Beckjord Power Station

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Beckjord Generating Station
BeckjordPowerStation.JPG
Beckjord Power Station
Country
  • United States
Location Pierce Township, Clermont County, near New Richmond, Ohio
Coordinates 38°59′31.5″N84°17′50″W / 38.992083°N 84.29722°W / 38.992083; -84.29722 Coordinates: 38°59′31.5″N84°17′50″W / 38.992083°N 84.29722°W / 38.992083; -84.29722
StatusDecommissioned
Commission date Unit 1: 1952
Unit 2: 1953
Unit 3: 1954
Unit 4: 1958
Unit 5: 1962
Unit 6: 1969
Units GT1–GT4: 1972
Decommission dateUnit 1: 2012
Units 2–3: 2013
Units 4–6: 2014
Units GT1–GT4: 2014
Owner(s) Duke Energy
American Electric Power
Dayton Power & Light
Operator(s)Duke Energy
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Coal
Oil
Cooling source Ohio River
Power generation
Nameplate capacity 1,433 MW
[ edit on Wikidata]

The Walter C. Beckjord Generating Station was a 1.43-gigawatt (1,433 MW), dual-fuel power generating facility located near New Richmond, Ohio, 22 miles east of Cincinnati, Ohio. The plant began operation in 1952 and was decommissioned in 2014. It was jointly owned by Duke Energy, American Electric Power (AEP), and Dayton Power & Light (DP&L). [1]

Contents

Background

Of the two Beckjord power plants, one was coal-fired (Units 1–6) and the other was oil-fired (Units GT1–GT4). [2] [3] It was originally built by Cinergy (originally Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company (CG&E)), which was bought by Duke Energy in 2006. The plant is named after Walter C. Beckjord, the chairman of CG&E from 1957 to 1962. [4] CG&E installed new electrostatic precipitators at Beckjord in the 1970s to reduce pollution mandated by the State of Ohio. [5]

W. C. Beckjord Power Station [6]
UnitNameplate capacity, MWInitial year of operationRetired [7] [8]
Coal-Fired Unit 1115.019522012
Coal-Fired Unit 2112.519532013
Coal-Fired Unit 3125.019542013
Coal-Fired Unit 4163.219582014
Coal-Fired Unit 5244.819622014
Coal-Fired Unit 6460.819692014
Coal-Fired Total1,221.3––
Oil-Fired Units GT1–GT452.9 (each)19722014
Oil-Fired Total211.6––
Facility Total1,433––

Closure and decommissioning

In July 2011, Duke Energy announced that Beckjord would shut down in January 2015 because of tightening environmental regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outweighed the benefits of retrofitting the plant. [9] The shut down was accelerated to November 2014 after an open valve caused an oil spill into the Ohio River the previous August. [4] [10] Duke Energy plead guilty in federal court in 2016 for spilling 9,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the Ohio River. The company was fined $1 million for the spill. [10]

In 2015, Duke Energy installed a battery-based energy storage system at the site for the purpose of regulating frequency in the electric grid. [11] As a part of the decommissioning process, Duke Energy terminated their lease with the New Richmond Soccer Association who played soccer matches adjacent to Beckjord. [12]

Duke Energy and its co-owners, AEP and DP&L, agreed to sell Beckjord and adjacent lands to Commercial Liability Partners for an undisclosed amount in February 2018. Commercial Liability Partners will repurpose the brownfields for redevelopment. [1]

In April 2023, local officials raised alarms after nearly 300 acres of the site, nearly one third, was purchased by a neighboring farmer. [13]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Duke Energy, joint owners sell retired coal-fired plant in New Richmond". Cincinnati.com. Associated Press. February 27, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Beckjord Station (Coal)". Duke Energy. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  3. ↑ "Beckjord Station (Oil)". Duke Energy. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  4. 1 2 "Beckjord plant shutting down". Cincinnati.com. The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 22, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  5. ↑ Bode, Patricia (September 1972). "Pollution: Take heart–we're actually gaining on the stuff". Cincinnati Magazine . p. 65.
  6. ↑ "Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2006" (Excel). Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. 2006. Archived from the original on 16 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  7. ↑ "W.C. Beckjord Station Retirement Plans".
  8. ↑ "PJM Generator Deactivation Summary Sheets". Archived from the original on 2015-11-21. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  9. ↑ Warren, Jay (July 18, 2011). "Duke Energy to close Beckjord Power Plant in Clermont County". WCPO-TV . Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Smith, Carrie Blackmore; Brennan, Patrick (November 22, 2016). "Duke Energy apologizes for 2014 Ohio River diesel spill". Cincinnati.com. The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Duke Energy, LG Chem, Greensmith commission fast-response energy storage system in Ohio".
  12. ↑ Shanklin, Garth (June 8, 2016). "New Richmond youth soccer searching for new home". The Clermont Sun. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Clermont officials cast wary eye on new owner at former Beckjord site, weighing new jobs and site cleanup". WCPO 9 Cincinnati. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
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