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)[1] |
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Timepoint 1, Unit 2, Timepoint 1, 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, Timepoint 1 | Operating[1] | coal: subbituminous | 424.8[1] | subcritical | 1985[1] | 2030 (planned)[1] |
| Unit 1, Timepoint 2 | Announced[2][3][1] | fossil gas: natural gas[2][3][1] | 424.8[1] | steam turbine[1] | 2030 (planned)[2][1] | –[2][1] |
| Unit 2, Timepoint 1 | Operating[1] | coal: subbituminous | 424.8[1] | subcritical | 1990[1] | 2030 (planned)[1] |
| Unit 2, Timepoint 2 | Announced[2][3][1] | fossil gas: natural gas[2][3][1] | 424.8[1] | gas turbine[1] | 2030 (planned)[2][1] | –[2][1] |
| Unit 3 | Operating | coal: subbituminous | 458.1 | subcritical | 2006 | 2031 (planned)[4] |
| Unit 4 | Operating | coal: subbituminous | 458.1 | subcritical | 2009 | 2029 (planned)[5] |
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, Timepoint 1 | Tucson Electric Power Co [100%][1] | Fortis Inc [100.0%] |
| Unit 1, Timepoint 2 | Tucson Electric Power Co [100%][1] | Fortis Inc [100.0%] |
| Unit 2, Timepoint 1 | Tucson Electric Power Co [100%][1] | Fortis Inc [100.0%] |
| Unit 2, Timepoint 2 | Tucson Electric Power Co [100%][1] | Fortis Inc [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Springerville Unit 3 Holding LLC [100%][1] | Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc [51.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Salt River Project [100%][6] | Salt River Project [100.0%] |
Unit-level fuel conversion details:
Unit 1, Timepoint 1: Announced conversion from coal to fossil gas in 2030.
Unit 2, Timepoint 1: Announced conversion from coal to fossil gas in 2030.
Planned retirements and conversions
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.[7]
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.[8]
The owners of Unit 4, Salt River Project, said it "anticipates closing its share of Springerville Generating Station in the years following the closure of CGS [Coronado Generating Station]."[9] As of April 2024, Coronado Generating Station was slated to retire in 2032.[10]
As of July 2025, Tucson Electric Power reportedly planned to convert Units 1 and 2 to gas by 2030.[11]
In November 2025, the Salt River Project (SRP) board reportedly voted to convert Springerville Unit 4 from coal to gas by 2029.[12][13]
Emissions Data
- 2024 Gross Load (MWh): 6,529,361[14]
- 2024 SO2 Mass (short tons): 4,147[14]
- 2024 CO2 Mass (short tons): 6,552,258[14]
- 2024 NOx Mass (short tons): 3,487[14]
- 2023 Mercury emissions (Hg, lb): 30.58[15][16]
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.[17]
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.[18]
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.[19]
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.[18]
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.[20]
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
Methane Plumes Detected Nearby
Global Energy Monitor researchers analyze satellite-detected methane plumes in order to determine whether they have been observed at or near the site of GEM energy assets. The satellite data provider creates imagery of individual methane plumes and estimates their emission rates at the time of observation. GEM has reviewed many of these plume detections against Google Earth imagery and GEM’s own energy infrastructure tracker data. The following table lists methane plumes which are associated with the energy asset or facility based on distance and manual review. (A full description of the analysis process is available in the Global Methane Emitters Tracker methodology wiki page.)
Table M1: Plume details
| Observation date | Satellite data provider | Location of plume origin | Methane emissions rate | Additional plume information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-03-26T22:13:58+00 | CarbonMapper, emi20230326t221358p15011-A | 34.31587352, -109.1634927[21] | –[21] | Arizona State Methane Observation 2023-03-26, 1 |
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/081225_tep_swapping_coal/tep-switching-coal-fired-power-plants-near-springerville-natural-gas/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 https://www.tep.com/news/tep-to-convert-coal-fired-springerville-generating-station-units-to-natural-gas/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/regulators-ok-power-deal-project-120247012.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Another Arizona coal-fired power plant unit has set date to close". Herald/Review Media. 2023-12-05. Archived from the original on 2024-01-25. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
- ↑ https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2025/11/advocates-pleased-deadly-springerville-plant-will-stop-burning-coal-raise.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://www.srpnet.com/assets/srpnet/pdf/about/governance-leadership/district-meetings/20250925_Power_packet.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 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
- ↑ "Coal Communities Transition (CCT) - Overview," SRP, accessed May 6, 2024
- ↑ "Column: Here are the 32 coal plants still powering the American West," Los Angeles Times, April 25, 2024
- ↑ “TEP to Convert Coal-Fired Springerville Generating Station Units to Natural Gas,” Tucson Electric Power, July 2025
- ↑ “Advocates Pleased Deadly Springerville Plant Will Stop Burning Coal, Raise Concerns About Replacement Gas Operations,” Sierra Club, November 3, 2025
- ↑ “Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District Meeting Notice and Agenda,” Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, September 25, 2025
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 EIA (2024). "Clean Air Markets Program Data (CAMD)". Retrieved 2025-02-20.
- ↑ Clean Air and Power Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (February 2024). "Annual data 2022 vs. 2023". Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ↑ Toxics Release Inventory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (October 2024). "2023 Basic Plus Data". Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ↑ Air Quality and Clean Energy: Springerville Power Plant, Grand Canyon Trust, accessed January 2008.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "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.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 url=https://data.carbonmapper.org/
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.
