| Colbert Combustion Turbine Plant | |
|---|---|
|
Location of the Colbert Combustion Turbine Plant | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | 307 Gas Turbine Road Tuscumbia, Alabama |
| Coordinates | 34°44′27″N 87°50′56″W / 34.74083°N 87.84889°W |
| Status | Operational |
| 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 cost | Coal units $99,104,091 [1] (equivalent to $879,990,000 in 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.
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
References
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ "TVA Exceeds 7 Million KW Power Mark". The Knoxville Journal. January 19, 1955. p. 8. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sherer, Dennis (February 3, 2003). "Fossil plants backbone of system". TimesDaily. Florence, Alabama. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
- ^ Mufson, Steven (November 14, 2013). "Tennessee Valley Authority to close 8 coal-fired power plants". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ "Colbert Fossil Plant Ends 61 Years of Electrical Generation". The Quad-Cities Daily. Muscle Shoals, Alabama. March 24, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ "Old Alabama fossil plant's smokestacks toppled by dynamite". Associated Press News. August 25, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.