POWER October 2010 - 1

Established 1882 * Vol. 154 * No. 10
October 2010
ON THE COVER
Brandon Shores Generating Station in Pasadena, Maryland, recently completed upgrades
of air quality control and water supply and treatment systems. The plant is located on the
Patapsco River, 10 miles south of Baltimore. Courtesy: Constellation Energy
COVER STORY: COAL-FIRED TOP PLANTS
28 ADM Clinton Cogeneration Plant, Clinton, Iowa
Corn and coal-two Midwestern staples. One new cogeneration plant is making the
most of both for fuel. In the process, it is reducing waste and fuel costs while minimizing
its carbon emissions. If you've ever used a bag made of renewable plastic,
you, too, may have been a beneficiary of this plant.
30 Brandon Shores Generating Station, Pasadena, Maryland
A set of environmental upgrades put Constellation Energy's largest Maryland coalfired
plant in compliance with new state emissions requirements ahead of schedule.
In addition, upgrades to the water supply system make use of municipal wastewater
and improve the quality of water returned to the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
33 Brunner Island Power Plant, York Haven, York County, Pennsylvania
These days, even 45-year-old coal-fired plants can be valuable generation assets and
neighbors, especially if they've made a roughly $860 million investment in environmental
systems. Air, water, and solid waste treatment upgrades have ensured that
this plant is ready for an active " middle age " instead of retirement.
36 Dickerson Generating Station, Dickerson, Maryland
Mirant Corp. made some savvy investment decisions to comply with new Maryland
emissions requirements. In addition to making upgrades to environmental control
systems, its 50-year-old Dickerson plant piloted state-of-the-art machinery health
monitoring that has improved trouble-spotting and is now being adopted by other
Mirant plants.
40 Isogo Thermal Power Station Unit 2, Yokohama, Japan
While the industry (especially in the U.S.) debates the definition and technology
of " clean coal, " this new facility has earned its ranking as one of the cleanest coalfired
plants in the world. Are emissions comparable to those from a combinedcycle
natural gas-fired plant clean enough? Read about what's sure to become the
model for here-today " clean coal " technology.
44 Oak Creek Power Plant, Elm Road Units 1 and 2, Milwaukee and Racine
Counties, Wisconsin
Lately, expanding existing U.S. coal-fired plants has been a more viable business
plan than building new ones. That's the realization that We Energies came to before
adding two supercritical units with state-of-the-art air quality control equipment. Today,
Oak Creek is the most thermally efficient power plant in Wisconsin.
48 Tolk Station, Earth, Texas
Water is increasingly becoming a key focus of environmental scrutiny at coal-fired
plants. This station developed a unique approach that recycles plant blowdown water,
thereby eliminating the need for new sludge and disposal ponds and a wastewater
treatment system while significantly reducing water consumption. Tolk is also
the Powder River Basin Coal Users' Group Plant of the Year.
INDUSTRY TRENDS
52 Map of Coal-Fired Generation in the United States
October 2010 | POWER
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POWER October 2010

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