Big Sandy Plant
Quick Facts
About Big Sandy Plant
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Big Sandy Plant’s total generating capacity is 1,078
megawatts (MW). The 260 MW Unit 1 went on line 1963. Its cooling tower was the first natural-draft cooling tower in the Western
Hemisphere. The tower, small in comparison to later models, is 320
feet high and has a base diameter of 245 feet. Its cooling capacity is
120,000 gallons per minute.
Kentucky Power plans to retire Unit 1 and convert it from a
coal-fired unit to a natural gas-fired unit. Unit 1 is being retired as
a coal-fired facility because it will no longer comply with Federal
environmental standards after 2015. After the conversion, the Unit will
have a generation capacity of approximately 268 MW.
Unit 2 went on line in 1969 and was the first in a series of five
800 MW units installed on the AEP System in a four-year period.
Unit 2 will be retired from service to comply with new environmental
regulations.
Location: Along the Big Sandy River near Louisa, Kentucky
Number of generating units: Two
Capacity: 1,078 megawatts
Stack height: 826 feet
Average annual coal consumption: Approximately
2.5 million tons
Coal yard storage capacity: More than 1 million tons
Average daily coal consumption: Approximately 10,000 tons at
full capacity
Employees: approximately 70
Unit 1
260,000 kW single-shaft turbine generator
Main steam pressure- 2.400 psi
Main steam temperature- 1,050° F
Boiler delivers 1.9 million pounds of steam/hour
Circulating water flow- 120,000 gallons/minute
Cooling tower diameter at base- 245 feet
Cooling tower height- 320 feet
Feed pump water delivery to steam generator- 4.400 gallons/minute
Pulverizers- six at 40,000 pounds/hour
Unit2
800,000 kW single-shaft turbine generator
Main steam pressure- 3,500 psi
Main steam temperature- 1,000° F
Boiler delivers 5.28 million pounds of steam/hour
Circulating water flow- 248,000 gallons/minute
Cooling tower diameter at base- 395 feet
Cooling tower height- 370 feet
Feed pump water delivery to steam generator- 12,500 gallons/minute
Pulverizers- six at 120,000 pounds/hour
How We Generate Electricity
Coal arrives by rail and truck and is stored in the plant’s coal yard.
Conveyor belts carry the coal from the yard into the plant where
pulverizers grind the coal into a fine, talcum powder-like consistency.
The powdered coal is injected into the boilers where it burns at high
temperatures, turning water that circulates in the boilers into steam.
The steam is then directed into the turbines, where it turns
blades (much like wind turning a windmill). The spinning turbines
drive generators that produce electricity.
Because electricity cannot be stored, it is generated the instant
a customer needs it. The Unit 1 generator produces electricity at
22,000 volts and Unit 2 at 26,000 volts. Transformers outside the
plant step up the voltage to 138,000 volts and 345,000 volts
respectively so that it can be transmitted efficiently to customers’
homes and businesses.
Flip the switch and you get electricity that was just converted
from coal.
Protecting the Environment
Big Sandy Plant employees take great pride in providing electricity
pull the ash particles out of the exhaust gas stream. The ash is mixed
while protecting air and water quality, recycling materials and main-
with water and stored in slurry form. The ash settles to the bottom of
taining an exemplary record of public and work safety.
the pond and the clean water flows back into the Big Sandy River.
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Low NOx burners on both units reduce NOx emissions by up to 60
Bottom ash is taken from the steam generators, mixed with water
percent. Low NOx burners control the way coal is burned to reduce the
and pumped to temporary settling ponds. After the ash settles, it is
formation of NOx, a precursor to ozone. These burners were installed
harvested for use in plant construction projects, as road base and for
in advance of regulatory deadlines at a cost of $25 million.
ice control.
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A selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system operates on Unit 2
Big Sandy Plant uses an automated continuous emission
during the ozone season (May-September) to reduce NOx emissions
monitoring system (CEMS) to monitor stack gas emissions. This highly
by up to 90 percent. Ammonia injected into the plant’s exhaust gases
accurate system helps ensure compliance with clean air requirements
causes a chemical reaction as the gases pass over a catalyst, convert-
for SO2, NOx and carbon dioxide emissions and opacity.
ing the nitrogen oxide to harmless nitrogen and water. The ammonia
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is neither transported to nor stored at the site but instead is manu-
system. The plant uses water from the Big Sandy River to cool the
factured on site as needed through a unique process in which urea
steam back into water so that it can be re-circulated -- reused in the
-- which is not considered harmful and commonly is used as fertilizer
power generation process. The closed system also means that heated
– is converted to ammonia.
water is not discharged back into the source where it could disrupt the
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natural aquatic life.
Electrostatic precipitators remove approximately 98 percent of all
Cooling towers provide the plant with a closed cycle cooling
fly ash particles produced by coal combustion. In precipitators, fly ash
from burning coal passes through electrically charged plates, which
Big Sandy Plant flue gas stream
environmental control equipment
American Electric Power
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among
the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s
headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.
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