Jack Watson Generating Plant
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Jack Watson Generating Plant is an operating power station of at least 877-megawatts (MW) in Gulfport, Harrison, Mississippi, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Watson Generating Plant | Gulfport, Harrison, Mississippi, United States | 30.439233, -89.026106 (exact) |
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 4, Unit 5: 30.439233, -89.026106
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 4, timepoint 1 | Retired | coal: bituminous | 299.2 | subcritical | no[1] | 1968 | 2015 |
| Unit 4, timepoint 2 | Operating[2] | fossil gas: natural gas[2] | 299.2[2] | steam turbine[2] | no[1] | 2015[1][3][4] | –[2] |
| Unit 5, timepoint 1 | Retired | coal: bituminous | 578 | subcritical | no[1] | 1973 | 2015 |
| Unit 5, timepoint 2 | Operating[2] | fossil gas: natural gas[2] | 578[2] | steam turbine[2] | no[1] | 2015[1][3][4] | – |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 4, timepoint 1 | Mississippi Power Co [100%] | Southern Co [100.0%] |
| Unit 4, timepoint 2 | Mississippi Power Co [100%] | Southern Co [100.0%] |
| Unit 5, timepoint 1 | Mississippi Power Co [100%] | Southern Co [100.0%] |
| Unit 5, timepoint 2 | Mississippi Power Co [100%] | Southern Co [100.0%] |
Unit-level fuel conversion details:
Unit 4: Converted from coal to fossil gas in 2015.
Unit 5: Converted from coal to fossil gas in 2015.
Background
The plant is located near Gulfport, Mississippi, and is owned by Mississippi Power Company.[5]
The plant had 919.1 MW of nameplate capacity.[6] Unit 4 began operating in 1968, Unit 5 began operating in 1973, and Unit A (steam turbine) began operating in 1970.[6] In 2015, Units 4 and 5 were converted to run on natural gas.[7] Unit 4 was planned to be retired in December 2023.[6]
The power station's previous coal units sourced coal from the Mach No. 1 Mine (Mississippi Power) and the Sugar Camp Mine (Mississippi Power).[8]
Conversion to Natural Gas
The power station was fully converted from coal to natural gas in April 2015.[9][10]
2005-2006 Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 5,050,375 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 29,113 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 15,683 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 178 lb.
Coal Ash
Coal ash from the plant is stored at the Jack Watson Generating Plant Ash Pond.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Jack Watson Generating Plant
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.[11] 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.[12]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Jack Watson Generating Plant
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 22 | $160,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 30 | $3,200,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 380 | $19,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 15 | $360,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 13 | $5,900,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 23 | $9,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Citizen groups
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "U.S. Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (November 2019)". Archived from the original on 2020-06-12. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "U.S. Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (May 2023)". Archived from the original on 2023-09-18. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220709063426/https://www.transmissionhub.com/articles/2015/02/mississippi-powers-watson-coal-to-gas-conversion-almost-completed.html. Archived from the original on 2022-07-09.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20221205223110/https://ashtracker.org/facility/563/plant-jack-watson. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory" eia.gov, 860m March 2020
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860)". eia.gov. June 27, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory" eia.gov, 860m March 2020
- ↑ "EIA 923 2015" EIA 923 2015.
- ↑ "Mississippi Power And Sierra Club Settle Litigation Over Coal Plant Construction," AP, Aug 4, 2014.
- ↑ Adam Lynch, "How a Big Coal Blunder Gave Mississippi a Chance for Cleaner Air," Yes!, July 19, 2016
- ↑ "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 interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
