Tecumseh Energy Center

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Tecumseh Energy Center is a retired power station in Tecumseh, Shawnee, Kansas, United States.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Tecumseh Energy Center Tecumseh, Shawnee, Kansas, United States 39.053556, -95.568475 (exact)

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

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 7, Unit 8: 39.053556, -95.568475

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 7 retired coal - subbituminous 82 subcritical 1957 2018
Unit 8 retired coal - subbituminous 149.6 subcritical 1962 2015

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 7 Evergy Kansas Central Inc [100.0%]
Unit 8 Evergy Kansas Central Inc [100.0%]

Unit Retirements

The plant had four coal-fired units. Units 1-2 of 29 MW each were commissioned in 1972 and retired in 2012. Unit 8 (150MW) was retired in 2015.[1] Unit 7 (82 MW) was retired in 2018.[2]

Coal Supply

In its 2008 annual report, Westar stated that "We purchase coal under a contract with Arch Coal, Inc. (Arch). The current contract with Arch is expected to provide 100% of the coal requirement for these energy centers through 2010. BNSF transported coal for these energy centers from Wyoming under a contract that expired in December 2008. We have reached a mutual agreement of understanding with BNSF for the continuing provision of coal transportation to these energy centers until we finalize a long-term contract. The average delivered cost of all coal burned in the Tecumseh units was approximately $1.24 per MMBtu, or $21.86 per ton."[3]

Emissions Data

  • 2006 CO2 Emissions: 1,819,229 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 Tecumseh 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.[4] 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 Tecumseh 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.[5]

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

Type of Impact Annual Incidence Valuation
Deaths 6 $41,000,000
Heart attacks 9 $950,000
Asthma attacks 98 $5,000
Hospital admissions 4 $95,000
Chronic bronchitis 4 $1,600,000
Asthma ER visits 6 $2,000

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

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.