Picway Power Plant
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Picway Power Plant was a 220 megawatt ( MW)
coal power plant A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts capacity. They generate about a th ...
located west of Lockbourne in
Pickaway County, Ohio Pickaway County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,539. Its county seat is Circleville. Its name derives from the Pekowi band of Shawnee Indians, who inhabited the area. (See List of Ohio county ...
. The plant generated electricity from 1926 until its closure in 2015. It was operated by
American Electric Power American Electric Power (AEP), (railcar reporting mark: AEPX) is a major investor-owned electric utility in the United States, delivering electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest gen ...
(AEP).


History

Picway began operations with two units in September 1926. The plant was operated by the Columbus Railway Power and Light Company, a forerunner of AEP. The two units had a combined capacity of 60 MW. The facility originally used low-profile electric locomotives capable of both third rail and overhead power to move ash cars under the boilers, and move coal around the property; one of these locomotives still exists in operating condition at the Ohio Railway Museum. Construction of Unit 3 was temporarily halted in 1942 by the
War Production Board The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Sup ...
(WPB) as the building of new non-essential electricity production was suspended for the war effort. Unit 3 officially came online in 1943 with capacity of 30 MW. Unit 4 began commercial operations in 1949 after more than two years of construction at a cost of $5 million. The unit generated 30 MW. The final unit, Unit 5, began commercial operations in 1955 after two years of construction at a cost of $15 million. The unit generated 100 MW and gave Picway a maximum nameplate capacity of 220 MW. Rail service to supply coal for Picway was provided by the Scioto Valley Railway and Power Company which was later renamed the Ohio-Midland Light and Power Company in 1932. The trackage to the plant was initially powered using
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
, but became dieselized in 1955. It was the last railroad in Ohio to be powered by third rail. The conversion to diesel allowed coal to be interchanged by rail at Lockbourne, instead of Obetz or Groveport previously. Coal deliveries for Picway were switched from rail to truck beginning in 1972, but rail service resumed temporarily during the Blizzard of 1978 when truck deliveries could not get through the snow.


Environmental mitigation

Electrostatic precipitator An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is a filterless device that removes fine particles, like dust and smoke, from a flowing gas using the force of an induced electrostatic charge minimally impeding the flow of gases through the unit. In cont ...
s, which are used to prevent
fly ash Fly ash, flue ash, coal ash, or pulverised fuel ash (in the UK) plurale tantum: coal combustion residuals (CCRs)is a coal combustion product that is composed of the particulates (fine particles of burned fuel) that are driven out of coal-fired ...
from being released into the atmosphere, were installed at Picway in 1974. A
LO-NOx burner A LO burner is a type of burner that is typically used in utility boilers to produce steam and electricity. Background The first discovery Around 1986 John Joyce (of Bowin Cars fame), an influential Australian inventor, first learned about oxi ...
was added to Picway in 1995 in order to reduce
nitrogen oxide Nitrogen oxide may refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds: Charge-neutral *Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen(II) oxide, or nitrogen monoxide *Nitrogen dioxide (), nitrogen(IV) oxide * Nitrogen trioxide (), or n ...
() emissions. Picway began generating electricity with
biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...
and later
biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...
in 2010 as a way to lower operating costs and produce renewable energy.


Retirement and closure

Units 1 and 2 were retired in 1972. Units 3 and 4 ceased operations in October 1980 in order for Columbus & Southern Ohio Electric to attain pollution reductions from the Ohio's State Implementation Plan (SIP). The
Ohio Environmental Council The Ohio Environmental Council is an environmental organization founded in 1969. Its work includes the environment, clean energy, and democracy. Environment OEC praised Columbus's Climate Action Plan. OEC jointly sought action against pollutio ...
had argued for an expedited shut down before October 1980, but this was rejected by the
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of K ...
. By 2010, Picway generated electricity only during the peak summer months as a cost-cutting measure. With changes in federal clean air rules by the Environmental Protect Agency (EPA) on the horizon, AEP announced in 2011 they would retire Picway. AEP cited the
Cross-State Air Pollution Rule The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) is a rule by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that requires member states of the United States to reduce power plant emissions that contribute to ozone and/or fine particle pollution ...
(CSAPR) and
Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Mercu ...
(MATS) for the retirement of Picway. The power plant closed in May 2015. The facility and land were sold to a real estate company specializing in
brownfield In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...
redevelopment in 2016.


Incidents

A worker died in 1948 from electrocution after accidentally touching a switch while replacing an oil circuit breaker.


See also

*
List of power stations in Ohio This is a list of electricity-generating power stations in the U.S. state of Ohio, sorted by type and name. In 2019, Ohio had a total summer capacity of 28,464 MW and a net generation of 120,001 MWh. The corresponding electrical ene ...


References

{{reflist, 30em Energy infrastructure completed in 1926 Energy infrastructure completed in 1943 Energy infrastructure completed in 1949 Energy infrastructure completed in 1955 Former coal-fired power stations in Ohio Buildings and structures in Pickaway County, Ohio 1926 establishments in Ohio 2015 disestablishments in Ohio American Electric Power