Unit 1 of the Big Sandy Power Plant has started to supply up to 268 MW of gas-generated electricity to PJM Interconnection. Operator Kentucky Power, part of the investor-owned electric utility AEP, had opened the plant back in 1963 and operated it on coal until November last year, when conversion works to natural gas commenced.
Major construction was completed by mid-May this year – first fire of the converted, gas power unit took place on May 30. Since then the revamped power station has steadily supplied electricity to PJM, the electricity grid operator for more than 61 million people in D.C. and 13 states, including Kentucky.
Greg Pauley, Kentucky Power COO called the conversion “a significant accomplishment,” which allows for Big Sandy to “continue provide eastern Kentucky with safe, reliable and affordable electricity.”
Plant manager Aaron Sink underlined that the former coal-fired plant has provided low-cost electricity to the region – and the converted unit 1 is meant to continue doing so well into the future.
Unit 2, meanwhile, will be removed and a portion of its current site will be redeveloped into an industrial park. “The flat land at Big Sandy is located between a four-lane highway and the Big Sandy River. It has not only highway and river access, but also rail. It has the potential to be an ideal industrial park,” Mr Pauley said.
Kentucky Power, a unit of American Electric Power (AEP), serves about 169,000 customers in 20 eastern Kentucky counties and also owns 50% of the Mitchell Power Plant in Moundsville, West Virginia.