Lingan Generating Station
Encyclopedia
The Lingan Generating Station is a 600 MW Canadian
electrical generating station located in the community of Lingan
in Nova Scotia
's Cape Breton Regional Municipality
.
A thermal generating station, Lingan was opened by then-provincial Crown corporation Nova Scotia Power Corporation
on November 1, 1979 at the height of the 1970s oil crisis. It was designed to burn coal
mined nearby by the Cape Breton Development Corporation
(DEVCO) as a means of reducing Nova Scotia's reliance of foreign oil for electrical generation.
The plant burns coal and features four boilers and two 150-metre chimneys. The plant consumes 1.5 million tonnes of coal per year and currently generates approximately twenty-five percent of the province's electricity, while producing roughly fifty percent of the province's air pollution, including hydrochloric acid
, sulphuric acid, hexachlorobenzene
and mercury
. Emissions in the form of particulates are a frequent source of pollution complaints in the neighbourhood and region.
Until the 2001 shut down of coal production by DEVCO, Lingan was supplied almost exclusively with locally mined coal from the Sydney Coal Field. Following closure of its mines, Nova Scotia Power purchased the federal Crown corporation's surface assets, including shipping piers on Sydney Harbour and the Devco Railway
which was used to haul coal to the Lingan Generating Station. Nova Scotia Power subcontracted with the Quebec Railway Corporation to operate this rail line as the Sydney Coal Railway
. In order to meet emissions standards, the company now imports coal containing fewer pollutants from the United States and South America, which is hauled from the Port of Sydney by the SCR to the generating station.
In 2005, Nova Scotia Power announced a $100 million upgrade for the Lingan Generating Station, including the installation of a scrubber
(flue gas desulphurization) or FGD and low nitrogen oxide
burners. This project was later 'scrubbed' and postponed indefinitely.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
electrical generating station located in the community of Lingan
Lingan, Nova Scotia
Lingan is a Canadian suburban community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.Lingan is located on the shore of the Cabot Strait, northeast from Sydney, east of New Waterford and northwest of Glace Bay....
in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
's Cape Breton Regional Municipality
Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
Cape Breton Regional Municipality often shortened to simply CBRM, is a regional municipality in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton County.According to the 2006 Census of Canada, the population within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality is 102,250...
.
A thermal generating station, Lingan was opened by then-provincial Crown corporation Nova Scotia Power Corporation
Nova Scotia Power
Nova Scotia Power Inc. is a power generating and delivery company in Nova Scotia. It is privately owned by Emera and regulated by the provincial government via the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board .-History:...
on November 1, 1979 at the height of the 1970s oil crisis. It was designed to burn coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mined nearby by the Cape Breton Development Corporation
Cape Breton Development Corporation
The Cape Breton Development Corporation, or DEVCO, was a Canadian federal government Crown corporation. It ceased operation on December 31, 2009, after being amalgamated with Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation ....
(DEVCO) as a means of reducing Nova Scotia's reliance of foreign oil for electrical generation.
The plant burns coal and features four boilers and two 150-metre chimneys. The plant consumes 1.5 million tonnes of coal per year and currently generates approximately twenty-five percent of the province's electricity, while producing roughly fifty percent of the province's air pollution, including hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
, sulphuric acid, hexachlorobenzene
Hexachlorobenzene
Hexachlorobenzene, or perchlorobenzene, is a chlorocarbon with the molecular formula C6Cl6. It is a fungicide formerly used as a seed treatment, especially on wheat to control the fungal disease bunt...
and mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
. Emissions in the form of particulates are a frequent source of pollution complaints in the neighbourhood and region.
Until the 2001 shut down of coal production by DEVCO, Lingan was supplied almost exclusively with locally mined coal from the Sydney Coal Field. Following closure of its mines, Nova Scotia Power purchased the federal Crown corporation's surface assets, including shipping piers on Sydney Harbour and the Devco Railway
Devco Railway
The Devco Railway was a Canadian railway. Devco Railway operated as an unincorporated department within the Coal Division of the Cape Breton Development Corporation, also known as DEVCO; as such there is no formally incorporated entity named "Devco Railway"...
which was used to haul coal to the Lingan Generating Station. Nova Scotia Power subcontracted with the Quebec Railway Corporation to operate this rail line as the Sydney Coal Railway
Sydney Coal Railway
The Sydney Coal Railway is a Canadian short-line railway operating in the eastern part of Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia.SCR operates from the international coaling piers on Sydney Harbour in Sydney to the Lingan Generating Station, a coal-fired electrical generating station near New Waterford...
. In order to meet emissions standards, the company now imports coal containing fewer pollutants from the United States and South America, which is hauled from the Port of Sydney by the SCR to the generating station.
In 2005, Nova Scotia Power announced a $100 million upgrade for the Lingan Generating Station, including the installation of a scrubber
Scrubber
Scrubber systems are a diverse group of air pollution control devices that can be used to remove some particulates and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams. Traditionally, the term "scrubber" has referred to pollution control devices that use liquid to wash unwanted pollutants from a gas stream...
(flue gas desulphurization) or FGD and low nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide can refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds:* Nitric oxide, also known as nitrogen monoxide, , nitrogen oxide* Nitrogen dioxide , nitrogen oxide...
burners. This project was later 'scrubbed' and postponed indefinitely.