	Air	Water	Land	Offsite disposal	Total
Antimony compounds	39	178	8,947	0	9,164
Arsenic compounds	182	119	46,096	0	46,397
Barium compounds	142	0	279,200	25	279,367
Beryllium compounds	10	0	9,952	1	9,963
Cadmium compounds
Chromium compounds	368	142	87,420	7	87,937
Cobalt compounds	63	89	19,887	1	20,040
Copper compounds	286	6,798	64,120	3	71,207
Lead compounds	253	0	59,122	3	59,378
Manganese compounds	558	33,864	177,130	18	211,570
Mercury compounds	240	0	346	0	586
Nickel compounds	516	2,504	98,180	6	101,206
Selenium compounds	2,501	2,075	6,573	0	11,149
Silver compounds
Thallium compounds	36	0	30,200	2	30,239
Vanadium compounds	290	0	191,560	13	191,864
Zinc compounds	2,006	2,447	248,070	12	252,534
Hydrochloric acid (aerosol)	340,006	0	0	0	340,006
Hydrogen fluoride	72,006	0	0	0	72,006
Sulfuric acid (aerosol)	8,793,606	0	0	0	8,793,606
Benzo(g,h,i)perylene	0.21	0	0.65	0	0.87
Dioxin	0.008	0	0	0	0.008
Polycyclic aromatic compounds	49.8	0	59.2	0.0	109.0
Naphthalene	100	0	0	0	100
Ammonia	3,640	316	0	0	3,956
Nitrate compounds	0	128,879	0	0	132,407

The Ligang power coal station is a Coal fired power station, total of 2,700 megawatts (MW) generating capacity which is located in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. The coal power plant comprises 2 x 350MW units, 2 x 370MW units and 2 x 630MW units.

Eraring Coal Power Station is one of two coal fired electricity power stations on the shores of Lake Macquarie. Eraring is located on the western shore of the lake, near the township of Dora Creek. It has four steam driven Toshiba turbo-alternators, with a total capacity of 2,640 MW (660MW each).

The first turbo-alternator was brought online in 1982, with the second and third in 1983, and the fourth in 1984. There are plans to upgrade generating capacity of each of the four turbines.

The process of upgrading the control room to a fully digital system was completed in 2005.

Eraring Coal Power Station uses salt water from Lake Macquarie for cooling. This is supplied through a concrete tunnel which passes under Dora Creek and up to the station via open canal. Reclaimed sewage water from the Dora Creek Waste Water Treatment Works is heavily purified is used to generate steam for the turbines as opposed to the salt water supplies. The salt water helps in the cooling of the superheated steam as well as moderation of the temperature of outlet water to minimise thermal pollution.

The coal for Eraring Coal Power Station comes from five mines in the local area, delivered by conveyor, rail and private road. There is significant coal storage capacity on site. Eraring Coal Power Station employs the Fabric Filter system of dust collection, in which particulate emissions resulting from coal combustion are captured as opposed to being released into the atmosphere. Some of this material is stored in an area nearby while some is taken and used as a component of road base.

Electricity generated at the station is transmitted through high voltage transmission lines. Turbines 1 and 2 are connected to a 330kV transmission line while turbines 3 and 4 are connected to a 500kV transmission line.

Bayswater Coal Power Plant is located 16 kilometres (10 mi) from Muswellbrook, and 28 km (17 mi) from Singleton in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Bayswater Coal Power Plant shares the title of being Australia's largest power station with Eraring Power Station. It is coal powered with four steam driven turbo alternators with a combined generating capacity of 2,640MW (4 x 660MW). Much of the coal is supplied by overland conveyors from mines it shares with the nearby Liddell Power Station.

Bayswater Coal Power Plant draws its cooling water from the Hunter River under water entitlements negotiated with the government of New South Wales. The Barnard River Scheme also allows Bayswater and Liddell to transfer water from the upper Manning River catchment into the Hunter River for their use.

The four generating units were completed progressively over 1985 and 1986.

Boilers

• Steam Pressure 16,550 kPa
• Steam Temperature 540 degrees
• Height 80 metres

Turbo Alternators

• Number in use: 4
• Manufacturer: Tokyo Shibaura Electric Company, (Toshiba) Limited, Japan.
• Operating Speed 3,000 rpm
• Alternator voltage 23kV
• Rating: 660 000 kVA (660 MW)
• Length 50 metres
• Weight 1.342 kT

Turbine House

• Length 510 metres
• Height 38 metres
• Width 40 metres

Emission Stacks

• Height 248 metres
• Diameter at base 23 metres
• Diameter at top 12 metres

Cooling Towers

• Height 132 metres
• Diameter at base 100 metres
• Diameter at top 52 metres

Coal Consumption is around 8Mtpa and produces around 17,000 GWhs of electricity a year. This is enough power for 2 million average Australian homes and families.

Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates this power station emits 19.80 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year as a result of burning coal. The Australian Government has announced the introduction of a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme commencing in 2010 to help combat climate change. It is expected to impact on emissions from power stations. The National Pollutant Inventory provides details of other pollutant emissions, but, as at 23 November 2008, not CO₂.

The Ryazan Power Coal Power Plant (Novomichurinsk Power Station) is the fifth largest oil-fired power station in the world, also the fifth largest power station in Russia, at an installed capacity of 2,800 MW. The Ryazan Power Coal Power Plant is located in Novomichurinsk of the Ryazan Oblast, Russia. Construction began in 1968 with the first unit going online in 1973. The facility also houses one of the tallest chimneys in the world, topping out at 320 m (1,050 ft) in height. Power is generated by four units of 300 MW and two units of 800 MW.

