Navajo Generating Station
| Navajo Generating Station | |||
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| Coordinates | |||
| country | United States | ||
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| Type | Thermal power plant | ||
| Primary energy | Fossil energy | ||
| fuel | coal | ||
| power | 2,250 MW | ||
| owner |
US Bureau of Reclamation (24.3%) Salt River Project (21.7%) Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power (21.2%) Arizona Public Service (14.0%) NV Energy (11.3%) Tucson Electric Power (7.5%) |
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| operator | Salt River Project | ||
| Start of operations | 1974,1975,1976 | ||
| Shutdown | 18th November 2019 | ||
| Chimney height | 236 m | ||
| Energy fed in 2018 | 13017 GWh | ||
| Website | Navajo Generation Station on srpnet.com | ||
The Navajo Generating Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power plant with a capacity of 2250 megawatts , which is located in the Navajo Nation Reservation near the town of Page in the state of Arizona , USA . It supplied electricity to customers in Arizona, Nevada, and California . The energy was also used to pump 1.85 billion liters of water annually from the Colorado River for the Central Arizona Project to central and southern Arizona.
History of the power plant
In the 1950s and 1960s, the growing population in the states of California, Arizona and Nevada created the need for new power plants in the southwestern United States. In addition, the US Bureau of Reclamation needed a large source of energy to operate the pumps for the planned Central Arizona Project (CAP).
At the beginning, various power generation projects were considered. This included in particular plans to build the Bridge Canyon and Marble Canyon dams on Colorado. Due to the proximity of the dams to the Grand Canyon , however, resistance was put up, first by the National Park Service , and then much more energetically by a coalition of various environmental groups who suggested building a coal or nuclear power plant as an alternative. As a result, the proposal to build the dams was withdrawn and replaced by the Navajo Power Project. This consisted of the Navajo Generation Station, a coal mine near Kayenta , the Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad railway company , which connects the mine and the power station, and an approx. 1,300 km long 500-kV high-voltage line .
The selected site is approximately 10 km east of Glen Canyon Dam and approximately 5 km south of Lake Powell, in close proximity to Lower Antelope Canyon, on an area of 7.23 km² leased by the Navajo Nation . Location factors were primarily the available water for cooling and the relative proximity to the open pit. The town of Page and US Highway 89 also provided an existing infrastructure that provided a basis for the construction and operation of the project. The contracts for the planning and construction of the power plant were awarded to the Bechtel Corporation ; work began in April 1970. Power plant units 1, 2 and 3 were completed in 1974, 1975 and 1976 at a total cost of around 650 million US dollars .
Between 1977 and 1990, on the basis of the amendment to the Clean Air Act for the protection of visibility in national parks , various studies were carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Salt River Project and other agencies into the possible effects of emissions from the Navajo Generating Station on those worth protecting Areas created.
The studies culminated with the Winter Haze Intensive Tracer Experiment (WHITEX) and the Navajo Generating Station Visibility Study (NGSVS). These studies found that controlling and reducing sulfur dioxide emissions could improve winter visibility in the Grand Canyon by between 2% and 7%. As a result, the EPA issued regulations calling for a 70% reduction in emissions. However, the operators and environmentalists negotiated a course of action that could combine an even higher level of environmental protection with lower costs. It was agreed that the annual average of sulfur dioxide emissions should be reduced by 90% by 1999. The EPA accepted this proposal and adapted its regulations accordingly. The power plant was equipped with flue gas desulphurisation systems, the planning of which began by Stone & Webster in 1994 and which were completed for units 3, 2 and 1 in 1997, 1998 and 1999. The total cost of the cleaning facility was approximately $ 420 million.
On the basis of a study carried out in 2007 on pollution by nitrogen oxides , the Clean Air Act was supplemented by further regulations. The study recommended new firing techniques with low nitrogen oxide emissions. As a result, units 3, 2 and 1 in 2009, 2010 and 2011 were equipped with appropriate combustion systems. This required an eight-week break in operation in February and March of each year.
In 2017, owners Salt River Project (SRP), Arizona Public Service Co., Tucson Electric Power Co. and NV Energy announced their intention to close the power plant in late 2019. After several bidders had expressed interest in a takeover, but then withdrew, the only candidate left for continued operation was the Navajo Transitional Energy Company. At the end of March 2019, NTEC also abandoned the takeover plan, and it closed on November 18, 2019.
Individual evidence
- ^ Electricity Data Browser: Navajo generating station, annual . Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ↑ Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2008 . Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy. 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ↑ Jennifer E. Zuniga: The Central Arizona Project (PDF; 128 kB) In: Bureau of Reclamation History Program . US Bureau of Reclamation. 2000. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ^ Chapter I. Introduction and History of the Navajo Project . In: Environmental Planning for the Navajo Generating Station Status Report , Prepared by Bechtel Corporation, The Navajo Project 1970, pp. 1 - 3, OCLC 4711442 .
- ↑ Mike Sundblom, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality: RA BART (Reasonably Attributable Best Available Retrofit Technology) Case Study, Navajo Generating Station, Appendix C ( MS Word ; 73 kB) Western Regional Air Partnership. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
- ↑ Part 71 Federal Operating Permit Statement of Basis - Navajo Generating Station, Permit No. NN-ROP-05-06 (PDF; 260 kB) Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency. 2006. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- ↑ ENSR Corporation - AECOM: BART Analysis for the Navajo Generating Station Units 1 - 3 (PDF; 3.7 MB) Western Regional Air Partnership. P. 6-1 & 6-2. 2007. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- ↑ Katherine Locke: Naabik'íyáti'Committee ends final effort to keep NGS open . Navajo Hopi Observer. 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
- ↑ Michael J. Coren: Two of America's biggest coal plants closed this month . Quartz - Global business news and insights. 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
