Plant Bowen
| Plant Bowen | |
|---|---|
 Plant Bowen 2012 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location |
317 covered bridge road SW, Euharlee 30120 Bartow County, near Euharlee, Georgia |
| Coordinates | 34°07′23″N 84°55′13″W / 34.12306°N 84.92028°WCoordinates: 34°07′23″N 84°55′13″W / 34.12306°N 84.92028°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | 1975 |
| Owner(s) | Georgia Power |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Coal (Bituminous) |
| Type | Steam turbine |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 3,499 MW |
| Average generation | 22,600 GWh (2006) |
Plant Bowen is a coal-fired power station located just outside Euharlee, Georgia, United States, approximately 8.7 mi (14 km) west-south-west from Cartersville. At over 3,200 megawatts, Plant Bowen is one of the largest coal-fired power plants in North America.[1] The station is connected to the southeastern power grid by numerous 500 kV transmission lines, and is owned and operated by Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company.
Bowen's four cooling towers are 381 ft (116 m) tall and 318 ft (97 m) in diameter and can cool 1,100,000 US gallons (4,200,000 l) per minute. Another 26,000 US gallons (98,000 l) or 37 million gallons per day (MGD) of water is lost to evaporation which creates the distinctive white clouds rising from each tower.
Bowen's two smokestacks are 1,001 ft (305 m) tall. Particulates are removed from the exhaust gases through the use of electrostatic precipitators. The exhaust gases are then closely monitored to comply with air quality regulations. In addition, Jet Bubble Reactor (JBR) units have recently been constructed on all four units to meet federal clean air and ozone standards.
Overview
As the nation’s ninth-largest power plant in net generation of electricity, Plant Bowen represents a major commitment by Georgia Power to ensure an adequate supply of electricity is available to Georgia for now and years to come. Plant Bowen, which began commercially operating in 1975, is located 9 miles southwest of Cartersville, Ga., and is bordered on two sides by the Etowah River and Euharlee Creek. The four units of the coal-fired power plant are capable of producing 3,376 megawatts of electricity, and can supply enough energy to power over 1.9 million homes. In addition, the plant is home to the Water Research Center, the nation’s first research facility dedicated to finding new ways to reduce, conserve and improve the quality of water used by power plants to generate electricity.
Incidents
On 4 April 2013, an explosion occurred on unit 2 while it was being removed from service and readied for a planned maintenance outage. This caused significant damage to the plant but there were no serious injuries.[2] The explosion was attributed to a mixture of hydrogen and air in the generator, due to failure to comply with procedures.[3]
See also
- List of coal power stations
- List of largest power stations in the world
- List of power stations in the United States
References
- ↑ Electricity in the U.S.
- ↑ Davis, Dorothy (3 May 2013). "Explosion at coal-fired Plant Bowen attributed to worker error".
- ↑ "Georgia Power Co. cited by US Department of Labor's OSHA for 17 serious violations following explosion". OSHA. 27 September 2013.