Ryazan Power Station
Country	Russia
Locale	Novomichurinsk, Ryazan Oblast
Coordinates	54°02′04″N 39°46′39″E / 54.03444°N 39.7775°E / 54.03444; 39.7775 / 54.03444; 39.7775
Status	Operational
Commission date	1971
Owner(s)	OGK-6
Power station information
Primary fuel	Coal Fuel oil Natural gas
Generation units	4 × 300 MW 2 × 800 MW
Power generation information
Installed capacity	2,800 MW

John E. Amos Coal Power Plant is a three-unit coal-fired power plant owned and operated by Appalachian Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power (AEP). With a nameplate rating of 2,933 MW, it is the largest utility in the AEP system. John E. Amos Coal Power Plant was named after a Democratic National Committeeman from West Virginia. The plant is located between the US Route 35 (Winfield Road) and the Kanawha River, on its riverfront.

Units 1 and 2 are of 816.3 MW nameplate capacity each, and were started up in September 1971, and June, 1972 respectively. Unit 3, rated at 1,300 MW, was started up in October, 1973. All units are super-critical, dry-bottom boilers powered by a blend of low-sulfur coal and Northern Appalachian Basin high-sulfur coal. The Babcock and Wilcox Company (B&W) has been awarded a contract valued well in excess of $100 million to supply and construct wet flue gas desulfurization on all three units. Unit 3 is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007, and Units 1 and 2 are scheduled to go online by the end of 2008.

John E. Amos Power Plant
Country	United States
Locale	Winfield Rd., Winfield, West Virginia
Coordinates	38°28′29″N 81°49′16″W / 38.47472°N 81.82111°W / 38.47472; -81.82111Coordinates / 38.47472; -81.82111
Status	Active
Commission date	September 1971
Owner(s)	American Electric Power
Power station information
Primary fuel	Coal
Power generation information
Maximum capacity	2,933 megawatts

Kriel Coal Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom. It is located about 4km from Matla Power Station just outside the town of Kriel.

In contrast with most other Eskom power station, the turbine generators at Kriel is each housed in a separate building rather than the more common single turbine hall.

When Kriel was completed in 1979 it was the largest coal-fired power station in the Southern Hemisphere. It was also one of the first stations to be supplied with coal from a fully mechanised coal mine.

The Kriel Coal Power Station has six 500MW units for a total installed capacity of 3,000MW with turbine Maximum Continuous Rating at 36.90%.

Kriel Power Station
Country	South Africa
Locale	Mpumalanga
Coordinates	26°15′15″S 29°10′46″E / 26.25417°S 29.17944°E / -26.25417; 29.17944 / -26.25417; 29.17944
Owner(s)	Eskom
Power station information
Primary fuel	Coal
Generation units	6
Power generation information
Installed capacity	3,000 Megawatt

Jänschwalde Coal Power Station is located near the village of Jänschwalde in Brandenburg on the German-Polish border. The lignite-fired power station has an installed capacity of 3,000 megawatts and consists of six 500 MW units. Jänschwalde Coal Power Station is the second-largest brown coal power plant in operation in Germany and is owned by Swedish state-owned Vattenfall.

The Jänschwalde Coal Power Station was built between 1976 and 1989. Between the German reunification and the mid-1990s, modern environmental technology was adopted, making higher efficiency possible. Despite this, the power station has the fifth-lowest ratio of energy efficiency to CO₂ emission in Europe, according to a study by the WWF.

Jänschwalde Coal Power Station predominantly fires raw brown coal from nearby open-pit mining in Jänschwalde and Cottbus to the north. At full load the power station burns approximately 80,000 tons of brown coal a day. From one kilogram of brown coal about one kilowatt-hour of electrical energy is produced.

The annual power output lies around 22 billion kWh, 22 TWh.

The site formerly featured three obsolete 300 meters (984 ft) chimneys. These were gradually dismantled in a complex process between 2002 and 2007, as conventional demolition was not possible on the site for space reasons. A unique procedure was introduced for this task: the chimneys were broken down from the top to a height of 50 meters (164 ft) by a special mechanism equipped with excavators which works round the edges of the chimneys, after which the remaining stacks are being demolished by conventional means.

Loy Yang Coal Power Station is a brown coal fired power station located on the outskirts of the city of Traralgon, in south eastern Victoria, Australia. Loy Yang is a base load supply station, and produces about one third of Victoria's electricity requirements. Loy Yang A has four generating units with a combined capacity of 2200 megawatts and is owned by GEAC, a consortium made up of AGL Limited, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Transfield Services and three superannuation funds. Loy Yang B has two units with a capacity of 1050 megawatts is Victoria's newest and most efficient power station generating around 17% of Victoria's energy needs. It is owned by UK group International Power.

Loy Yang B employs up to 152 full time staff and another 40 contractors.

Loy Yang Coal Power Station was originally constructed through the 1980s by International Combustion Australia Ltd, who was contracted by the government owned State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV). It consists of two separate units, Loy Yang A and Loy Yang B. Constructed in stages, it was originally planned that the Loy Yang complex would consist of eight generating units, of 525 Megawatts each upon completion. The privatisation of the SECV resulted in only six generating units being completed, four in Loy Yang A and two in Loy Yang B. The Loy Yang complex was privatised in 1995, as were most of the assets of the SECV. Prior to the Victorian State Government's privatisations from the mid-1990s, a 49% stake was sold to Mission Energy. Later Edison Mission bought the complete plant, and later again sold it to the joint venture International Power Mitsui.

