Belews Creek Steam Station
| Belews Creek Steam Station | |
|---|---|
Belews Creek Steam Station
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| Country | USA |
| Location | Stokes County, North Carolina |
| Coordinates | 36°16′53″N 80°3′37″W / 36.28139°N 80.06028°WCoordinates: 36°16′53″N 80°3′37″W / 36.28139°N 80.06028°W |
| Owner(s) | Duke Energy |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Coal |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 2 × 1,120 MWe |
Belews Creek Steam Station is a 2.24-GW, two-unit coal-fired generating facility located on Belews Lake in Stokes County, North Carolina. It is Duke Energy’s largest coal-burning power plant in the Carolinas and consistently ranks among the most efficient coal facilities in the United States. During 2006, it was the fifth most efficient coal power plant in the United States with a heat rate of 9,023 Btu/kWh (37.8% conversion efficiency). The remaining 62.2% of energy released by the burning coal is in the form of heat. It is dumped into Belews Lake, a man-made lake created by Duke Power for cooling water purposes in the early 1970s. In 2008, it was the #1 most efficient coal power plant in the United States with a heat rate of 9,204 Btu/kWh.
The plant consists of two nearly identical units, launched into operation in 1974 and 1975. Each furnace, a Babcock & Wilcox boiler, heats steam to 1,000 °F (538 °C) in both the secondary superheater and reheater sections. The boilers are supercritical units, operating at 3,400 pounds per square inch (230 atm) of pressure. All four generators (two low pressure generators and two high pressure/intermediate pressure generators) are Westinghouse generators. The low pressure steam turbines were originally Westinghouse units, but were replaced during an Alstom steam-path upgrade. The high and intermediate-pressure turbines are original Westinghouse units.
The plant employs multiple pollution control systems, including a selective catalytic reducer which removes nitrogen oxides, an electrostatic precipitator which removes fly ash, and low NOx burners in the boiler. The plant has completed a $500 million flue-gas desulfurization project which came online during the beginning of 2008. This project has reduced the plant's sulfur dioxide emissions by 95%.
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