The Cholla Power Plant is a 1.02-gigawatt (1,021 MW), coal power plant near Joseph City, Arizona, United States. The plant is jointly owned by Arizona Public Service (APS) and PacifiCorp. The plant began operations in 1962.
| Cholla Power Plant | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Joseph City, Arizona |
| Coordinates | 34°56′25″N 110°18′01″W / 34.94028°N 110.30028°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | Unit 1: 1962 Unit 2: 1978 Unit 3: 1980 Unit 4: 1981 |
| Decommission date | Unit 2: 2016 Unit 4: 2020 |
| Owners | Units 1–3: Arizona Public Service Unit 4: PacifiCorp |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Subbituminous coal |
| Turbine technology | Steam turbine |
| Cooling source | Artificial Cholla Lake |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 1,021 MW |
| External links | |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
History
editThe coal burned at the plant came mostly from the McKinley Mine, located east of Window Rock, Arizona in New Mexico, until the mine was closed in 2009 after its reserves being leased were exhausted.[1] In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notified Cholla that pollution controls were needed for Units 2 through 4.[2] Unit 2 was retired in 2016 as the cost to add pollution controls outweighed the benefits. The remaining units were to be either retired or converted to burn another fuel source by 2025.[3] In January 2020, it was announced that PacifiCorp would close unit 4 by the end of the year. APS announced that while a conversion to natural gas had been an option, it was no longer being considered. A proposal was put forth to convert a unit to burn biomass, however regulators at the Arizona Corporation Commission voted down that plan in 2019.[4]
Units
editThe plant currently consists of the following units:[5]
| Unit | Nameplate capacity (MWe) | Commissioning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 113.6 | 1962 | Retirement scheduled for 2025 |
| 2 | 288.9 | 1978 | Retired April 2016 |
| 3 | 312.3 | 1980 | Retirement scheduled for 2025 |
| 4 | 414 | 1981 | Retired December 24th, 2020[6] |
References
edit- ^ Donovan, Bill (September 24, 2009). "McKinley Mine to cease operations in December". Navajo Times. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- ^ Randazzo, Ryan (October 13, 2014). "Plan emerges for fourth unit at Cholla Power Plant". Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- ^ Randazzo, Ryan (April 2, 2019). "APS will try to switch coal power plant to burn wood from forest thinning, possibly cutting wildfire risk". Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- ^ Randazzo, Ryan (January 7, 2020). "Arizona coal generator to close in 2020, while another given lifeline as decline of plants across West continues". Arizona Republic. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ "Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2006" (Excel). Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ^ Parsons, L (1 January 2021). "Cholla's PacifiCorp Unit 4 goes offline – The Tribune". The Tribune. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
External links
edit
- APS [1]
- Data on generation and fuel consumption from the Energy Information Administration Electricity Data Browser