Miller Steam Plant
The James H. Miller, Jr Electric Generating Plant (also known as Plant Miller or Miller Steam Plant) is a large coal-fired electric generating plant owned and operated by Alabama Power near the confluence of Village Creek and the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River in the vicinity of West Jefferson.
Named for then-Alabama Power executive James H. Miller, Jr, the plant first went into service in 1978 with the completion of the first of four 705.5 kilowatt generating units. Additional units were brought on-line in 1985, 1989 and 1991. The plant's current capacity is 2,640,000 kilowatts. During 2006 the plant produced 21,658,406 megawatt-hours of electrical power. The plant burns sub-bituminous coal along with natural gas and fuel oil to produce steam which powers its generating units. The plant's large cooling towers, sometimes mistaken for nuclear plant cooling towers, are visible from as far away as Bluff Park.
In 2001 the United States Environmental Protection Agency filed a claim that two of the units at the Miller Steam Plant fell under the "New Source Review" requirements of the Federal Clean Air Act. On April 25, 2006, after a protracted legal battle, the parties announced a partial settlement. Under a consent decree, Alabama Power will install flue gas desulfurization devices, purchase and retire $4.9 million of SO2 allowances, expand the use of selective catalytic reduction technology to year-round, with the aim of reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide by 27,000 tons per year. The estimated cost for complying with the decree is over $200 million.
According to a July 2007 report by the Environmental Integrity Project, Plant Miller output 23,466,022 tons of carbon dioxide gas in 2006, ranking second in the United States for emissions and 126th in emissions per MWh of electricity generated. The plant also emitted 21,237 tons of nitrogen oxide and 53,379.5 tons of sulfur dioxide, ranking 30th and 45th respectively in total output for those pollutants. Its 1,595 pounds of mercury emissions ranked third in total amount, and 32nd by rate.
References
- Environmental Integrity Project (July 2007) Dirty Kilowatts: America's Most Polluting Power Plants.
- U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (April 25, 2007) "Alabama Power Company to Spend More Than $200 Million Under Clean Air Act Settlement". News release.
External links
- James H. Miller, Jr Electric Generating Plant overview at alabamapower.com