Belews Creek Steam Station
Encyclopedia
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 1000 °F (537.8 °C) in both the secondary superheater and reheater sections. The boilers are supercritical units, operating at 3400 pound per square inches (231.4 atm) of pressure
. All four generators (two low pressure generators and two high pressure/intermediate pressure generators) are Westinghouse generators. The high and intermediate-pressure steam turbines were originally Westinghouse units, but were replaced during an Alstom steam-path upgrade. The low 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%.
Belews Lake
Belews Lake is a reservoir in Stokes, Rockingham, Guilford and Forsyth counties of North Carolina, near the towns of Stokesdale and Pine Hall. It was created in 1973 by the Duke Energy corporation to provide cooling water for the corporation's Belews Creek Steam Station, a coal-burning power...
in Stokes County, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. It is Duke Energy
Duke Energy
Duke Energy , headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an energy company with assets in the United States, Canada and Latin America.-Overview:...
’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
Belews Lake
Belews Lake is a reservoir in Stokes, Rockingham, Guilford and Forsyth counties of North Carolina, near the towns of Stokesdale and Pine Hall. It was created in 1973 by the Duke Energy corporation to provide cooling water for the corporation's Belews Creek Steam Station, a coal-burning power...
, 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 1000 °F (537.8 °C) in both the secondary superheater and reheater sections. The boilers are supercritical units, operating at 3400 pound per square inches (231.4 atm) of pressure
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
. All four generators (two low pressure generators and two high pressure/intermediate pressure generators) are Westinghouse generators. The high and intermediate-pressure steam turbines were originally Westinghouse units, but were replaced during an Alstom steam-path upgrade. The low 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
Flue gas desulfurization
Sulfur dioxide is one of the elements forming acid rain. Tall flue-gas stacks disperse emissions by diluting the pollutants in ambient air and transporting them to other regions....
project which came online during the beginning of 2008. This project has reduced the plant's sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is released by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide unless the sulfur compounds are removed before burning the fuel...
emissions by 95%.