Dickerson Generating Station
| Dickerson Generating Station | |
|---|---|
 Montgomery County, Maryland co-generating facility in 2009 | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Montgomery County, near Dickerson, Maryland |
| Coordinates | 39°12′36″N 77°27′54″W / 39.21000°N 77.46500°W |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Commission date | 1959 |
| Decommission date | August 2020 |
| Owner(s) | NRG Energy |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Bituminous coal, natural gas, fuel oil |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 6 |
| Make and model | MW |
| ] | |
The Dickerson Generating Station is an 853 MW electric generating plant owned by NRG Energy, located approximately two miles west of Dickerson, Maryland, on the eastern banks of the Potomac River.
Description
The facility consists of three 182 MW
The generation plant's site property abuts the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, which follows along the Potomac River. The C&O Canal structures nearest to the plant are Lock 27 and the Monocacy Aqueduct.[citation needed]
History
The Dickerson plant began service in 1959.
In 1991, the 900-foot (270 m)-long cooling water discharge channel from the power plant, which empties into the Potomac River, became the Dickerson Whitewater Course, a canoe and kayak training facility for the 1992 Olympic Games.
In December 2009, a $1.1 billion emissions upgrade was completed.[6] A new stack and cooling system reduced the amount of waste heat going into the cooling water discharge channel.
In 2013, NRG filed notice that it planned to decommission the coal generators by 2017, citing state emissions requirements.[7] In May 2015, NRG filed notice to delay deactivation until May 2019.[8] In February 2016, NRG withdrew its de-activation notice for the coal-fired units.[9]
In May 2020, GenOn Holdings announced it would retire the three coal generating units, citing unfavorable market conditions and increased costs associated with environmental compliance.[10] The coal units were shut down later in 2020.[11]
Pollution
In August 2016 the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) fined Dickerson $1 million for releasing illegal amounts of nitrogen into the Potomac River.[12]
In August 2018 MDE required the Dickerson plant to meet current federal wastewater standards (
Operations
NRG operates the combustion turbines as peaking generation. The Dickerson Generating Station is dispatched by the
In 2008 the plant's flue-gas desulfurization system consumed 190,000 tons of limestone and generated 310,000 of synthetic gypsum.[15]
Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility
The Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility, a 56 MW generating
See also
References
- ^ "Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2006" (Excel). Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ^ Maryland Department of Natural Resources (2007-03-19). "Environmental Review of the Air Pollution Control Project at the Dickerson Generating Station" (PDF). Maryland Public Service Commission Case No. 9087 docket. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
- ^ a b Mirant Corporation. "Dickerson Generating Plant." Archived 2010-11-25 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2010-05-24.
- ^ de la Merced, Michael J. (2010-04-12). "Merger of Energy Producers To Form $3 Billion Company". New York Times.
- ^ de la Merced, Michael J. (2012-07-23). "NRG Energy to Buy GenOn in Move to Bolster Stocks and Cut Costs". New York Times.
- ^ Peltier, Robert. "Dickerson Generating Station, Dickerson, Maryland Archived 2011-10-27 at the Wayback Machine," Power, Vol. 154, No. 10, Oct. 2010
- ^ Alexander, Kate (9 December 2013). "Dickerson plant plans to stop using coal". The Gazette (Gaithersburg, Md.). Archived from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Cassell, Barry (2015-05-01). "NRG delays planned deactivations for five Maryland coal units for another year". Generation Hub.
- ^ "SEC Form 10-K, NRG Energy, Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2016-01-31.
- ^ Schotz, Andrew (2020-05-19). "Dickerson coal-fired electricity units to shut down". Bethesda Magazine.
- ^ Condon, Christine (2020-12-22). "50-year-old Maryland power plant to stop burning coal in 2027". The Baltimore Sun.
- ^ Dance, Scott (2016-08-30). "Maryland fines coal power plants $1 million for polluting Potomac, Patuxent rivers". Baltimore Sun.
- ^ Dance, Scott (2018-08-14). "Maryland requires three coal power plants to limit arsenic, mercury water pollution starting in 2020". Baltimore Sun.
- ^ "Steam Electric Power Generating Effluent Guidelines - 2015 Final Rule". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2018-11-30.
- ^ Maryland Cumulative Environmental Impact Report: Impacts of Power Generation and Transmission (PDF) (Report) (14th ed.). Annapolis, MD: Maryland Power Plant Research Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources. 2008.
- ^ Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority. Baltimore, MD. "The Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine." Accessed 2010-05-24.
- ^ Maryland State Archives. Annapolis, MD. "Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority." Maryland Manual. October 10, 2008.