Tennessee Valley Authority
Shawnee Fossil Plant
Shawnee Fossil Plant is located about 10 miles northwest of Paducah, Kentucky, on the Ohio River. On Nov. 30, 2006, Shawnee Unit 6 set a national record when it surpassed 1,017 days and three hours of operation. Unit 6 extended its national record to 1,093 days, 11 hours and 24 minutes when it went off line in Feburary 2007. The record run broke the previous TVA generating-unit record set by Widows Creek Fossil Plant Unit 3 in 2005.
Balancing efficient power production with environmental protection
Electricity is produced at Shawnee’s 10 coal-fired units by the process of heating water in a boiler to produce steam. Under extremely high pressure, the steam flows into a turbine that spins a generator to make electricity.
Shawnee generates about nine billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to supply 580,000 homes. TVA has spent more than $110 million on pollution control equipment at the plant to ensure that this power supply is generated as cleanly as possible, consistent with efficiency. Unit 10 at Shawnee is the nation’s first commercial-scale atmospheric fluidized-bed combustion boiler. This technology allows the unit to burn high-sulfur coal while limiting harmful emissions. The boiler reduces sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) in the furnace.
To further reduce SO2 emissions at Shawnee, Units 1 through 9 use a blend of low-sulfur coal. To limit NOX emissions, those units have low-NOX burners installed. In addition, TVA is carrying out a demonstration project on Unit 1 in 2005 to evaluate the use of selective noncatalytic reduction technology (SNCR) to control NOX. View more information about emissions at Shawnee and the steps TVA is taking to control them.