Polk Power Station

From Global Energy Monitor

Polk Power Station is an operating power station of at least 1166-megawatts (MW) in Mulberry, Florida, United States with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Polk Power Station Mulberry, Florida, United States 27.728611, -81.98972 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

Loading map...


Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1, Unit 1: 27.728611, -81.98972
  • Unit CC2: 27.7286, -81.9897

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year Retired year
Unit 1 mothballed coal - unknown, fossil liquids - fuel oil, fossil gas - natural gas 192.9 integrated gasification combined cycle 1986
Unit 1 mothballed fossil liquids - fuel oil, coal - unknown, fossil gas - natural gas 192.9 integrated gasification combined cycle 1986
Unit CC2 operating[1] gas, diesel[1][2] 1166[1] combined cycle[1][2] no[1] 2017[1]

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 1 Tampa Electric Co [100.0%]
Unit 1
Unit CC2 Tampa Electric Company[3] Emera Incorporated [100.0%]

Demonstration plant

In 2010 TECO said it was partnering with RTI International and the Shaw Group to conduct a study on a technology to "clean" synthetic gas (syngas) of sulfur dioxide at elevated temperatures. The study will evaluate the construction of a pilot project to demonstrate the technology on a 30 percent side stream at the Polk IGCC plant.[4]

Gas-Fired Generation

The power station has an installed capacity of 1,492.5 MW[5] between two combined-cycle units. Unit 1 is a one-on-one dual-fuel combined cycle unit capable of burning natural gas or solid fuel through the IGCC process. According to the Tampa Electric's website, the company has placed the IGCC process in long-term reserve standby while utilizing natural gas as the most cost-effective fuel to produce power and reduce costs to their customers[6]. However, the unit is still listed as using the IGCC technology on the website of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection[7].

Unit 2 is a four-on-one natural gas combined cycle unit constructed in 2017 by converting four simple cycle combustion turbines into a modern, efficient combined cycle facility. Two of the four combustion turbines are dual fuel using natural gas and ULSD (Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel) oil[6].

Carbon Capture and Storage Project

In August 2022, the agency’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced $31 million in funding for 10 CCS projects, including front-end engineering design (FEED) study completion for carbon capture systems at the Polk power station[8]. The project would add ION Clean Energy, Inc's CCS technology at the plant. It plans to capture at least 95% of CO2 emissions equating to nearly 3.7 tonnes per year to be stored in geological deposits[9].

Emissions Data

  • 2006 CO2 Emissions: 1,927,882 tons
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions:
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
  • 2006 NOx Emissions:
  • 2005 Mercury Emissions:

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Polk Power 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.[10] The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma-related episodes and asthma-related emergency room visits, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, peneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal-fired power plants. Fine particle pollution is formed from a combination of soot, acid droplets, and heavy metals formed from sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and soot. Among those particles, the most dangerous are the smallest (smaller than 2.5 microns), 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. 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.

The table below estimates the death and illness attributable to the Polk Power Station. 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.[11]

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Polk Power Station

Type of Impact Annual Incidence Valuation
Deaths 1 $6,200,000
Heart attacks 1 $120,000
Asthma attacks 11 <$1,000
Hospital admissions <1 $15,000
Chronic bronchitis <1 $210,000
Asthma ER visits 1 <$1,000

Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "U.S. Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (May 2023)". Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  2. 2.0 2.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20221006212948/https://www.tampaelectric.com/company/ourpowersystem/powergeneration/polk/. Archived from the original on 06 October 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. "U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860 detailed data with previous form data (EIA-860A/860B), 2018". Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  4. "Tampa Electric to Participate in Two U.S. Department of Energy Funded Demonstration Projects Designed to Advance Carbon Dioxide Capture Technologies," SunHerald.com, July 26, 2010.
  5. "Form EIA-860M". EIA. May 24, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Polk Power Station". TECO. Retrieved May 31, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "Polk Power Station". Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Retrieved June 7, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. "DOE Backs Carbon Capture Development at Two Major Gas-Fired Power Plants". Power. September 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Factbox: Emerging carbon capture projects at U.S. power plants". Reuters. March 12, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
  11. "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 datases, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.