Bull Run Fossil Plant

Location

Bull Run Plant is located on 750 acres (300 ha), in the Claxton community of Anderson County, Tennessee, on the north bank of Bull Run Creek, directly across the Clinch River (Melton Hill Lake) from Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

History

Construction began on April 2, 1962 and was completed on June 12, 1967, when the plant began commercial operation.

Units and operating parameters

The plant is the only single-generator coal-fired plant in the TVA system. The plant's winter net generating capacity is about 889 MWe. The plant consumes 7,300 short tons (6,600 t) of coal per day, and requires 2,900 metric tons (6,400,000 lb) of cooling water per hour. Its supercritical boiler operates at a pressure of 3,650 psi (248 atm) and temperature of 1,000 °F (540 °C).

Distinctions

When the generator first went into operation, it was the largest in the world (measured in terms of the volume of steam produced). Bull Run's heat rate (measure of the amount of heat used to produce a kWh of electricity) was the best of any plant in the United States in 1975, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1995, 2001, and 2004. Bull Run Fossil Plant named the most energy-efficient coal-fired power plant in the nation by Electric Light & Power magazine for calendar year 2001.

Environmental impact

In 2006, the plant ranked the 70th among the large coal-fired plants in the United States on the list of worst SO₂ polluters, having emitted 11.92 lb (5.41 kg) of sulfur dioxide per MWh of energy produced (27,987 tons of SO₂ in 2006 altogether). Since then, a wet limestone scrubber has been installed, which reduced sulfur dioxide emissions by about 95%.