Cumberland Fossil Plant is a pulverized coal-fired power station located west of Cumberland City, Tennessee, US, on the south bank of Lake Barkley on the Cumberland River. Owned and operated by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), it has a gross capacity of 2,470 MW, and is the most powerful power station in Tennessee.
Description Commissioned in 1968, the Cumberland Fossil Plant contains two identical units, rated at 1.235 GWe gross each, Units 1 and 2 were launched into service in March and November 1973, respectively. In 2004, the two units accounted for almost 12% of TVA's total electricity generation. As of the mid 2010s, however, TVA's Sequoyah Nuclear Plant near Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, with a slightly lower capacity, was generating more power.
The Cumberland Fossil Plant has two of the tallest chimneys in the world at , built in 1970. These chimneys are no longer in use, having been replaced with smaller chimneys connected to the scrubbers.
Bituminous coal is delivered by barges along the Cumberland River waterway. The plant consumes about 20,000 tons of coal per day. All of the waste heat is dumped into Cumberland River water.
On January 10, 2023, TVA announced plans to retire the first unit by the end of 2026 and the second by the end of 2028. The plant is tentatively planned to be replaced with a 1,450 MW combined-cycle natural gas generation plant, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups.
Pollution and releases into environment + Toxic release inventory from Cumberland power plant for 2005. All quantities are in pounds. Pollutant Air Water Land Offsite disposal Total Antimony compounds391788,94709,164Arsenic compounds18211946,096046,397Barium compounds1420279,20025279,367Beryllium compounds1009,95219,963Cadmium compounds Chromium compounds36814287,420787,937Cobalt compounds638919,887120,040Copper compounds2866,79864,120371,207Lead compounds253059,122359,378Manganese compounds55833,864177,13018211,570Mercury compounds24003460586Nickel compounds5162,50498,1806101,206Selenium compounds2,5012,0756,573011,149Silver compounds Thallium compounds36030,200230,239Vanadium compounds2900191,56013191,864Zinc compounds2,0062,447248,07012252,534Hydrochloric acid (aerosol)340,006000340,006Hydrogen fluoride72,00600072,006Sulfuric acid (aerosol)8,793,6060008,793,606Benzo[ghi]perylene0.2100.6500.87Dioxins0.0080000.008Polycyclic aromatic compounds49.8059.20.0109.0Naphthalene100000100Ammonia3,640316003,956Nitrate compounds0128,87900132,407
Environmental protection measures To reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, both units at Cumberland use wet limestone scrubbers. To reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx), the units use low-NOx burners as well as selective catalytic reduction systems, which were completed in 2004.
See also
List of power stations in Tennessee List of the largest coal power stations in the United States
References
External links TVA Page for Cumberland Fossil Plant Chimney Diagram