Gibbons Creek Steam Station
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Gibbons Creek Steam Station is a retired power station in Carlos, Grimes, Texas, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Gibbons Creek Steam Station | Carlos, Grimes, Texas, United States | 30.61885, -96.081833 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1: 30.61885, -96.081833
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | retired | coal - subbituminous | 453.5 | subcritical | 1983 | 2019 |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Texas Municipal Power Agency [100.0%] |
Closing Gibbons Creek
In July 2017 it was reported that, due to competition from lower-cost renewables and gas, the plant would only run during the hot summer months (June through September). Texas Municipal Power Agency (TMPA) has been looking to sell the coal plant for nearly a year.[1] According to the EIA 860M (November 2018), the power station was planned for retirement in Januari 2019.[2]
According to the EIA 860M (October 2019), the power station was retired in October 2019.[3]
Legal challenge over pollution control at 8 Texas coal plants
In October 2022, the Environment Integrity Project and the Sierra Club filed legal action against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the effective exemption of 8 coal plants from fine particle pollution control standards.[4] According to the lawsuit, the EPA failed to approve an amendment to Texas' State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. By neither approving nor rejecting the new SIP by the statutory deadline, the coal power stations were free to continue emitting dangerous levels of pollution for “for hundreds and in some cases thousands of hours each year.”[5]
The legal action was targeted at 8 coal plants: Pirkey Power Plant, Fayette Power Project, Martin Lake Steam Station, Limestone Generating Station, San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Harrington Station, Gibbons Creek Steam Station, and Oklaunion Power Station.[6]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 3,619,865 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 11,913 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 2,323 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 265 lb.
Scrubber Retrofit at Gibbons Creek Steam Station
In March 2011, Texas Municipal Power Agency, which owns the coal-burning Gibbons Creek plant, stated they are installing a scrubber to meet new federal standards and limit the amount of mercury and other pollutant emissions. Workers are to have to installed the scrubber by April 1, 2011. The cost of the scrubber installation will run $98.5 million, stated the company.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Gibbons Creek Steam Station
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants.[7] Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.[8]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Gibbons Creek Steam Station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 3 | $23,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 5 | $510,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 57 | $3,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 3 | $53,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 2 | $890,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 4 | $1,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Coal power plant lays off dozens, shuts down year-round operations," KBTX, July 20, 2017
- ↑ 860M: Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, EIA, November 2018
- ↑ 860M: Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, EIA, October 2019
- ↑ "Coal-fired plants in Texas bypassing pollution controls, lawsuit says", Reuters, October 11, 2022
- ↑ "Environmental Integrity Project v. Michael Regan: Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-3063", United States District Court for the District of Columbia, filed October 10, 2022
- ↑ "Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Pollution From Eight Texas Coal Plants", Environmental Integrity Project, October 10, 2022
- ↑ "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
- ↑ "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool," Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