In 1995, Loy Yang B was the world's first coal-fired power station to gain quality accreditation to ISO 9001 and the first Australian power station to gain environmental accreditation to ISO 14001.

Four giant bucket-wheel excavators, called dredgers, operate 24 hours a day in the Loy Yang open cut mine, mostly feeding coal directly to the boilers via conveyor belt, 18 hours of reserve supply is held in a 70,000 tonne coal bunker. Each year approximately 30 million tonnes of coal are extracted from the open pit. The open cut coal mine pit is about 200 m (660 ft) deep, 3 km (1.9 mi) and 2 km (1.2 mi) wide at its widest. It is estimated that at current rates of extraction there are sufficient deposits of coal in the entire Latrobe Valley region to last 1300 years.

Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates this coal power station emits 14.40 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year as a result of burning coal. On September 3rd 2007 the Loy Yang complex was the target of climate change activists. The activists locked themselves to conveyor belts and reduced power production for several hours before being cut free. Four people were arrested.

In March 2010 it was announced that the operators of Loy Yang A (Loy Yang Power) signed a contract with Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals Australia for the supply of electricity to power aluminium smelters at Portland and Point Henry until 2036.

Loy Yang Power Station
Country	Australia
Locale	Victoria
Coordinates	38°15′16″S 146°34′37″E / 38.25444°S 146.57694°E / -38.25444; 146.57694Coordinates: 38°15′16″S 146°34′37″E / 38.25444°S 146.57694°E / -38.25444; 146.57694
Status	Operational
Commission date	1980s
Power station information
Primary fuel	Coal
Power generation information
Installed capacity	4 × 525MW (Loy Yang A) 2 × 525MW (Loy Yang B)

Samcheonpo Power Station is the largest coal power plant in South Korea. The Samcheonpo Coal Power Plant generator capacity is 3.240 MW.

• Location: Gyeongsangnam-do
• Operator: Korean Southeast Power Co
• Configuration: 4 X 560 MW, 2 X 500 MW
• Fuel: bituminous coal, subituminous coal
• Operation: 1983-1998
• Boiler supplier: CE, KHIC
• T/G supplier: GE, KHIC
• EPC: Ebasco, Hyundai, KOPEC, KHIC
• Quick facts: Units 5&6 are supercritical

The Monroe Coal Power Plant is a coal-fired power plant located / 41.88917; -83.34556 in Monroe, Michigan on the western shore of Lake Erie. Monroe Coal Power Plant is owned by the Detroit Edison Company, a subsidiary of DTE Energy. The plant was constructed in the early 1970s and was completed in 1974. The plant has 4 generating units, each with an output of 850 megawatts. With all four generating units operating, the plants total output is 3,300 megawatts, the eleventh largest electric plant in the United States. It is the second largest coal fired plant in the United States after Georgia Power's Plant Bowen near Cartersville, Georgia.

The Monroe Coal Power Plant did significant upgrades and maintenance at the facility in late 2007 and 2008. FGD's, or Sulfur-oxide "scrubbers", are in the process of being added to all of Monroe's generating units. These devices significantly reduce emitted SO2, and will be eventually installed in more of Detroit Edison's coal plants.

The Monroe Coal Power Plant connects to the power grid by numerous 120,000 and 345,000 volt transmission lines, owned and maintained by International Transmission Company (ITC). Two of the 345kv lines going out of the plant interconnect with First Energy in Ohio (Bayshore-Monroe line and the Majestic-Monroe-Allen Junction Line).

The Gibson Generating Station is a coal-burning power plant located in Gibson County, Indiana, United States. It is close to the Wabash River, just opposite Mount Carmel, Illinois. With a 2003 aggregate capacity among its five units of 3,145 megawatts, it is the largest power plant run by Duke Energy, the third-largest coal power plant in the world, and the ninth-largest electrical plant in the United States, and with the closure of Nanticoke Generating Station in 2014, will become the largest coal power plant in North America by generated power. Also on the grounds of the facility is a 3,000 acres (12 km²) large man-made lake called Gibson Lake which is used as a cooling pond for the plant. Neighboring the plant is a Duke-owned, publicly-accessible access point to the Wabash River near a small island that acts as a wildlife preserve. This is the nearest boat-ramp to Mount Carmel on the Indiana side of the river. Located immediately south of Gibson Lake, the plant's cooling pond, is the Cane Ridge NWR, the newest unit of the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area. Opened in August 2006, this 26-acre (110,000 m²) area serves as a nesting ground for the Least Tern, a rare bird. Cane Ridge NWR is reportedly the easternmost nesting ground for the bird in the U.S. The Gibson Generating Station is connected to the power grid via five 345 KV and one 138 KV transmission lines to 79 Indiana counties including the Indianapolis area. Soon there will be a sixth 345 KV line running from GGS to Evansville, owned by Vectren.

