Sooner Generating Station

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Sooner Generating Station is an operating power station of at least 1137-megawatts (MW) in Red Rock, Noble, Oklahoma, United States.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Sooner Generating Station Red Rock, Noble, Oklahoma, United States 36.454469, -97.052419 (exact)

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

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1, Unit 2: 36.454469, -97.052419

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating coal - subbituminous 568.8 subcritical 1979
Unit 2 operating coal - subbituminous 568.8 subcritical 1980

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co [100.0%]
Unit 2 Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co [100.0%]

Background

The power station consist of two 569 MW units that went into operation in 1979-80. In April 2016 owner OGE Energy will make its case to install scrubbers at the plant to meet a January 2019 deadline for regional haze rules from the Environmental Protection Agency. If the utility can't get approval, OGE plans instead to convert the two Sooner coal units to use natural gas.[1]

Emissions Data

  • 2006 CO2 Emissions: 6,510,911 tons
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions: 16,579 tons
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
  • 2006 NOx Emissions: 11,447 tons
  • 2005 Mercury Emissions: 219 lb.

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Sooner Generating 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.[2] 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.[3]

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Sooner Generating Station

Type of Impact Annual Incidence Valuation
Deaths 16 $110,000,000
Heart attacks 25 $2,700,000
Asthma attacks 270 $14,000
Hospital admissions 12 $270,000
Chronic bronchitis 10 $4,400,000
Asthma ER visits 18 $6,000

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

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Articles and Resources

References

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.