Gibson Generating Station

Infobox_Company
company_name = Duke Energy Indiana
Gibson Generating Station
Owensville, Indiana
company_type = Public
foundation = 1971 under Public Service Indiana
location = Duke Energy
Charlotte, North Carolina Duke Energy Indiana
Plainfield, Indiana
key_people =
industry = Type
Coal-Fired Power Plant
Location
975 N County Road 1050 W
Owensville, IN
Owners:
Public Service Indiana (1971-1995)
Cinergy (1995-2006)
Duke Energy (2006-present) Generator Units:
5 FW Coal Pulverized-Once Through Supercritical Boilers num_employees = 1,200-1500
(320 Duke Energy Employees)
(580-780 Contract Employees, including security)
homepage = [http://www.duke-energy.com/power-plants/coal-fired/gibson.asp Duke Energy Gibson website] The Gibson Generating Station is a coal-burning power plant located in Gibson County, Indiana, United States. It is close to the Wabash River, just opposite Mount Carmel, Illinois. With an 2003 aggregate capacity among its five units of 3,145 megawatts, it is the largest power plant run by Duke Energy, [http://www.duke-energy.com/power-plants/coal-fired/gibson.asp Duke Energy - Gibson Generating Station] third-largest coal power plant in the world, and the ninth-largest electrical plant in the United States. [http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/rankings/plantsbycapacity.htm Power plants by capacity - United States DOE] . Also on the grounds of the facility is a convert|3000|acre|km2|abbr=on large man-made lake called Gibson Lake which is used as a cooling pond for the plant. Neighboring the plant is a Duke-owned, publicly-accessible access point to the Wabash River near a small island that acts as a wildlife preserve. This is the nearest boat-ramp to Mount Carmel on the Indiana side of the river. Located immediately south of Gibson Lake, the plant's cooling pond, is the Cane Ridge NWR, the newest unit of the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area. Opened in August 2006, this 26 acre area serves as a nesting ground for the Least Tern, a rare bird. Cane Ridge NWR is reportedly the eastermost nesting ground for the bird in the U.S.

tatistics for Gibson Generating Station

History

Gibson Generating Station was originally built as a two-unit coal-fired power plant in 1972 by Public Service Indiana (PSI). The 80's saw the addition of Units 3, 4, and 5, but only two more stacks. In the 90's, number 4 was separated from number 3's stack and each was given their own stack.

Cinergy took over PSI in 1995. During this time, all five units were fitted with new SCR Units, mounted on the back of each unit. During this construction one of the largest cranes in the world was erected at GGS.

Duke Energy took over Cinergy in May, 2006.

Recent additions

Work was just recently completed on the plant's two new convert|620|ft|m|abbr=on Smokestacks. The wider two-flue stack is for Units 1 & 2 with a flue for each unit, while the narrower stack is for Unit 3. Unit 4's and Unit 5's Smokestacks both usually put out a full plume as well.

Several projects are being constructed to increase the capacity to as much as 3,340MW and a series of Select Catalytic Reduction (SCR) units have been installed to decrease its NOx emissions.

Earthquake Effects

At 4:37:00am CDT (9:37:00 UTC) on April 18 an 5.2 Richter Scale Earthquake rocked the area. The epicenter was located 7 miles northwest of the station in nearby Wabash County, Illinois. Some minor damage was recorded but the only visible effect was that Unit 4 deactivated itself because of its vibration detectors. [http://www.tristate-media.com/articles/2008/04/21/pdclarion/news/news1.txt]

Environmental concerns

* The lake was recently closed for fishing due to high selenium levels. [ [http://www.duke-energy.com/news/releases/2007032701.asp Gibson Lake Will Not Reopen for Fishing April 1 - Duke Energy ] ]
* Unit 4 accidentally released a blue haze that floated for a time over Mount Carmel, as emissions of sulfuric acid descended on the town, aggravating respiratory illnesses & prompting an investigation by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
* There have been concerns voiced as recently as September 2007 that the plant's ash disposal pits have been leaking boron into the water tables of the area. [http://indianalawblog.com/archives/2004/08/environment_gib.html Indiana Law Blog - Environment - Gibson Generating Plant Multi-Jurisdictional Issues 08/2004]
* The plant generates 20.4 million tons of CO₂ pollution each year, making it the fourth largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from power production in the United States [ [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071114163448.htm Carbon Dioxide Emissions From Power Plants Rated Worldwide ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.duke-energy.com/power-plants/coal-fired/gibson.asp Duke Energy - Gibson Generating Station]