Gibson Generating Station, Owensville, IN
Complex Area: 6.1 sq mi (16 km²)

	Unit 1 Fully Owned	Unit 2 Fully Owned	Unit 3 Fully Owned	Unit 4 Fully Owned	Unit 5 Franchised	Plant-Wide
2005 Maximum Power Output (MW)	635	630	630	630	620	3,145MW
2009 Output MW Summer/Winter Spring/Fall	750 725	750 730	750 690	750 730	750 735	3,750MW 3,610MW
Completion Overhauled	1974 2007	1975 2007	1977 2005	1978 2009	1982 2008	Ongoing Construction and Maintenance in two periods: Fall Outage and Spring Outage. Construction & Maintenance rotates among the five units with short periods as needed.
Ownership	Duke Energy 100%	Duke Energy 100%	Duke Energy 100%	Duke Energy 100%	Duke Energy 51% Wabash Vly. P.A. 24.5% Indiana Mun. P. A. 24.5%	Duke Energy 90.3% W.V.P.A. 4.87% I.M.P.A. 4.87%

Gibson Generating Station
Locale	Owensville, Indiana
Status	Active
Commission date	1971-82 under Public Service Indiana
Decommission date	none
Owner(s)	Duke Energy Indiana (2006–present) Cinergy (1995–2006) Public Service Indiana (1971–1995)
Employees	900-1,200 (420 Duke Energy, 480–780 contractors, including security)
Primary fuel	Pulverized coal
Technology	Steam Turbine
Generation units	5 General Electric 670 MW turbines
Reciprocating engines	5 FW Coal Pulverized-Once Through Supercritical Boilers
Mine type	Underground/Undercut
Conveyance	Railroad/Coal Truck
Cooling water	Gibson Lake
Power generation information
Installed capacity	3340 MWe (nameplate)
Maximum capacity	3157 MWe (winter

The Bowen Coal Power Station is a coal-fired power station located in Euharlee, United States, approximately 14 km (8.7 mi) west-south-west from Cartersville. At 3,499 megawatts, Plant Bowen has the second largest generating capacity of any coal-fired power plant in North America, and the largest in the United States; only Ontario Power Generation's Nanticoke Generating Station in Canada has more generating capacity. Plant Bowen ranked third in the nation for net generation in 2006 producing over 22,630,000 MWh. The station is connected to the southeastern power grid by numerous 500 KV transmission lines, and is owned and operated by Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company.

Bowen's four cooling towers are 116 m (381 ft) tall and 97 m (318 ft) in diameter and can cool 1,100,000 litres (290,000 US gal) per minute. Another 26,000 litres (6,900 US gal) of water is lost to evaporation which creates the distinctive white clouds rising from each tower.

Bowen's two smokestacks are 300 m (980 ft) tall. Particulates are removed from the exhaust gases through the use of electrostatic precipitators. The exhaust gases are then closely monitored to comply with air quality regulations. In addition, SCR units have recently been constructed on all four units to meet federal clean air and ozone standards.

In 2006, Bowen was the largest emitter of sulfur dioxide in the United States (at 206,442 short tons (187,281,032 kg)), and ranked 39^th worst in the nation in terms of sulfur dioxide emissions per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced. All four units at Bowen are scheduled for scrubber installations. Through these efforts, such emissions will be reduced by as much as 95%. Construction began in 2005 on the first two of four scrubbers and will take three years to complete. The scrubbers at Bowen will be among the largest fiberglass vessels ever to be built in the United States. The facility is the third largest producer of carbon dioxide, after Plant Scherer and James H. Miller Jr. Power Plant, emitting 20,500,000 short tons (1.86×10¹⁰ kg) of CO₂ in the atmosphere each year.

The Suizhong Power Station is a large coal-fired power station in Suizhong, China. The facility generates power by utilizing two units at 800 MW and two units at 1,000 MW, totalling the installed capacity to 3,600 MW.

CSEC Guohua International Power Company Limited (previously known as CLP Guohua Power Company Limited) is an evergreen joint stock company formed by CLP (30%) and China Shenhua Energy (70%). It is CLP's first evergreen joint stock company in the Mainland.

CSEC Guohua International owns a 100% stake in the Beijing Yire Power Station, a 65% stake in the Panshan Power Station, a 55% stake in Sanhe Power Station I & II, a 65% stake in Zhungeer II & III and a 50% stake in Suizhong I & II. The total gross generating capacity of the joint venture is 7,650MW and the equity share of CSEC Guohua International is equivalent to 4,442.5MW. CLP’s equity share is 1,333MW. There is potential to expand through new construction and acquisitions.

Suizhong Power Station
Coordinates	40°04′46″N 120°00′29″E / 40.07944°N 120.00806°E / 40.07944; 120.00806Coordinates: 40°04′46″N 120°00′29″E / 40.07944°N 120.00806°E / 40.07944; 120.00806
Status	Operational
Commission date	2010
Owner(s)	CSEC Guohua International Power Company
Location	Suizhong, China
Fuel type	Coal
Turbines	Phase 1: 2 × 800MW Phase 2: 2 × 1,000MW
Power generation information
Installed capacity	3,600 MW

Matla Coal Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom.

Employees: Approximately 1100

Technical detail:

• Six 600MW units
• Installed capacity: 3 600MW
• 2001 capacity: 3 450MW
• Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%): 37.60%
• Ramp rate: 25.00% per hour
• Average availability over last 3 years: 93.84%
• Average production over last 3 years: 25 199GWh

History: Matla Power Station was the first of the giant 3 600MW coal-fired power stations to be commissioned during the 1980's. Construction started late in 1974 and by July 1983 the station was fully operational. The station is 22 years old this year.

General: Matla is one of a few power stations in the world with a concrete boiler house superstructure, giving it an outward appearance very different from other power stations in South Africa. The use of concrete reduced the construction lead time and capital costs at a time when there was a worldwide shortage of steel.

Matla was awarded a gold award by the National Productivity Institute (NPI) in 1998.

Safety: Matla was awarded NOSCAR status by the National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA) for the 5th time in March 2001.

Duvha Coal Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom. The 300 metres (980 ft) tall chimneys at Duvha are the tallest structures in Africa.

Construction of Duvha Power Station started in November 1975 and the last unit came into operation in 1984.

