Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Shawnee Fossil Plant sits on 2,696 acres on the south bank of the Ohio River about 10 miles northwest of Paducah, Kentucky. The plant is a local landmark, easily recognizable by its 10 original stacks flanked by two tall stacks stretching 800 feet into the sky (Figure 1). Its stacks may stand out in the landscape, but it’s the plant’s operations reputation that’s truly outstanding.
1. Operations excellence. Shawnee Fossil Plant Unit 6 set a new long-run operations record for a coal-fired power plant of 1,093 days, 11 hours, and 24 minutes. Courtesy: TVA
Shawnee, one of 11 TVA coal plants, has a long history of operations excellence, beginning with its timely completion more than 50 years ago (see sidebar). In 2006 alone, Shawnee generated 9.4 million MWh—its highest since 1977—while ranking in the top 25% of plants nationwide for lowest cost of production.
The latest honor accorded Shawnee is the national continuous operating title won by Unit 6: 1,093 days, 11 hours, and 24 minutes when it went off-line on February 15, 2007. The previous national record of 1,017 days, 2 hours, and 59 minutes was set by First Energy’s W.H. Sammis Unit 2 in Ohio on November 14, 2005.
“This phenomenal national achievement is a tribute to the knowledge, positive attitudes, and commitment by every employee at Shawnee, and it bolsters TVA’s mission to provide affordable, reliable power to the people of the Valley,” said TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore.
What makes Shawnee first among equals is a plant staff of 330 dedicated employees, each contributing in his or her own way to the plant’s history of operations excellence. “We achieved this outstanding milestone as a result of the knowledge, pride, and passion of every individual working at the plant,” said Jeff Parsley, Shawnee plant manager. “This record reflects the joint efforts of our plant employees and the support organizations that continuously work together on improving plant operations” (Figure 2). Parsley, not content to rest on the plant’s recent achievements, went on to note, “I am proud to work for TVA and of Shawnee’s successful operations record. Our goal is to continuously improve on these records in the future. That’s my vision for Shawnee.”
2. Culture club. “It takes people, processes, and passion to be successful,” said Jeff Parsley, Shawnee plant manager. “That’s the kind of culture we have here.” Courtesy: TVA
Shawnee is no one-trick pony. The plant routinely ranks in the top 10% nationally for availability and reliability, and long runs extend beyond Unit 6. Unit 2 recently had a record run of 569 days, Unit 4 ran for 407 days, and Unit 5 ran for 522 days. Shawnee also set a 10-unit continuous-run record in 2006, when it ran all 10 units for 45 consecutive days and topped a mark set in 1961. This is no small feat for a plant completed in 1957, the last year the Dodgers played at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
Perfect 10
Shawnee’s 10 coal-fired generating units produce about 1,369 net MW by consuming some 9,600 tons of coal each day. Units 1 through 9 are identical Babcock & Wilcox wall-fired, pulverized fuel boilers that burn a blend of low-sulfur coal with low-NOx burners to limit NOx emissions. Unit 10, the nation’s first utility-scale atmospheric fluidized-bed combustion boiler, built to test the technology for sulfur removal, began operation in 1988. All 10 prime movers are identical Westinghouse units (Figure 3).
3. Ten in a row. Jeff Parsley confers with Tom Kilgore, TVA president and CEO, on the turbine room floor. Courtesy: TVA
Shawnee is the lowest total production cost plant in the TVA fossil system and posts the second-highest net margin in TVA’s fossil fleet. Between 2003 and 2006, Shawnee experienced the best availability and reliability record in the history of the plant (Units 1 to 9), with an EFOR average of 0.82% and an EAF of 94.6%.
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