Shawnee Fossil Plant

Shawnee Fossil Plant is located about 10 miles northwest of Paducah, Ky., 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.

Balancing efficient power production with environmental protection

Electricity is produced at Shawnee’s nine active coal-fired units by 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 8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to supply 540,000 homes.

Shawnee Unit 10, which was converted to an atmospheric fluidized-bed boiler in the early 1980s, was idled by TVA in October 2010. TVA is evaluating the possible conversion of this unit to generating power from biomass, such as wood waste.

Low-cost and cleaner energy

Through 2011, TVA has spent about $5.4 billion on emissions controls at its coal plants to help TVA generate power as cleanly as possible.

View more information about emissions at Shawnee and the steps TVA is taking to control them.

In support of recent environmental agreements and TVA's vision of being one of the nation’s leading providers of low-cost and cleaner energy by 2020, Shawnee units 1 and four will be converted to renewable biomass, controlled by adding scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction systems, or retired by Dec. 31, 2017.

Toxics Release Inventory

TVA is required to report annually to the Environmental Protection Agency on the amounts of chemicals released by its fossil-fuel plants. Check here for the latest data on Shawnee.

Emissions Data

TVA monitors other emissions at its fossil plants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, and mercury. Check here for the latest data on Shawnee.