In 1993 Duvha became the first power station in the world to be retrofitted with pulse jet fabric filter plants on three of its six units. These plants contribute largely to the reduction of air pollution by removing 99.99% of the fly ash which otherwise would be released into the air through the station's chimneys.

The Duvha Coal Power Station consists of six 600MW units with a total installed capacity of 3,600MW operating with a turbine Maximum Continuous Rating of 37.6%.

Tutuka Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom.

The station has six 609MW units with a total installed capacity of 3,654MW with turbine Maximum Continuous Rating at 38.00% .

Location: Between Standerton and Bethal, approximately 25 km from Standerton in Mpumalanga.

Employees: Approximately 950

Technical details:

• Six 609MW units
• Installed capacity: 3 654MW
• 2001 capacity: 3 510MW
• Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%): 38.00%
• Ramp rate: 33.33% per hour
• Average availability over last 3 years: 93.41%
• Average production over last 3 years: 8 962GWh

History: Tutuka's first unit was put in commercial on 1 June 1985 and the last unit on 4 June 1990. The station is 15 years old this year.

General: Tutuka is an important link in the 765kV extra-high-voltage transmission system linking Mpumalanga with the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

Lethabo Coal Power Plant in the Free State, South Africa, is a large coal fired power station owned and operated by Eskom. The station consists of six 618MW units for a total installed capacity of 3,708MW. Turbine Maximum Continuous Rating is 37.80%.

Employees: Approximately 1,100

Technical details:

• Six 618MW units
• Installed capacity: 3 708MW
• 2001 capacity: 3558MW
• Design efficiency at rated turbine MCR (%): 37.80%
• Ramp rate: 33.33% per hour
• Average availability over last 3 years: 93.05%
• Average production over last 3 years: 21 572GWh
  

History: Construction of Lethabo Coal Power Plant started in 1980 and by December 1990, the station was fully operational. The station has been built on 11 000 concrete piles which were sunk 25 metres deep. The reason being to alleviate the heaving clay problem after some 190 000 bluegum trees were removed during site clearing. At the time, it was the largest piling contract ever awarded to a South African contractor. The station is 16 years old this year.

General: Lethabo Coal Power Plant burns coal with a calorific value of 15 - 16 MJ/kg and an ash content of 42%. It is the only power station in the world running on such low grade coal.

Niederaussem Coal Power Plant is a lignite-fired power station in the Bergheim Niederaussem/Rhein Erft circle, owned by RWE. It consists of nine units, which were built between 1963 and 2003. It has a total output capacity of 3,864 MW and a net capacity of 3,627 MW. According to the study Dirty Thirty, issued in May 2007 by the WWF, Niederaussem Power Station is the third-worst power station in Europe in terms of the relation of energy efficiency to CO₂ emissions.

In the autumn of 1960 the construction work for the blocks A and B (150 MW) began. The location was selected because of the possibility of an extension. The supply of brown coal was ensured by seams on a north-south course ("Garzweiler"). Before blocks A and B first produced power, the construction work for the first 300 megawatt power station block location in Niederaussem began. That block went on-line in the summer 1965. Between 1968 and 1971 three further power plants with improved technology were developed. With the building of the two 600 MW plants a large jump forward occurred. These plants were added to the grid in 1974. At that time the plants at Niederaussem produced a total of 2,700 megawatts.

With the building of the block brown coal power station with optimized equipment technology (BoA) a new chapter at the power station Niederaussem began. Between 1997 and 2002 the most modern brown coal power station block of the world with a gross achievement of 1,012 megawatts (950 MW net) developed with a far higher efficiency (43%) than the other plants (as low as 31%). RWE invested €1,200 million into the project. Beside the new power station block the largest cooling tower in the world (200 metres) had already been built. By the development Niederaussem became one of the largest and most modern coal-fired power stations of the world. The official opening of the new block took place in the summer 2002. In the presence of Wolfgang Clement, the then North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister and Gerhard Schroeder the then Federal Chancellor the new power station went on to the grid.

Since 21 July 2006 RWE spent €40 million building a fluidized bed drying unit with waste heat technology (WTA) as pilot project for the drying process of the raw brown coal. In addition the free waste heat of the power station is used. It is hoped that in the next few decades efficiencies can be achieved to so as to increase over-all efficiency of electricity production by brown coal to 50%. The largest and most modern power station is an example to the industry.

An incident in the coal power station Niederaussem occurred on 9 June 2006. At 1:15 o'clock a fire caught hold in block H of the coaling station. The fire spread to two further coaling station blocks. Later the flames seized nearly the entire area of the "old power station", and a large, black smoke cloud ascended, which spread many kilometres to the north-west. The power station's own fire brigade could not control the fire and sounded the alarm. About 300 rescue forces from the entire Land responded. The damage to property went into the two digit million-range. Even by the late evening of the next day the fire was not completely extinguished. The spread of the fire was contained by recently developed fire precautions in the other sectors of the power station so that only the coaling station was affected.

The Nanticoke Coal Power Plant is the largest coal-fired power plant in North America, delivering up to 3,640 MW of power into the southern Ontario power grid from its base in Nanticoke, Ontario, Canada. Nanticoke Generating Station is owned by Ontario Power Generation, a crown corporation of the Government of Ontario. It was scheduled for decommission in early 2009 as part of the Ontario commitment to eliminate coal power, but this has been repeatedly delayed. The plant is scheduled to phase out its use of coal by 2014, and switch to using biomass.

Environment Canada lists the Nanticoke station as the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution anywhere in Canada.

