W. H. Sammis Power Plant facts for kids
Quick facts for kids W. H. Sammis Power Plant |
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State Route 7 passes under the Sammis Power Plant
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Stratton, Ohio, Jefferson County, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 40°31′48″N 80°37′51″W / 40.53000°N 80.63083°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | Units 1–2: 1960 Units 3–4: 1962 Unit 5: 1967 Unit 6: 1969 Unit 7: 1971 |
| Decommission date | Units 1–4: May 31, 2020, Units 5-7 June, 2022 |
| Operator(s) | Energy Harbor |
The W. H. Sammis Power Plant is a very large power plant in Stratton, Ohio. It uses coal to make electricity. The plant can produce 2.2 gigawatts (2,220 MW) of power. It is run by a company called Energy Harbor. This power plant started working in 1960.
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Plant History
The building of the W.H. Sammis Power Plant began in May 1956. At first, the plan was to build two units, each making 170 MW of power. Soon after, the company decided to build two more units of the same size.
The first four units were finished between 1960 and 1962. They cost about $118 million. The plant was named after Walter H. Sammis, who was the president of Ohio Edison.
Adding More Units
Unit 5 was finished in 1967. Unit 6 started working in 1969 and cost $75 million. This unit could make 625 MW of power. A big part of Unit 6, called a stator, was even shown on the cover of Forbes magazine in 1967.
Unit 7 began making power in 1971. It could make 650 MW. The chimney for Unit 7 was very tall, about 1,001 feet (305 m) high.
Road Under the Plant
In 1982, a special four-lane tunnel was built for State Route 7. This road goes right under a part of the power plant. It cost $27 million to build.
Later, in 1997, a new company called FirstEnergy took over running the Sammis plant.
Changes and Closures
In 2012, the plant was temporarily shut down. This happened because the price of electricity was low, partly due to more natural gas being available.
In 2016, FirstEnergy announced that the four oldest units of the plant would close in 2020. This was because of rising costs. Only three units, making 1,500 MW, would keep working.
Then, in 2018, FirstEnergy Solutions said they would close the last three units by June 2022. They said the system for buying and selling power did not favor coal plants. A company that supplied coal, Murray Energy, even thought about buying the plant to keep it open.
However, the plans to close the last three units were changed in 2019. This happened after the State of Ohio passed a new law to help support some power plants. But later, in 2020, it was found that this new law was part of a big problem with how the government worked.
Keeping the Air Clean
The Sammis Power Plant has worked to reduce its pollution.
Early Efforts
In 1978, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the plant was letting out too much pollution. They said it was much more than allowed by the Clean Air Act. Ohio Edison agreed to add equipment to control pollution.
To fix these issues, Ohio Edison built a large structure costing $445 million. This structure held special equipment called electrostatic precipitators. These devices help clean the air before it leaves the plant.
Modern Upgrades
The EPA raised concerns again in 1999. To make the air cleaner, FirstEnergy started a huge project in 2005. It cost $1.8 billion.
New systems were added to the plant. These included selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems and scrubbers. These systems help reduce harmful gases like sulfur dioxide (SO
2) and nitrogen oxide (NO
x ). The scrubbers can reduce sulfur dioxide by 95%, and the SCR systems can reduce nitrogen oxide by 90%.
A new, tall chimney, about 850 feet (260 m) high, was built for the scrubbers. This big project was finished in 2010.
