Stanton Energy Center

From Global Energy Monitor

Stanton Energy Center is an operating power station of at least 1950-megawatts (MW) in Bithlo, Orange, Florida, United States with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as CH Stanton power station.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Stanton Energy Center Bithlo, Orange, Florida, United States 28.482811, -81.167647 (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: 28.482811, -81.167647
  • Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit A, Unit B: 28.4822, -81.1678

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating coal - bituminous, bioenergy - refuse (landfill gas) 464.5 subcritical 1987 2025 (planned)
Unit 1 cancelled[1][2][3] gas[4] 465[4] steam turbine[5] no[5]
Unit 2 operating coal - bituminous, bioenergy - refuse (landfill gas) 464.5 subcritical 1996 2027 (planned)
Unit 2 announced[1][3] gas[4] 465[4] steam turbine[6] not found 2027[1][3]
Unit A operating[7][8][9] gas, fuel oil[7][10] 688[7] combined cycle[7] no[11] 2003[11]
Unit B operating[7][8][9] gas[7] 333[7] combined cycle[7] no[11] 2010[11]

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 Operator
Unit 1 Florida Municipal Power Agency [26.63%], Orlando Utilities Commission [68.55%], other unknown/mixed entity types [4.82%]
Unit 1 Orlando Utilities Commission [69%]; Florida Municipal Power Agency [15%]; Kissimmee Utility Authority [17%][7][3][12] Orlando Utilities Commission [100.0%]; Florida Municipal Power Agency [100.0%]; Kissimmee Utility Authority [100.0%] Orlando Utilities Commission[12]
Unit 2 Florida Municipal Power Agency [28.41%], Orlando Utilities Commission [71.59%]
Unit 2 Orlando Utilities Commission [72%]; Florida Municipal Power Agency [23%]; Kissimmee Utility Authority [5%][7][3][12] Orlando Utilities Commission [100.0%]; Florida Municipal Power Agency [100.0%]; Kissimmee Utility Authority [100.0%] Orlando Utilities Commission[12]
Unit A Stanton Clean Energy LLC [65%]; Orlando Utilities Commission [28%]; Florida Municipal Power Agency [7%][13][3][14] Orlando Utilities Commission [100.0%]; Orlando Utilities Commission [100.0%]; Florida Municipal Power Agency [100.0%] Stanton Clena Enmergy[12]
Unit B Orlando Utilities Commission[7][3] Orlando Utilities Commission [100.0%]

Financing

Background

Stanton Energy Center is also known as Curtis H. Stanton Energy Center. The power station is a 1,951.0-megawatt (MW) coal- and gas-fired power station owned and operated by the City of Orlando, Florida. The coal units co-fire with landfill gas.[17]

Coal was supplied from Carlisle Mine (Crimson Coal), Sugar Camp Mine (Forsight coal), Oaktown Fuels Mine No 1 (Crimson Coal), and Oaktown Fuels Mine No 2 (Crimson Coal).[18]

As of October 2020, both coal-fired units were slated for a conversion to natural gas by the end of 2027.[19]

As of December 2021, Unit 1 was scheduled to retire in 2025 instead of being converted to gas.[20][21]

Ownership

The Stanton Energy Center is owned by 3 companies, Orlando Utilities, Florida Municipal Power Agency and the Kissimmee Utility Authority, the first 2 released their ownership percentages in their financial filings but KUA did not.

Gas-Fired Generation

On December 8, 2020, the Board adopted the Electric Integrated Resource Plan (EIRP) designed to balance the customer driven attributes of reliability, affordability, sustainability and resiliency and achieve its Net Zero CO2 Emissions strategic goal by 2050 with interim CO2 emission reduction goals of 50% and 75% in 2030 and 2040, respectively.[22]

According to 2022 Audited Financial Statements, in order to meet the first interim goal of a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030, the EIRP - also known as the Clean Energy Plan - outlined milestone targets including the conversion of the two coal-fired generation units at the Stanton Energy Center to gas no later than 2027, enhanced customer-focused energy efficiency programs and the investment in new solar generation and energy storage. While plans are in process to deliver on each of these initiatives, the gas conversion plans for both coal-fired generation facilities at the Stanton Energy Center were modified in conjunction with the acquisition of OGS, an existing dual-fired (natural gas - primary fuel and diesel oil - back-up fuel) combined cycle generation facility in September 2021 allowing for one of the coal-fired generation facilities, Unit 1, to be retired.[23]

Emissions Data

  • 2006 CO2 Emissions: 6,534,109 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 Stanton Energy Center

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.[24] 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 Stanton Energy Center. 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.[25]

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Stanton Energy Center

Type of Impact Annual Incidence Valuation
Deaths 11 $78,000,000
Heart attacks 15 $1,600,000
Asthma attacks 150 $8,000
Hospital admissions 7 $180,000
Chronic bronchitis 6 $2,700,000
Asthma ER visits 9 $3,000

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

Lawsuit

In December 2018, residents living near the Stanton plant filed a lawsuit claiming that plant owner Orlando Utilities Commission are exposing residents to toxic chemicals and radioactive elements contained primarily in airborne dust from coal ash, and that rare adult cancers and pediatric cancers have been on the rise in nearby neighborhoods. The lawsuit claims an investigation of soil at homes north of the coal plants found radioactive polonium and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, both cancer-causing byproducts of burning coal, at levels exceeding government limits. Lawyers are seeking class-action status for the suit.[26] The class action was filed on March 27, 2019.[27]