Nanticoke Coal Power Plant is the largest coal-fired power plant in North America. The station's annual production is in the range of 20 to 24 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), enough electricity to run nearly 2.5 million households. When demand for electricity is high, all eight units are put into service and it produces approximately 15% of Ontario's electricity needs by itself. Nanticoke's staff of about 600 includes power engineers, technicians, mechanical and electrical maintenance tradespeople, equipment operators, environmental technicians, managers and administrators.

Nanticoke Generating Station
Location	Nanticoke, Ontario
Owner	Ontario Power Generation
Employees	600
Status	Active
Fuel	Coal Biomass (prospective)
Technology	Steam turbine
Maximum capacity	3,640 MW
Commissioned	1972–1978

Matimba Coal Power Plant close to Ellisras, Limpopo Province, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom.

The Matimba Coal Power Plant consists of six 665MW units with a total install capacity of 3,990MW. Turbine Maximum Continuous Rating is 35.60%.

Matimba Coal Power Plant is fueled by the Grootegeluk open cast mine on the Waterberg Coalfield with about 14.6 million tons of coal a year via a conveyor system. The mine is also contracted to supply the new Medupi Power Station.

Matimba Power Station
Location	Limpopo, South Africa
Coordinates	Coordinates: 23°40′06″S 27°36′38″E / 23.66846°S 27.61062°E / -23.66846; 27.61062
Owner	Eskom
Fuel	Coal
Turbines	6
Installed capacity	3,990 Megawatt

Ekibastuz GRES-1 Coal Power Plant (AES-Ekibastuz) is a 4,000 MW coal-fired thermal power station (GRES) at Ekibastusz, Kazakhstan. Ekibastuz GRES-1 has two 330-metre (1,083 ft) tall chimneys. As of June 2010, the Ekibastuz GRES-1 power station was the largest power station in Kazakhstan, and generated 13% of the nation's electricity.

From 1996 till 2008, the power station was owned by U.S.-based AES Corporation. By November, 1997, only three units were operational, producing 800 MWe on average. In the spring of 1998, all units except one were idle. The customers owed the power station about US$150 million of unpaid tariffs. In 1999, the average produced power was 215 MWe. In 2000, it was increased to 317 MWe after much needed repairs. As a result, the power station's generating capacity was increased from 1,050 to 1,200 MWe, but the problem of finding paying customers still resulted in low production levels.

On 4 February 2008, AES agreed to sell the AES Ekibastuz power station to Kazakhmys. Under the terms of the management agreement AES continued to operate the station until December 2010.

On 10 December 2009, Kazakhmys PLC announced that it would be selling a 50% stake in the power station to the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna for US$681 million. The transaction was completed on 26 February 2010. Kazakhmys and Samruk-Kazyna will create a joint supervisory board, and management positions will alternate between Kazakhmys and Samruk-Kazyna every five years. In the first five years following the transaction, Kazakhmys will appoint the management team whilst Samruk-Kazyna will appoint several key oversight positions. Over the next seven years the parties pledged to provide investment of around $1 billion at Ekibastuz, to upgrade the power station and restore it from its current capacity of 2,500 MW to its original nameplate capacity of 4,000 MW.

In June 2010, a pair of contracts were announced with Emerson Electric Company to refurbish many of the control systems on units 3 through 8. This is estimated to take 5 years to complete and is expected to increase the efficiency of the affected units at the power station.

Each of the eight units has a nameplate generating capacity of 500 MWe.

Unit 1 was launched into service in March, 1980.

Unit 2 was launched into service in October, 1980.

Unit 3 was launched into service in February, 1981.

Unit 4 was launched into service in November, 1981.

Unit 5 was launched into service in October, 1982.

Unit 6 was launched into service in May, 1983.

Unit 7 was launched into service in October, 1983.

Unit 8 Out of service until 2012 pending retrofit.

Ekibastuz GRES-1
Country	Kazakhstan
Town/city	Ekibastuz
Owner	Kazakhmys, Samruk-Kazyna
Status	operational
Fuel	coal
Turbines	8
Maximum capacity	4,000 MW
Commissioned	1980

Drax Power Station is a large coal-fired power station in North Yorkshire, England, capable of co-firing biomass and petcoke. It is situated near the River Ouse between Selby and Goole, and its name comes from the nearby village of Drax. Its generating capacity of 3,960 megawatts is the highest of any power station in the United Kingdom and Western Europe, providing about 7% of the United Kingdom's electricity supply.

Opened in 1974 and extended in the mid-1980s, the station was initially operated by the Central Electricity Generating Board, but since privatisation in 1990 the station has changed owner several times, and is currently operated by Drax Group plc. Completed in 1986, Drax is the most recently built coal-fired power station in England, and by implementing technologies such as flue gas desulphurisation, is one of the cleanest and most efficient coal-fired power stations in the UK.^[1] However, because of its large size, it is also the UK's single largest emitter of carbon dioxide. In an attempt to reduce these emissions, the station is currently co-firing biomass and undergoing a turbine refurbishment, and there are plans to build a biomass only fired plant alongside the station, known as Drax Ouse Renewable Energy Plant.

Construction

Drax power station was constructed in two similar phases, each of three generating units. The first phase of construction, was begun in from 1973. Costain constructed the station's foundations and cable tunnels; Sir Robert McAlpine laid the roads in and about the station, as well as building the ancillary buildings; Mowlem laid the deep foundations; Alfred McAlpine built the administration and control buildings; Balfour Beatty undertook general building works and James Scott installed cabling. Although the first phase was not completed until 1975, the station's first generating set began generating electricity in 1974.

