R. Paul Smith Power Station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| R. Paul Smith Power Station | |
|---|---|
 R. Paul Smith Power Station in 2014 | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Williamsport, Maryland |
| Coordinates | 39°35′43″N 77°49′38″W / 39.595278°N 77.827222°W |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Construction began | 1922 |
| Commission date | 1927; 1947; 1958 |
| Decommission date | 2012 |
| Owner | FirstEnergy |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Bituminous coal |
| Secondary fuel | Fuel oil |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 116 MW |
The R. Paul Smith Power Station is a closed electric generating plant owned by FirstEnergy (formerly Allegheny Energy) in Williamsport, Maryland.
The facility consists of 2 coal-fired steam generating units generating a total capacity of 116 MW.[1] The units can use fuel oil as an alternate energy source.[2] Condenser cooling for these units is accomplished with once-through cooling water from the Potomac River.[3]
The plant is located on land in between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, north of Lock 44 of the canal. Coal was delivered to the plant originally by rail until the mid-1950s, and intermittently by rail and trucks until late 1974 when all coal deliveries were diverted to trucks.[4] Coal ash from the plant was disposed at ash ponds in West Virginia, across the river from the plant.[5]
The plant is subject to the federal Clean Air Act. Because of the age of the power plant units, and the need to maintain the plant's capabilities to ensure reliability of the regional power grid, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) had exempted the plant from compliance with a state law, the Healthy Air Act, which sets stringent air pollution limits for sulfur oxide and NOx.[5] However, FirstEnergy decided to cease plant operations in 2012, and in 2013 MDE proposed reinstating the stringent state emission requirements, in case the plant resumes operations in the future.[6]
