Wansley Plant
| Part of the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project. |
| Related categories: |
| Part of the Global Coal Plant Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project. |
| Related coal trackers: |
Wansley Plant is a power station in Carrollton, Heard, Georgia, United States with multiple units of varying statuses, none of which are currently operating. It is also known as Hal B. Wansley Plant.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Wansley Plant | Carrollton, Heard, Georgia, United States | 33.41342, -85.03233 (exact)[1][2] |
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- 10, 11, 5A, Unit 1, Unit 2: 33.41342, -85.03233
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year | Equipment | Emergency/Backup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Construction[3][4][5] | fossil gas: natural gas, fossil liquids: diesel[4] | 765.5[4] | combined cycle[3][4] | – | 2029 (planned)[4] | – | not found | no |
| 11 | Construction[3][4][5] | fossil gas: natural gas, fossil liquids: diesel[4] | 765.5[4] | combined cycle[3][4] | – | 2030 (planned)[4] | – | not found | no |
| 5A | Retired[1] | fossil liquids: fuel oil[1] | 52.8[1] | gas turbine[1] | no[1] | 1980[1] | 2022[1] | – | no |
| Unit 1 | Retired | coal: bituminous | 952 | supercritical | – | 1976 | 2022 | – | no |
| Unit 2 | Retired | coal: bituminous | 952 | supercritical | – | 1978 | 2022 | – | no |
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 | Operator | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Georgia Power[6] | Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia [15%]; Georgia Power Co [53%]; Oglethorpe Power Corp [30%]; Dalton Utilities Inc [1%][6][6][6][6] | Southern Co [53.5%]; Oglethorpe Power Corp [30.0%]; Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia [15.1%]; Dalton Utilities Inc [1.4%] |
| 11 | Georgia Power[6] | Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia [15%]; Georgia Power Co [53%]; Oglethorpe Power Corp [30%]; Dalton Utilities Inc [1%][6][6][6][6] | Southern Co [53.5%]; Oglethorpe Power Corp [30.0%]; Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia [15.1%]; Dalton Utilities Inc [1.4%] |
| 5A | Georgia Power[6] | Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia [15%]; Georgia Power Co [53%]; Oglethorpe Power Corp [30%]; Dalton Utilities Inc [1%][6][6][6][6] | Southern Co [53.5%]; Oglethorpe Power Corp [30.0%]; Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia [15.1%]; Dalton Utilities Inc [1.4%] |
| Unit 1 | Georgia Power[6] | Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia [15%]; Georgia Power Co [53%]; Oglethorpe Power Corp [30%]; Dalton Utilities Inc [1%][6][6][6][6] | Southern Co [53.5%]; Oglethorpe Power Corp [30.0%]; Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia [15.1%]; Dalton Utilities Inc [1.4%] |
| Unit 2 | Georgia Power[6] | Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia [15%]; Georgia Power Co [53%]; Oglethorpe Power Corp [30%]; Dalton Utilities Inc [1%][6][6][6][6] | Southern Co [53.5%]; Oglethorpe Power Corp [30.0%]; Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia [15.1%]; Dalton Utilities Inc [1.4%] |
Impacts
Potential emissions and details on the project's status and permit applications can be viewed on Oil and Gas Watch page here.
The Oil and Gas Watch database, created by Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), is a free, public-facing tool designed to track the rapid expansion of fossil fuel and petrochemical infrastructure in the United States. Oil and Gas Watch maps new and expanding oil, gas, and petrochemical infrastructure projects across the country and monitors each project’s construction status so the public can stay informed about major oil and gas developments being proposed in their communities. We track key environmental approvals companies must obtain before starting construction or operations and provide access to thousands of government records and permits unearthed by our analysts.
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Financing
- Owner: Georgia Power 53.5%[7], Oglethorpe Power Company 30%[8], MEAG Power 15.1%[9], Dalton Utilities 1.4%[10]
Retirement
In late 2021, Southern Company announced that both coal units at Wansley would be closed by 2028.[11]
In July 2022, the Georgia Public Service Commission approved the retirement of the coal units by the end of August 2022.[12]
In December 2024, the US Department of Agriculture awarded Oglethorpe Power $331.5 million from the Empowering Rural America Program to refinance outstanding loans for the retired coal units at Wansley.[13]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 13,612,838 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 96,200 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 13,814 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 452 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Wansley Plant
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.[14] 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.[15]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Wansley Plant
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 55 | $400,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 77 | $8,400,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 940 | $49,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 39 | $920,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 34 | $15,000,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 57 | $21,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Coal Waste Site
Wansley ranked 9th 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.[16] The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.[17]
Wansley Plant ranked number 9 on the list, with 2,673,672 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.[16]
Legislative issues
House Bill 276, proposed by Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), would put a 5-year moratorium on building new coal plants and eliminate the burning of Appalachian coal mined by mountaintop removal by mid-2016. The Appalachian Mountain Preservation Act would gradually prohibit Georgia coal consumers from using Central Appalachian mountaintop removal beginning in 2011. The bill is backed by environmental groups including Appalachian Voices but received strong opposition from POWER4Georgians, a coalition of 10 electric co-operatives seeking to build a $2 billion 850-megawatt supercritical coal plant in Washington County.[18][19]
Citizen groups
- CleanPower4Georgians
- Fall-line Alliance for Clean Environment
- Focus the Nation
- Friends of the Chattahoochee
- GreenLaw
- Sierra Club Georgia Chapter
- Co-op Conversations Georgia
- Cobb Alliance for Smart Energy
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860 detailed data with previous form data (EIA-860A/860B), 2022 release". Archived from the original on 2024-02-04.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230509053328/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/. Archived from the original on 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Georgia Power requests certification of approximately 9,900 MW of new resources from the Georgia Public Service Commission". www.georgiapower.com. 2025. Archived from the original on 2026-01-21. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 "Document Filing #223493". psc.ga.gov. 2025-07-30. Archived from the original on 2026-01-21. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.georgiapower.com/news-hub/press-releases/georgia-power-department-of-energy-and-elected-officials-mark-the-future-of-plant-wansley.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 6.23 6.24 "Annual Electric Power Industry Report, Form EIA-860 detailed data with previous form data (EIA-860A/860B) - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". www.eia.gov. 2025-09-09. Archived from the original on 2022-10-28. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
- ↑ "Jointly Owned Plants as of Dec 31 2018" georgiapower.com, accessed June 2020
- ↑ "Generating Facilities" opc.com. accessed June 2020
- ↑ "Facilities" meagpower.com, accessed June 2020
- ↑ "Electric Facilities" dutil.com accessed June 2020
- ↑ "Southern Co. plans to retire, repower fossil-fueled plants". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
- ↑ "SOUTHERN COMPANY (SO): Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," Market Screener, July 28, 2022
- ↑ “USDA Announces Another Round of Historic Investments to Increase Access to Clean, Affordable Energy Across the Country,” United States Department of Agriculture, December 19, 2024
- ↑ "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
- ↑ "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool," Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Sue Sturgis, "Coal's ticking timebomb: Could disaster strike a coal ash dump near you?," Institute for Southern Studies, January 4, 2009.
- ↑ TRI Explorer, EPA, accessed January 2009.
- ↑ "Georgia bill proposes moratorium on new coal plants," Reuters, February 4, 2009.
- ↑ Margaret Newkirk, "Bill would restrict coal power plants," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 4, 2009.
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.