The second phase of construction began several years later in 1985. Tarmac Construction undertook the civil engineering works; Holst Civil Engineers built the chimney; N.G. Bailey installed cabling; Reyrolle, English Electric and South Wales Switchgear produced and installed the station's switchgear, English Electric also manufactured the generator cooling water pumps; T.W. Broadbent maintained the site's temporary electrical supplies, and the Sulzer Brothers manufactured the boiler feed pumps. This second and final phase was completed in 1986. In both stages the boilers were made by Babcock Power Ltd and the generators by C. A. Parsons and Company. Following the completion of the station, Mitsui Babcock fitted flue gas desulfurization (FGD) equipment at the station between 1988 to 1995.

Post-privatisation

On privatisation of the UK's electric supply industry in 1990, the operation of Drax Power Station was transferred from the Central Electricity Generating Board to the privatised generating company National Power. They sold it on to the AES Corporation in November 1999 for £1.87 billion (US$3 billion). AES relinquished ownership of the station in August 2003, after falling into £1.3 billion of debt. Independent directors continued the operation of the station to ensure security of supply. In December 2005, after refinancing, ownership passed to the Drax Group. On 15 May 2009, the company lost its investment grade status and was downgraded to 'junk' status by Standard and Poor's.

Design and specification

The station's main buildings are of steel frame and metal clad construction. The main features of the station consists of a turbine hall, a boiler house, a chimney and twelve cooling towers. The station's boiler house is 76 m (249 ft) high, and the turbine hall is 400 m (1,300 ft) long. The reinforced concrete chimney stands at 259 metres (850 ft) high, with a diameter of 9.1 metres (30 ft), and weighs 44,000 tonnes. It consists of three flues, each serving two of the station's six boilers. When finished, the chimney was the largest industrial chimney in the world, and is still the tallest in the United Kingdom. The twelve 114 metres (374 ft) high natural draft cooling towers stand in two groups of six to the north and south of the station. They are made of reinforced concrete, in the typical hyperbolic design, and each have a base diameter of 92 m (302 ft). Other facilities on the site include a coal storage area, flue gas desulphurisation plant and gypsum handling facilities.

Drax power station is the second largest coal-fired power station in Europe, after Bełchatów Power Station in Poland. Drax produces around 24 terawatt-hours (TWh) (86.4 petajoules) of electricity annually. Although it generates around 1,500,000 tonnes of ash and 22,800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, Drax is the most carbon-efficient coal-fired powerplant in the United Kingdom.

Operations

Coal supply and transport

The station has a maximum potential consumption of 36,000 tonnes of coal a day. Per year, this equates to around 9 million tonnes. This coal comes from a mixture of both domestic and international sources, with domestic coal coming from mines in Yorkshire, the Midlands and Scotland, and foreign supplies coming from Australia, Colombia, Poland, Russia and South Africa.

When the station first opened, the majority of the coal burned there was taken from various local collieries in Yorkshire. These collieries included: Kellingley, Prince of Wales, Ackton Hall, Sharlston, Fryston, Askern and Bentley. However, since the miners' strike in the mid-1980s, all but one of these mines have shut, with the pit at Kellingley being the only one of these still open.^[18] UK Coal currently have a five year contract to supply the station with coal. This contract ends at the end of 2009. They supply the station with coal from Kellingley, Maltby and, until its closure in 2007, Rossington. Coal was also brought to the station from Harworth Colliery until it was mothballed, and is still supplied by Daw Mill in Warwickshire.

The foreign coal is brought to the station via various ports in the UK, and it is taken from these ports to the power station by railway. First GBRf have a contract with Drax Group to move coal brought to Port of Tyne to the power station. This contract has been celebrated by First GBRf naming one of their locomotives Drax Power Station. English Welsh & Scottish Railways haul coal to the station from the nearby ports of Hull and Immingham, and from Hunterston Terminal on the west coast of Scotland.^[18][21] Freightliner move coal imported through Redcar.

All of the coal is delivered to the station by train. Trains reach the station using a 7.2 km (4.5 mi) long freight only section of the closed Hull and Barnsley Railway, which branches away from the Pontefract Line at Hensall Junction. A balloon loop rail layout is used at the station so that wagons of coal do not need to be shunted after being unloaded. Merry-go-round trains are used, so that wagons can be unloaded without the train stopping, as it passes through an unloading house. On average, there are 35 deliveries a day, 6 days a week.

Electricity generation

Coal is fed into one of thirty coal bunkers, each with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes of coal. Each bunker feeds two of the station's sixty pulverisers, each of which can crush 36 tonnes of coal an hour. The station has six Babcock Power boilers, each weighing 4,000 tonnes. The powdered coal from ten pulverizers is blasted into each boiler through burners, which are ignited by propane. In 2003 the original burners were replaced by low nitrogen oxide burners. Each of the six boilers feed steam to a steam turbine set. Each steam turbine consists of one high pressure (HP) turbine, one intermediate pressure (IP) turbine and three low pressure (LP) turbines. The HP turbines generate at 140 megawatts (MW). Exhaust steam from them is fed back to the boiler and reheated, then fed to the 250 MW IP turbines and finally passes through the 90 MW LP turbines. This gives each generating set a generating capacity of 660 MW, and with six generatin sets, the station has a total capacity of 3,960 MW. Each of the generating units is equipped with the Advanced Plant Management System (APMS), a system developed by RWE npower and Thales, and implemented by Capula.

The station also has six gas turbines installed. These standby turbines provide backup for breakdowns, or shut downs in the National Grid. Their annual output is generally low, generating 75 MW. and three of the units have been mothballed and are out of operation, but they could be refurbished. Emissions from these units are released through the stations second, smaller chimney, to the south of the main stack.

