Who we are
The Longview Power plant is a 700 net megawatt electric power generating facility located in Maidsville, West Virginia, close to Morgantown. The Longview Power plant produces enough electricity to continuously power more than 500,000 homes. Longview’s mission is to produce clean, economic, and reliable power in an environmentally sustainable manner using low cost, locally mined coal.
Longview Power Plant
The Longview Power plant is the newest, cleanest, most efficient coal-fired power plant in the 13-state PJM Interconnection and one of the most efficient in the United States, producing 700 net megawatts of electric power. Longview’s best-in-class heat rate of 8,750 Btu/kwh far surpasses that of all other coal-fired power plants in the North America. Longview’s advanced supercritical boiler, low cost fuel source and other project efficiencies combine to produce the lowest cost of dispatch (delivery of electricity) of any coal-fired plant in the region.
Longview Power is a clean coal facility with best-in-class air pollution control systems that result in much lower emissions than its permit limits, which are among the lowest in the nation for coal plants. In addition, Longview emits significantly less CO2 than most other coal plants because of its high energy conversion efficiency.
The Longview Power project cost about $2.0 billion –the largest private investment in West Virginia’s history. The plant commenced operations in 2011, but construction defects and major changes in the power markets lead to the Company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2013. In early 2015, the Company reached a comprehensive settlement of all construction claims, with two of its major contractors agreeing to remediate plant defects at their own expense. As a result, Longview Power emerged from bankruptcy in April 2015 with the full remediation of the plant underway with new ownership lead by private equity firms KKR, Tennenbaum and Ascribe. The plant remediation was fully completed in November 2015.
Longview provides high-paying jobs to over 150 employees and appreciably supports the local and regional economies in northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. Longview is dedicated to maintaining the health and safety of its employees, and consistently outperform national industry safety standards. Longview strives to be a good corporate neighbor and a responsible steward of the environment and stand behind its core values and mission, which include commitments to produce electricity reliably, economically and on an environmentally sustainable basis.
Our Clean Coal Technology
Longview Power utilizes state-of-the-art technology to safely and economically produce reliable energy with exceptional environmental performance.
Longview’s technology includes: an advanced supercritical pulverized coal-fired boiler, a high efficiency turbine-generator, a cutting edge distributed control system and a full complement of Air Quality Control Systems (AQCS) that meet or exceed Best Available Control Technology (BACT).
Longview’s modern, clean coal technology design enables best-in-class energy and environmental performance with industry leading reliability. What makes Longview innovative and modern?
Advanced Supercritical Boiler
Amec Foster Wheeler supplied Longview with a first-of-a-kind once-thru, low-mass flux vertical tube Advanced Supercritical Boiler. This new class of supercritical boilers utilizes new metal alloys that allow the boiler to produce steam at higher temperatures and pressures than previously achievable. These technology advances operated by Longview’s highly skilled plant personnel, means higher efficiencies, greater reliability and a much cleaner environment.
In 2015 Longview replaced over 1,000 boilers tubes to repair initial design and materials issue. Improvements to the fuel/air controls now provide best-in-class combustion control (no slagging, better emissions control, improved reliability). The NOx controlling catalyst system was optimized, boiler circuitry was modified and perfected, and a simpler more robust bottom ash system was installed. The result – all initial tube leak issues have been resolved and the unit is setting new standards for reliability, efficiency and environmental performance.
Advanced Emissions Systems
Longview is a leader in environmental performance utilizing and optimizing best-in-class Air Quality Control Systems (AQCS) provided by Amec Foster Wheeler. Longview, by design, is more efficient in both producing affordable electric power and reducing emissions due to advanced, integrated pollution controls in the original design. Older legacy coal power plants with retrofitted pollution controls incur efficiency losses, while Longview’s AQCS equipment effectively and reliably remove all targeted pollutants without adversely affecting efficiency:
- Acid mists are controlled with a hydrated lime injection system
- >99% of particulate matter (“fly ash”) is removed by a Pulse Jet Fabric Filter (PJFF)
- Up to 99.5% removal of SO2 is accomplished by a Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization (WFGD) system
- NOx emissions are controlled by low NOx burners by overfire air and a Selective Catalytic Reduction system (SCR – akin to a car’s catalytic converter)
- CO2 emissions are the industry’s lowest achievable for coal plants due to Longview’s high fuel efficiency
Advanced Generator Technology
The business end of the Longview clean coal technology is the Siemens HMNN 770mw steam turbine and SGen6-3000w generator. This combination is one of the industry’s newest, most efficient means of converting high pressure/temperature steam into electric power.
Siemens Model # SGen6-3000W Generator
- Hydrogen and water cooled, improving heat transfer and reducing friction losses to achieve up to 99% operating efficiency
- Rated for 807MW/hr
Siemens HMNN 770 MW Turbine System
- Tandem compound arrangement
- Four turbine sections
- High, intermediate, two low pressure sections
- Attached directly via a single shaft to the generator
- Inlet steam conditions of 3600 psi, 1050f
- 5,027,000 lbs/hr of steam flow at valve wide open operation
Advanced Startup Capability
Coal is not the only fuel required for a coal-fired power plant. Secondary fuel is required for startup and for significant load changes. At Longview, natural gas from a local gas distribution company is used when available. However, the local gas company has limited capacity and must serve residential and key industrial users which, at times, take priority. Longview addressed this potential limitation by installing the world’s largest mobile LNG facility. This unique system provides Longview with full “inside-the-fence” startup reliability during peak winter seasons allowing Longview to meet PJM capacity performance requirements.
Economic Value
Longview’s best-in-class heat rate (efficiency), low-cost fuel source and other project efficiencies combine to produce the lowest cost of dispatch (delivery of electricity) of any coal-fired plant in the 13-State PJM Interconnection, and is among the lowest in the world.
Along with being the lowest-cost provider, Longview has consistently operated at a heat rate of 8750 btu/kwh, making it the most efficient coal fired power plant in North America. Moreover, the plant runs at a capacity factor in excess of 85%.
Longview Power includes best-in-class air pollution control systems that effectively maintain emissions well below its environmental permit limits, which are among the most stringent in the nation for coal plants. Furthermore, Longview’s CO2 output is 15% better than industry average CO2 output. Longview was certified by the West Virginia Public Service Commission to have the lowest CO2 emissions of any coal-fired plant in West Virginia.
In 2015, the facility increased the SO2 removal capacity of its wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system to achieve up to 99.5% removal of SO2 and increased the size of its pulse jet fabric filter system to achieve greater than 99% removal of particulate matter. Moreover, Longview is fully compliant with the new federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (“MATS”), with emissions well below than the permitted limits.
Longview Power further limits environmental impacts by minimizing its water requirements and efficiently using and reusing water, with no discharges to surface waters.
Source: Longview Power
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