Springerville power station
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Springerville power station is an operating power station of at least 1765-megawatts (MW) in Springerville, Apache, Arizona, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Springerville power station | Springerville, Apache, Arizona, United States | 34.318533, -109.166003 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4: 34.318533, -109.166003
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | operating | coal - subbituminous | 424.8 | subcritical | 1985 | 2027 (planned) |
| Unit 2 | operating | coal - subbituminous | 424.8 | subcritical | 1990 | 2032 (planned) |
| Unit 3 | operating | coal - subbituminous | 458.1 | subcritical | 2006 | 2031 (planned) |
| Unit 4 | operating | coal - subbituminous | 458.1 | subcritical | 2009 | – |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Tucson Electric Power Co [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Tucson Electric Power Co [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Springerville Unit 3 Holding LLC [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Salt River Project (SRP) [100.0%] |
Lawsuits
Springerville Units 3 and 4 were the subject of a lawsuit brought by Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest on behalf of Western Resource Advocates and Grand Canyon Trust. After a series of court decisions and hearing, a settlement was reached that allowed construction of the plants in exchange for lowered emissions and investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency programs.[1]
On May 6, 2008, the Sierra Club sent a maximum achievable control technology (MACT) notice letter to Tucson Electric requiring the company to install technology to control mercury and other hazardous air pollutant emissions from the proposed units. By July 2008, Unit 3 was operational.[2]
On December 31, 2008, Unit 4 suffered a fire estimated to have caused $10 to $12 million in damage. While some construction has been rescheduled, the plant is projected to begin commercial production by the end of the year. It will begin burning oil in September 2009 and switch to burning coal soon after.[3]
On March 18, 2010, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality issued a revised, draft Title V operating permit for the Springerville Station, which incorporates mercury emission limits for the project. Springerville power station Unit 4 began operating in December 2009.[2]
Unit 4 Energy Production and Consumer Costs
Springerville power station's Unit 4 burns approximately 60 rail cars' worth of coal daily. The coal is mined in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. In the spring of 2009, customers will begin paying about $6 more on their monthly bills. The costs are due to the fact that the plant's construction overshot its cost by $350 million. Pending climate legislation could also make the plant's operations more expensive if it is forced to install pollution reduction equipment. As a result, popular support for the plant has waned.[4]
Planned retirements
Tucson Electric Power's 2020 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) contained a proposal to ramp down and eventually retire Springerville Units 1 and 2 by 2027 and 2032 respectively. The IRP also outlined the company's plans to develop new wind and solar generating capacity which it hoped would account for more than 40% of its power production in 2030, more than 60% by 2033, and more than 70% by 2035.[5]
In December 2023, the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association announced that Springerville Unit 3 would retire in 2031 and be replaced with 1,250 MW of renewable energy.[6]
Citizen Groups
- Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, Tim Hogan, thogan [at] aclpi.org
- Western Resource Advocates, azbluhill [at] aol.com
- Grand Canyon Trust, info [at] grandcanyontrust.org
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ Air Quality and Clean Energy: Springerville Power Plant, Grand Canyon Trust, accessed January 2008.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Stopping the Coal Rush", Sierra Club, accessed March 2010.
- ↑ "New SRP generating unit to open despite fire", Ryan Randazzo, The Arizona Republic, March 3, 2009.
- ↑ "Arizona's last new coal plant?" Ryan Randazzo, The Arizona Republic, March 18, 2010.
- ↑ Kelsey Misbrener, "Tucson Electric Power plan says solar + wind will provide more than 40% of power by 2030" Solar Power World, Jun. 26, 2020.
- ↑ "Another Arizona coal-fired power plant unit has set date to close," Herald Review, December 5, 2023
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.
