I toured a power plant today
Really a cool experience for a lowly aeronautical engineer like myself.
I got to spend half a day at a power plant that basically powers much of central Florida.
They use coal, natural gas, methane from a landfill, and have a solar farm.
Today and in the foreseeable future coal was their best bet, followed by natural gas, then methane, and WAY BEHIND was the solar farm.
This was a 3,200 acre facility.
During a ?normal? summer day here in Orlando they consume 200 TONS of coal per hour.
Coal which comes from Indiana and Illinois cost them about $23.50 a megawatt while they were very clear solar costs them $70 a megawatt.
Although they didnt have nuclear or hydro power they said generally speaking nuclear is around $14 a megawatt and hydro is about $9 a megawatt.
Methane- the hardest to generate in quantity cost just 2% of coal.
Prices vary daily so these were figures from 1/23/2019.
The most amazing thing to me was the whole facility had a staff of just 170 heads and during most evenings the whole show was ran by 12 people.
Unfortunately pictures were not allowed but it was IMPRESSIVE!
They used to source coal from Kentucky and W. Virginia but jow trhose states make far more exporting coal to china for ebergy.
I got to spend half a day at a power plant that basically powers much of central Florida.
They use coal, natural gas, methane from a landfill, and have a solar farm.
Today and in the foreseeable future coal was their best bet, followed by natural gas, then methane, and WAY BEHIND was the solar farm.
This was a 3,200 acre facility.
During a ?normal? summer day here in Orlando they consume 200 TONS of coal per hour.
Coal which comes from Indiana and Illinois cost them about $23.50 a megawatt while they were very clear solar costs them $70 a megawatt.
Although they didnt have nuclear or hydro power they said generally speaking nuclear is around $14 a megawatt and hydro is about $9 a megawatt.
Methane- the hardest to generate in quantity cost just 2% of coal.
Prices vary daily so these were figures from 1/23/2019.
The most amazing thing to me was the whole facility had a staff of just 170 heads and during most evenings the whole show was ran by 12 people.
Unfortunately pictures were not allowed but it was IMPRESSIVE!
They used to source coal from Kentucky and W. Virginia but jow trhose states make far more exporting coal to china for ebergy.
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Was it the plant by crystal river or the big bend plant in Ruskin or Gibsonton, Florida? 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Warbirds
Really a cool experience for a lowly aeronautical engineer like myself.
I got to spend half a day at a power plant that basically powers much of central Florida.
They use coal, natural gas, methane from a landfill, and have a solar farm.
Today and in the foreseeable future coal was their best bet, followed by natural gas, then methane, and WAY BEHIND was the solar farm.
This was a 3,200 acre facility.
During a ?normal? summer day here in Orlando they consume 200 TONS of coal per hour.
Coal which comes from Indiana and Illinois cost them about $23.50 a megawatt while they were very clear solar costs them $70 a megawatt.
Although they didnt have nuclear or hydro power they said generally speaking nuclear is around $14 a megawatt and hydro is about $9 a megawatt.
Methane- the hardest to generate in quantity cost just 2% of coal.
Prices vary daily so these were figures from 1/23/2019.
The most amazing thing to me was the whole facility had a staff of just 170 heads and during most evenings the whole show was ran by 12 people.
Unfortunately pictures were not allowed but it was IMPRESSIVE!
They used to source coal from Kentucky and W. Virginia but jow trhose states make far more exporting coal to china for ebergy.
So where does this come out ahead being 98% cheaper than coal?0 -
I have worked as a contractor in hatfield power plant in pa. and mount storm power plant in Wv 0 -
Very cool! I love touring plants of different types.
The facility I'm based from uses natural gas and Bio Gas (methane from waste treatment facility) to run dozens of 40MM BTU burners for various processes.
We switched from coal to natural gas in our boilers, but we also run 650# Steam to an 8600RPM turbine that is cool to watch.0 -
i heard new technology (scrubbers??) made coal usage much cleaner now 0 -
quote:Originally posted by spasmcreek
i heard new technology (scrubbers??) made coal usage much cleaner now
Lots of things, tuned combustion systems give better efficiency and less NOx, coupled with advancements in environmental testing (inline) and more efficient scrubbers.0 -
Much of the coal from Southern WV passes on the Norfolk Southern tracks through my county, going to Lambert?s Point, near Norfolk, Va. The rail cars have no doors on the bottom. I?m told they are turned upside down and dumped into large ships, to be sent overseas.
I?m told that a ton of home heating coal costs $149 a ton at the processing plant. In the early ?60?s, it was $11.
Appalachian Power closed a coal fired plant in my county recently.
The plant where I worked had 7 coal fired boilers and 4 10 megawatt turbogenerators. They switched to natural gas recently.
JWB, my dad was a boilermaker, he said Mt. Storm Wv. had to be the coldest place on earth.0 -
Worked 26 yrs at LRS in Wy. Three 600 MW turbines Scrubbers cleaned 98.9 % of SO2,NOX, and other gases. Fly ash used in concreat to make it lighter and stronger Also used in cementiing oil wells.
Coal mined here in WY. and shipped to other states.
The cleanest coal fired plant I tured was at the university of fairbanks
AK. Operators heatiing their food on the boiler ledges.
Great place to work and fine state to retire in. JMHO0 -
4800 tons a coal a day is a lot of coal 0 -
Some coal layers are 90 feet thick, 10 feet of overburden and another 90 feet of low sulfer coal. No shortage of coal for many ears to come.
Should we research alternative sources? Yes.0 -
What's the worlds largest land machine. A coal mining machine in Germany.
See those guy walking around,, pretty small.
Article and More photos:
https://twistedsifter.com/2012/04/bagger-288-worlds-largest-land-vehicle/0 -
Ft. St. Vrain plant in CO. Used to be a nuke plant, defueled, switched to multi stage nat. gas turbine. Jet engine spins generator, Waste heat generates steam, steam spins second turbine. Waste steam heats 40 acres of greenhouses. Thought that was kinda neat. 0 -
I have worked in at least 5 off and on over 41 years in construction. And the one thing you remember is that everything you do, can kill you if you are not vigilant about what you are doing and what goes on around you. Welding, cutting heavy steel as a Boilermaker. The same as a Construction Laborer, working with Heavy Cranes, concrete, excavating. Standing by the draft door at the smokestack feels like it will pull you straight up.
Visiting is cool, but working there, you cant wait to get past the gate to leave.
Here in Missouri coal is the fuel. So dirty, dusty, heavy metals and sulphur in the ash. Now most coal comes from the western states, low sulphur Wyoming coal. Cleaner burning and the plants sell the flyash for other uses other than waste.0
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