Spring Grove power station

From Global Energy Monitor

Spring Grove power station is an operating power station of at least 85-megawatts (MW) in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, United States. It is also known as Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC - Spring Grove Facility, Spring Grove Paper Mill, P.H. Glatfelter Spring Grove Power Plant.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Spring Grove power station Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, United States 39.870722, -76.86822 (exact)[1]
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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • GEN5, GEN6: 39.870722, -76.86822

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year
GEN5 Operating coal: unknown 45.9 subcritical yes 1989
GEN6 Operating[1] bioenergy: paper mill wastes, fossil gas: natural gas, fossil liquids: unknown, coal: bituminous, bioenergy: wastewater and sewage sludge (solids or biogas), bioenergy: wood & other biomass (solids)[1] 39.1[1] 1994[1]

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner Parent
GEN5 Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC [100%][1] LINDSAY GOLDBERG LLC [100.0%]
GEN6 Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC [100%][1] LINDSAY GOLDBERG LLC [100.0%]

Project-level captive use details

  • Captive industry use (heat or power): power[2]
  • Captive industry: Pulp & Paper[2]


Project-level coal details

  • Coal source(s): Bailey mine

Ownership Tree

This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Biomass

The power station also has a 31.2 MW fluidized bed technology biomass unit (unit 6), built in 1994 and uses wood waste from the paper mill facility.[3]

Emissions Data

  • 2024 CO2 Mass (short tons): 406151.575[4]
  • 2024 NOx Mass (short tons): 544.24[4]

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Spring Grove 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.[5] 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.[6]

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Spring Grove power station

Type of Impact Annual Incidence Valuation
Deaths 11 $82,000,000
Heart attacks 19 $2,100,000
Asthma attacks 180 $9,000
Hospital admissions 9 $200,000
Chronic bronchitis 7 $3,000,000
Asthma ER visits 8 $3,000

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

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860 detailed data with previous form data (EIA-860A/860B), 2012". Archived from the original on 2022-10-28. Retrieved 2023-11-01 00:00:00. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 https://www.ydr.com/story/money/business/2025/04/16/pixelle-to-relocate-operations-to-spring-grove-upon-closing-ohio-mill/83116656007/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. [https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/ "EIA 860m" EIA 860M March 2020.
  4. 4.0 4.1 EIA (2024). "Clean Air Markets Program Data (CAMD)". Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  5. "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
  6. "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 Bioenergy Power Tracker and the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.