# Cumberland Fossil Plant

Cumberland Fossil Plant is a pulverized coal-fired power station located west of Cumberland City, Tennessee, US, on the south bank of Lake Barkley on the Cumberland River. Owned and operated by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), it has a gross capacity of 2,470 MW, and is the most powerful power station in Tennessee.

## Description

Commissioned in 1968, the Cumberland Fossil Plant contains two identical units, rated at 1.235 GWe gross each, Units 1 and 2 were launched into service in March and November 1973, respectively. In 2004, the two units accounted for almost 12% of TVA's total electricity generation. As of the mid 2010s, however, TVA's Sequoyah Nuclear Plant near Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, with a slightly lower capacity, was generating more power.
The Cumberland Fossil Plant has two of the tallest chimneys in the world at 1,001 feet (305 m), built in 1970. These chimneys are no longer in use, having been replaced with smaller chimneys connected to the scrubbers.
Bituminous coal is delivered by barges along the Cumberland River waterway. The plant consumes about 20,000 tons of coal a day. All of the waste heat is dumped into Cumberland River water.
On January 10, 2023, TVA announced plans to retire the first unit by the end of 2026 and the second by the end of 2028. The plant is tentatively planned to be replaced with a 1,450 MW combined-cycle natural gas generation plant, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups.

## Pollution and releases into environment

Toxic release inventory from Cumberland power plant for 2005. All quantities are in pounds. :
| Pollutant | Air | Water | Land | Offsite disposal | Total |
| Antimony compounds | 39 | 178 | 8,947 | 0 | 9,164 |
| Arsenic compounds | 182 | 119 | 46,096 | 0 | 46,397 |
| Barium compounds | 142 | 0 | 279,200 | 25 | 279,367 |
| Beryllium compounds | 10 | 0 | 9,952 | 1 | 9,963 |
| Cadmium compounds | | | | | |
| Chromium compounds | 368 | 142 | 87,420 | 7 | 87,937 |
| Cobalt compounds | 63 | 89 | 19,887 | 1 | 20,040 |
| Copper compounds | 286 | 6,798 | 64,120 | 3 | 71,207 |
| Lead compounds | 253 | 0 | 59,122 | 3 | 59,378 |
| Manganese compounds | 558 | 33,864 | 177,130 | 18 | 211,570 |
| Mercury compounds | 240 | 0 | 346 | 0 | 586 |
| Nickel compounds | 516 | 2,504 | 98,180 | 6 | 101,206 |
| Selenium compounds | 2,501 | 2,075 | 6,573 | 0 | 11,149 |
| Silver compounds | | | | | |
| Thallium compounds | 36 | 0 | 30,200 | 2 | 30,239 |
| Vanadium compounds | 290 | 0 | 191,560 | 13 | 191,864 |
| Zinc compounds | 2,006 | 2,447 | 248,070 | 12 | 252,534 |
| Hydrochloric acid (aerosol) | 340,006 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 340,006 |
| Hydrogen fluoride | 72,006 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72,006 |
| Sulfuric acid (aerosol) | 8,793,606 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,793,606 |
| Benzo[ghi]perylene | 0.21 | 0 | 0.65 | 0 | 0.87 |
| Dioxins | 0.008 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.008 |
| Polycyclic aromatic compounds | 49.8 | 0 | 59.2 | 0.0 | 109.0 |
| Naphthalene | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Ammonia | 3,640 | 316 | 0 | 0 | 3,956 |
| Nitrate compounds | 0 | 128,879 | 0 | 0 | 132,407 |

## Environmental protection measures

To reduce sulfur dioxide (SO$_2$) emissions, both units at Cumberland use wet limestone scrubbers. To reduce nitrogen oxides (NO$_x$), the units use low-NO$_x$ burners as well as selective catalytic reduction systems, which were completed in 2004.