Stanton ranked 1st on list of most polluting power plants in terms of coal waste

In January 2009, Sue Sturgis of the Institute of Southern Studies compiled a list of the 100 most polluting coal plants in the United States in terms of coal combustion waste (CCW) stored in surface impoundments like the one involved in the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill.[28] The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.[29]

Stanton Energy Center ranked number 1 on the list, with 8,423,056 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.[28]

As of August 2022, the 90 acre coal ash landfill was continuing to contaminate local groundwater. The landfill evades EPA environmental protections due to an unclosed loophole in the 2015 coal ash rule.[30]

Citizen groups

Proposed IGCC plant

Southern Company, in partnership with the Orlando Utilities Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy, proposed to build a 285 MW IGCC coal plant at the Stanton Energy Center. The project received a Department of Energy pledge of US$293 million in long-term loans.[31]

In November 2007, Southern Company took the unusual step of canceling the project two months after ground had been broken.[32] The company cited concerns that Florida Governor Charlie Crist would press for additional carbon controls.[33]

IGCC Project Details

Sponsor: Orlando Utilities Comm. / Southern Company/ DOE
Location: Orange County, FL
Size: 285 MW
Type: IGCC
Projected in service: 2010
Status: Cancelled 11/07

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20220929110109/https://www.ouc.com/about-ouc/news/2021/12/15/ouc-s-board-of-commissioners-moves-to-retire-unit-1-coal-plant-by-no-later-than-2025. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20230114201258/https://www.powermag.com/orlando-utility-pulling-plug-on-coal-fired-generation/. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20230404041700/https://www.ouc.com/docs/reports/aud_2022.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 04 April 2023. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20240212232917/https://e.infogram.com/6db58cec-3c1b-4900-8f9e-e0969678b51d?parent_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.spglobal.com%2Fmarketintelligence%2Fen%2Fnews-insights%2Fblog%2Fthe-big-picture-2024-energy-transition-industry-outlook&src=embed. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 "U.S. Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (November 2022)". Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/20220709063212/https://www.transmissionhub.com/articles/2013/04/orlando-utilities-commission-permits-stanton-unit-2-upgrade.html. Archived from the original on 09 July 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 "U.S. Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (May 2023)". Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  8. 8.0 8.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20230321211639/https://ouc.com/environment-community/green-initiatives/stanton-energy-center/fuel-diversity. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. 9.0 9.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20230408044930/https://floridadep.gov/water/siting-coordination-office/content/curtis-h-stanton-energy-center. Archived from the original on 08 April 2023. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220705103325/https://www.southerncompany.com/content/dam/southern-company/pdf/southernpower/Stanton_Energy_Facility_factsheet.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 05 July 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "U.S. Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (November 2019)". Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20230331062935/https://portal.fmpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Fiscal-2022-Financial-Statements.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. "U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860 detailed data with previous form data (EIA-860A/860B), 2020". Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  14. https://web.archive.org/web/20230427210859/https://newsroom.nexteraenergy.com/2018-12-04-NextEra-Energy-completes-acquisition-of-the-ownership-interests-in-two-natural-gas-power-plants-from-Southern-Company. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. 15.0 15.1 "2019 financials" ouc.com, accessed October 18, 2020
  16. 16.0 16.1 "Financial Statements" fmpa.com, accessed October 18, 2020
  17. Landfill Gas: Turning Trash Into Energy, Orlando Utilities Commission, accessed September 2022.
  18. "EIA 923 July 2020" EIA 923 July 2020.
  19. "Orlando Utility Pulling Plug on Coal-Fired Generation" Powermag.com, October 14, 2020
  20. "Fla. municipal utility to retire Stanton unit 1 by 2025, convert unit 2 by 2027," S&P Global Market Intelligence, December 20, 2021
  21. "FMPA 2022 Ten-Year Site Plan," Florida Municipal Power Agency, April 1, 2022
  22. "OUC ADOPTS CLEAN ENERGY PLAN". OUCCONNECT. Retrieved June 23, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. "2022 Audited Financial Statements" (PDF). OUC. Retrieved June 23, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
  25. "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool," Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010
  26. "Lawsuit alleging contamination from Orlando coal plants may take in more east Orange neighborhoods," Orlando Sentinel, Feb 20, 2019
  27. CASE NO: 6:19-cv-268-Orl-37TBS, Orlando U.S. district court, March 27, 2019
  28. 28.0 28.1 Sue Sturgis, "Coal's ticking timebomb: Could disaster strike a coal ash dump near you?," Institute for Southern Studies, January 4, 2009.
  29. TRI Explorer, EPA, accessed January 2009.
  30. EPA Faces Lawsuit for Exempting Half a Billion Tons of Toxic Coal Ash from Health Protections, Earthjustice, August 25, 2022.
  31. "Stopping the Coal Rush", Sierra Club, accessed January 2008. (This is a Sierra Club list of new coal plant proposals.)
  32. “Southern Company Scraps Florida Advanced Clean-coal Plant,” Reuters UK, November 14, 2007.
  33. "IGCC Stumbles and Falls in the U.S.: The Spate of Cancellations Is Becoming a Flood," Modern Power Systems, November 26, 2007.

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.