Calaveras Power Station
The Calaveras Power Station is a series of power plants located southeast of San Antonio, in Bexar County, Texas near Calaveras Lake. These plants include the J.T. Deely Power Plant, the O.W. Sommers Power Plant, and the J.K. Spruce Power Plant. They are operated by CPS Energy.
| Calaveras Power Station | |
|---|---|
 Calaveras Power Station viewed from Calaveras Lake | |
| |
| Official name | J.T. Deely Power Plant O.W. Sommers Power Plant J.K. Spruce Power Plant |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Bexar County, near San Antonio, Texas |
| Coordinates | 29°18′27″N 98°19′26″W |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | J.T. Deely Power Plant Unit 1: 1977 Unit 2: 1978 O.W. Sommers Power Plant Unit 1: 1972 Unit 2: 1974 J.K. Spruce Power Plant Unit 1: 1992 Unit 2: 2010 |
| Decommission date | J.T. Deely Power Plant Units 1–2: December 31, 2018 |
| Owner(s) | CPS Energy |
| Operator(s) | CPS Energy |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Coal Natural gas |
| Cooling source | Calaveras Lake |
J.T. Deely Power Plant
O.W. Sommers Power Plant
O.W. Sommers is a two unit natural gas power plant with a combined capacity of 892 MW.[1] Unit 1 began commercial generation in 1972 and Unit 2 began in 1974.[2][3] The plant is named after former CPS General Manager, Otto W. Sommers.[4]
J.K. Spruce Power Plant
J.K. Spruce is a two unit coal power plant with a combined capacity of 1,300 MW.[5] Construction of Unit 1 was completed in 1992.[6] The plant is named after former CPS General Manager, Jack Spruce.[7] A LO-NOx burner was installed to Unit 1 in 1999 to reduce nitrogen oxide (NO
x ) emissions.[6] In order to meet future electricity demand, CPS Energy commissioned Unit 2 in 2005 and was completed in 2010 at a cost of $1 billion.[5] The second unit constructed included modern pollution controls such as the installation of a SCR system and flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) system which removed NO
x and sulfur dioxide (SO
2) respectively.[5] According to a report by Synapse Energy Economics, Spruce operated at an estimated loss of $135 million from 2015 to 2016 as depressed natural gas prices made coal uneconomical to operate.[8] Moody's revealed in a 2018 report that a generator issue at Spruce's Unit 2 has made the unit run at less than half its capacity thereby raising the plant's expenses.[9]
See also
References
- "Unit Nears Completion". San Antonio Express. March 1, 1972. p. 14-A. Retrieved June 17, 2018 – via https://www.newspapers.com/.
- "O.W. Sommers To Be Honored". San Antonio Express and News. October 15, 1972. p. Part I Section B Page 9. Retrieved June 17, 2018 – via https://www.newspapers.com/.
- "Power Plant On Calaveras Lake". San Antonio Express and News. December 30, 1973. p. 14-C. Retrieved June 17, 2018 – via https://www.newspapers.com/.
- "New Power Plant Named After CPSB's Sommers". San Antonio Express. November 24, 1970. p. 13-C. Retrieved June 17, 2018 – via https://www.newspapers.com/.
- Peltier, Robert (October 1, 2011). "Top Plant: J.K. Spruce 2, Calaveras Power Station, San Antonio, Texas". Power. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- Peltier, Robert (October 15, 2008). "J.K. Spruce Power Plant, Unit 1, San Antonio, Texas". Power. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- "CPS Energy touts 'clean coal' at new 'Spruce 2' plant". KENS-TV. September 20, 2010. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
- Gibbons, Brendan; Druzin, Rye (September 7, 2017). "Report finds CPS Energy's newest coal plant losing money". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
- Druzin, Rye (April 6, 2018). "Moody's: Newest San Antonio coal plant economically challenged". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved May 12, 2018.