Colbert Combustion Turbine Plant

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Colbert Combustion Turbine Plant
Colbert fossil plant.jpg
Aerial photograph of the now-demolished Colbert Fossil Plant. The new gas power plant on the left.
Colbert Combustion Turbine Plant
Location of the Colbert Combustion Turbine Plant
CountryUnited States
Location307 Gas Turbine Road
Tuscumbia, Alabama
Coordinates 34°44′27″N87°50′56″W / 34.74083°N 87.84889°W / 34.74083; -87.84889
StatusOperational
Commission date Coal units [1]
Unit 1: January 18, 1955
Unit 2: March 1, 1955
Unit 3: July 29, 1955
November 4, 1955
Natural gas units
Units 1-8: 1972
Construction costCoal units
$99,104,091 [1] (equivalent to $879,990,000in 2023)
Owner(s) Tennessee Valley Authority
Operator(s)Tennessee Valley Authority
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Natural gas
Power generation
Nameplate capacity 392 MWe

The Colbert Combustion Turbine Plant is a combustion turbine natural gas-fired power plant operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) near Tuscumbia, Alabama. Commissioned in 1972, it is currently the oldest gas-fired power plant operated by TVA. The site was formerly home to the Colbert Fossil Plant, a coal-fired power station which operated from 1955 to 2016.

Contents

History

Work began on the Colbert Fossil Plant, then known as the Colbert Steam Plant, on October 15, 1951. The first unit began operation on January 18, 1955. [2] Unit 2 began operation on March 1, 1955, Unit 3 on July 29, 1955, and Unit 4 on November 4, 1955. [1] Each of these units had a capacity of 200 megawatts. A fifth unit began operation in 1965. The combustion turbine units were added in 1972, making them the first natural-gas units in the TVA system. [3]

The TVA board voted to close the coal-fired units at Colbert on November 14, 2013. [4] Units 1 through 4 were retired in March 2016, with the last unit being idled on March 23, 2016. [5] The coal plant was demolished on August 25, 2021. [6]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 The Colbert Steam Plant: A Report on the Planning, Design, Construction, Costs, and First Power Operations of the Initial Four-Unit Plant (Report). Tennessee Valley Authority. 1963. 35. Retrieved 2021-09-01 via Google Books.
  2. "TVA Exceeds 7 Million KW Power Mark". The Knoxville Journal. January 19, 1955. p. 8. Retrieved September 1, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  3. Sherer, Dennis (February 3, 2003). "Fossil plants backbone of system". TimesDaily . Florence, Alabama. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  4. Mufson, Steven (November 14, 2013). "Tennessee Valley Authority to close 8 coal-fired power plants". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  5. "Colbert Fossil Plant Ends 61 Years of Electrical Generation". The Quad-Cities Daily. Muscle Shoals, Alabama. March 24, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  6. "Old Alabama fossil plant's smokestacks toppled by dynamite". Associated Press News. August 25, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.