Tennessee Valley Authority
Emissions
Widows Creek Fossil Plant
What TVA is doing about emissions at Widows Creek
TVA has taken a number of steps to make the efficient generation of power at Widows Creek as clean as possible:
- The plant’s six older, smaller units burn a low-sulfur blend of coal to limit emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2).
- Units 7 and 8 are equipped with wet limestone scrubbers to remove particulates and SO2 from stack exhaust.
- Units 7 and 8 use low-NOx burners to reduce the production of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which contribute to the formation of ozone and acid rain. TVA has installed selective catalytic reduction systems on both of these units to futher reduce NOx emissions during the ozone season (May - September).
- Boiler optimization controls limit the production of NOx at the plant’s six other units.
Carbon dioxide
.
Click chart for raw data
View more information on carbon dioxide and what TVA is doing about it.
Nitrogen oxides
.
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View more information on nitrogen oxides and what TVA is doing about them.
Sulfur dioxide
.
Click chart for raw data
View more information on sulfur dioxide and what TVA is doing about it.
Toxics Release Inventory
2008 data
All amounts are in pounds
Chemical |
Air |
Water |
Land |
Offsite Disposal |
Total |
Hydrochloric Acid (aerosol) |
833,019 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
833,019 |
Hydrogen Fluoride |
280,567 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
280,567 |
Sulfuric Acid (aerosol) |
1,185,109 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1,185,109 |
Ammonia |
5,061 |
1,301 |
0 |
0 |
6,363 |
Antimony Compounds |
|
|
|
|
0 |
Arsenic Compounds |
316 |
1,397 |
55,126 |
0 |
56,839 |
Barium Compounds |
1,973 |
6,419 |
1,176,174 |
0 |
1,184,566 |
Beryllium Compounds |
23 |
6 |
10,884 |
0 |
10,913 |
Cadmium Compounds |
|
|
|
|
0 |
Chromium Compounds |
493 |
417 |
97,349 |
0 |
98,258 |
Cobalt Compounds |
92 |
47 |
23,072 |
0 |
23,211 |
Copper Compounds |
336 |
6,325 |
82,745 |
0 |
89,407 |
Lead Compounds |
436 |
23 |
75,257 |
0 |
75,717 |
Manganese Compounds |
772 |
27,613 |
199,395 |
0 |
227,779 |
Mercury Compounds |
212 |
0 |
329 |
0 |
541 |
Nickel Compounds |
538 |
1,262 |
100,105 |
0 |
101,905 |
Selenium Compounds |
|
|
|
|
0 |
Silver Compounds |
|
|
|
|
0 |
Thallium Compounds |
23 |
0 |
28,119 |
0 |
28,142 |
Vanadium Compounds |
525 |
1,582 |
200,984 |
0 |
203,091 |
Zinc Compounds |
2,078.65 |
629.2 |
271,926.3 |
0.000 |
274,634.197 |
Benzo(g,h,i)perylene |
0.16 |
0.00 |
0.31 |
0.00 |
0.47 |
Naphthalene |
64.247 |
0.000 |
0.000 |
0.000 |
64.247 |
Nitrate Compounds |
0 |
34811 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
34,810.6 |
Dioxin (grams) |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
Dioxin (lbs) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds |
31.9 |
0.0 |
18.0 |
0 |
50 |
TOTALS |
2,311,671 |
81,831 |
2,321,482 |
0 |
4,714,985 |
| Gross MWh generated: | 10,032,665 |
| Pounds released per MWh: | 0.47 |