Oak Grove Steam Electric Station

Oak Grove Steam Electric Station

Background

The Oak Grove power plant currently under construction in Robertson County will consist of two, supercritical, lignite-fueled power generation units. When complete, the plant will deliver about 1,600 megawatts of reliable power to Texas.

Estimated Completion Date

Depending on the construction schedule and the timely receipt of all necessary permits, Unit 1 is expected to be operational in late 2009. Unit 2 is expected to be operational sometime during the middle of 2010.

State and Local Benefits

Luminant is excited about the benefits that Oak Grove will bring to Texas. Some of these benefits include:

  • Reliable power. In May 2007, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) released a revised energy forecast showing the electric reserve margin will drop to 9.8% in 2009, 0.4% lower than was included in the previous February 2007 update. The minimum reserve margin to maintain reliable power supplies is considered to be 12.5%. Oak Grove will play an important role in helping to address this shortfall and helping to meet Texas' growing power needs.
  • Improved Texas air quality. The Oak Grove Units1 & 2 will use the Best Available Control Technology to reduce air emissions. Luminant will also set a new environmental standard by voluntarily offsetting all sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and mercury emissions from this and other new Luminant plants under construction by making reductions at Luminant's existing coal-fueled plants. In addition, the company will actually reduce these same key emissions 20% below the 2005 emissions levels of its coal-fueled power plants. This will result in a net decrease in these emissions – even as new power plants are added.
  • New local jobs. This project will create more than 190 full-time, permanent local jobs at the facility and the potential for thousands of support jobs in the community. The plant will utilize locally-mined lignite coal, further benefiting the local economy.
  • Local benefits. These new units will add millions of dollars to the Robertson County tax rolls, improve the local economy and help attract new businesses to the area.
  • Fuel diversity. Oak Grove will help decrease Texas' over-reliance on volatile and expensive natural gas while still meeting growing electric demands.

Best Available Control Technology

The Oak Grove project will use the Best Available Control Technology to reduce air emissions. These controls will include:

  • Low- NOx burners to limit the production of nitrogen oxides (NOx)
  • Over-fired air technology will utilize additional air flow in the boiler to further reduce the production NOx
  • Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology will control the remaining NOx emissions
  • Wet flue gas desulfurization or 'scrubber' technology will reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions
  • High-efficiency baghouse fabric filters will reduce particulate matter (PM) in the air exiting the power plant
  • Sorbent injection will control mercury

The new Oak Grove units will join existing Luminant power plant units which currently meet or go beyond all state and federal environmental standards.

A Track Record of Environmental Success

At Luminant Power, we care about the air we share. Luminant is committed to innovative leadership in managing environmental issues, including minimizing its own impact on the environment. For example, Luminant's NOx emission rate is 38% below the national average, helping Texas achieve the second lowest NOx emission rates of coal-using states in the nation. In addition, a combination of technology and operational changes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has lowered the company's emission rate in the area by 88% since 1997.

Civic Involvement

Luminant Power has a rich history of community leadership through employee volunteerism, employee contributions and company financial support. We look forward to continuing this tradition of community involvement at Oak Grove.