Cooling system

Water is essential to a thermal power station, as water is heated to create steam to turn the steam turbines. Water used in the boilers is taken from two licensed boreholes on-site. Once this water has been through the turbines it is cooled using condensers. Water for these condensers is taken from the nearby River Ouse. Water is pumped from the river to the power station by a pumphouse on the river, north of the station. Once it has been through the condenser, the water is cooled by one of the station's natural draft cooling towers, with two towers serving each generating set. Once cooled, the water is discharged back into the river.

Flue gas desulphurisation

All six units are served by independent wet limestone-gypsum flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) plant, which was installed between 1988 and 1996. This diverts gasses from the boilers and passes them through a limestone slurry, which removes at least 90% of the sulphur dioxide (SO₂) in the gasses. This is equivalent to removing over 250,000 tonnes of SO₂ from the station's emissions each year. The process requires 10,000 tonnes of limestone a week. This limestone is sourced from Tunstead Quarry in Derbyshire. A byproduct of the process is gypsum, and 15,000 tonnes of it is produced by the station each week. This goes to be used in the manufacture of plasterboard. The gypsum is sold exclusively to British Gypsum, and it is transported by rail to their plants at Kirkby Thore (on the Settle-Carlisle Railway), East Leake (on the Great Central Main Line) and occasionally to Robertsbridge (on the Hastings Line).^[32] English, Welsh & Scottish Railways transport the gypsum to the plants.

Ash use and disposal

Pulverised fuel ash (PFA) and furnace bottom ash (FBA) are two byproducts made through the burning of coal. Each year, the station produces about 1,000,000 tonnes of PFA and around 220,000 tonnes of FBA. Most of this ash is sold on, with all FBA and 85% of PFA being sold. Under the trade name Drax Ash Products, the sold ash is sold to the local building industry, where it is used in the manufacture of blocks, cement products, grouting and the laying of roads. The ash is also used in other parts of the country. Between 2005 and 2007, PFA was used as an infill at four disused salt mines in Northwich in Cheshire. 1,100,000 tonnes of PFA was used in the project, which was to avoid a future risk of subsidence in the town. Ash was delivered to the salt mines by EWS in ten trains a week, each carrying 1,100 tonnes of PFA. Following a trial in January 2010, PFA is also transported to Waterford in Ireland by boat. One ship a month will transport 1,200 tonnes of PFA from the station to Ireland for the manufacture of construction materials. This will replace 480 lorry journeys annually and is deemed more environmentally friendly.

The unsold PFA is sent by conveyor belt to the Barlow ash mound, which is used for disposal and temporary stockpile. Three conveyors feed the mound, with a total capacity of delivering 750 tonnes of PFA an hour. Some FGD gypsum is disposed of on the mound, if it is not of a high enough grade to be sold on. The mound itself is notable as it has won a number of awards for its nature conservation work.

Co-firing

Co-firing is the process of burning two or more types of fuel together at the same time. As well as burning coal, Drax power station also co-fires biomass and petroleum coke ('petcoke'). The station tested co-firing biomass in the summer of 2004, and in doing so was the first power station in the UK to be fueled by wood. The initial trial of 14,100 tonnes of willow was locally sourced from nearby Eggborough.

Since the trial, the station's use of biomass has continued. The station uses direct injection for firing the biomass, whereby it bypasses the station's pulverising mills and is either injected dirctly into the boiler or the fuel line, for greater throughput of biomass. The station's use of biomass has continued to increase and they have currently set a target for 12.5% of the station's energy to be sourced from biomass. This will contribute to the station's aim to cut its CO₂ emissions by 15%. The station burns a large range of biomass fuels, but among them, the most used are wood pellets, sunflower pellets, olive, peanut shell husk and rape meal. The majority of the station's biomass comes from overseas.

The station started to trial the co-firing of petcoke in one of its boilers in June 2005. The trial ended in June 2007. Over this period the boiler burned 15% petcoke and 85% coal. Petcoke was burned in the station to make the price of the station's electricity more competitive as the price of running the station's FGD equipment was making the station's electricity more expensive. The Environment Agency (EA) granted permission for the trial in June 2004, despite the plans being opposed by Friends of the Earth and Selby Council.^[41] To meet their concerns, the station's emissions were constantly monitored through the trial, and they were not allowed to burn petcoke without operating the FGD plant to remove the high sulphur content of the fuel's emissions. The trial proved that there were no significant negative effects on the environment, and so in late 2007, Drax Group applied to move from trial conditions to commercial burn. The EA granted permission in early 2008 after agreeing with Drax's findings that the fuel had no significant negative effects on the environment. The station can now burn up to 300,000 tonnes of the fuel a year, and stock anything up to 6,000 tonnes of the material on site.

Drax power station
Drax Power Station Viewed from the west in April 2002
Country	England
Town/city	Selby
Location	Drax
Coordinates	53°44′07″N 0°59′31″W / 53.73515°N 0.99187°W / 53.73515; -0.99187Coordinates: 53°44′07″N 0°59′31″W / 53.73515°N 0.99187°W / 53.73515; -0.99187
Owner	Central Electricity Generating Board (1974-1990) National Power (1990-1999) AES Corporation (1999-2003) Drax Group plc (2005-present)
Status	Baseload
Fuel	Coal, Biomass, Petcoke
Conveyance	Rail
Cooling water	Fresh
Technology	Steam tubine
Turbines	Six 660 MW C. A. Parsons and Company
Installed capacity	3,960 MW
Commissioned	1974-75 and 1986