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Martin Lake Power Plant

Martin Lake Power Plant is a 2,250-megawatt coal power plant located southwest of Tatum, Texas, in Rusk County, Texas.[1] The plant is owned by Luminant.[2] It began operations in 1977. The plant is also served by the Luminant owned Martin Lake Line, shuttling coal from nearby as well as the Powder River Basin in Wyoming via BNSF.

History

The plant consists of three units. Unit 1 was commissioned in 1977, Unit 2 in 1978, and Unit 3 in 1979. All three, when first activated, each unit had a capacity of 750 MW.[3][4][5] Plans for a fourth, 858 MW coal unit at Martin Lake was formally cancelled in 1986.[5][6] A man-made lake was created for the plant's cooling source.[7] Martin Lake was retrofitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems by Fluor in 2008 to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions.[8][9]

Martin Lake receives its energy from nearby lignite mines and coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming.[2] Martin Lake used to receive lignite from the Oak Hill and Beckville Mines in nearby Rusk and Panola Counties until their closures.[10]

One of Martin Lake's units was idled in September 2013 due to low electricity prices.[11] The unit was restarted in March 2014 as electricity prices rose during the 2014 North American cold wave.[12]

Incidents

In February 2017, a contractor died in an accident at the site.[13]

See also

  • List of largest power stations in the United States
  • List of power stations in Texas

External links

References

  1. Power Generation Report Public Utility Commission of Texas, retrieved June 15, 2017^
  2. Martin Lake Luminant, retrieved June 3, 2017^
  3. Power plant's appetite for lignite is ravenous Big Spring Herald, May 22, 1977, retrieved February 15, 2018^
  4. Lignite-fueled power plants producing 35% of TP&L electricity The Houston County Courier, May 4, 1978, retrieved February 15, 2018^
  5. New Electric Generating Plants in Texas Since 1995 Public Utility Commission of Texas, December 31, 2013, retrieved June 15, 2017^
  6. New Estimates Announced for Nuclear Plant Grandview Tribune, December 5, 1986, retrieved February 15, 2018^
  7. Martin Creek Lake State Park History Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, retrieved February 15, 2018^
  8. Paul Nastu. Luminant Details Emissions Reduction Plan Environmental Leader, February 19, 2008, retrieved February 15, 2018^
  9. Fluor to provide air quality upgrades Power Engineering, April 17, 2008, retrieved February 15, 2018^
  10. Jimmy Daniell Isaac. Luminant closing Oak Hill mine, laying off 132 workers by Dec. 16 Longview News-Journal, October 17, 2016, retrieved February 15, 2018^
  11. Terrence Henry. A Changing Market and Dim Future for Coal in Texas State Impact, September 20, 2013, retrieved February 15, 2018^
  12. Luminant will reopen 3 coal-fired plants ahead of schedule Power Engineering, February 5, 2014, retrieved February 15, 2018^
  13. One person dead after accident at the Martin Lake Power Plant in Tatum WLOX, February 18, 2017, retrieved June 3, 2017^