Fayette Power Project (FPP) is a three-unit, coal-fired power plant in 

Fayette County, Texas. LCRA and Austin Energy co-own units 1 and 

2, and LCRA owns Unit 3. The plant provides about 1,625 megawatts 

of electricity and helps LCRA and its wholesale electric customers 

provide power for more than 1 million Central Texans.

Fuel Source: FPP uses low-sulfur coal from the Powder River Basin of 

Wyoming, which burns cleaner than other types of coal or lignite. The 

coal is delivered by rail. 

Emissions: LCRA has taken steps to upgrade and operate FPP more 

efficiently so it produces fewer emissions per kilowatt-hour. FPP has a 

history of operating in an environmentally responsible manner. 

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

o LCRA and Austin Energy invested about $400 million to add 

flue-gas desulfurization equipment or “scrubbers” that are 

removing more than 95 percent of SO2 emissions from the 

plant’s two older units, which have been in operation since 

1979 and 1980. 

o The scrubber for Unit 1 became operational in January 2011. 

The scrubber for Unit 2 came on-line in March 2011.

o In addition, LCRA in spring 2012 completed upgrading the 

scrubber on Unit 3, which was included when the unit was built 

in 1988.

o Residents and passers-by will see plumes of water vapor from 

the scrubber chimney for units 1 and 2 and the chimney for 

Unit 3. That means the scrubbers are doing their job of 

removing almost all of the sulfur dioxide emissions from the 

plant.

Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)

o In 2005, FPP completed improvements to the boilers on each 

of the plant’s three units to reduce plantwide NOx emissions by 

65 to 70 percent, a goal that the facility met six years before it 

was required.

Fayette Power Project

Efficient, Reliable, Environmentally Responsible

Reliable and 

Efficient

International 

benchmarking 

studies have shown 

FPP operations are 

among the best in 

its peer group. FPP 

has been 

recognized for high 

performance in 

safety, reliability, 

cost, efficiency and 

continuous 

operation. 

Environmentally 

Responsible

LCRA and its 

customers are 

committed to 

providing power in 

an environmentally 

responsible 

manner. Emissionreduction scrubbers 

help the plant 

maintain its position 

among the cleaner 

coal-fired power 

plants currently 

operating in Texas. 
Mercury (Hg)

o The scrubbers on units 1, 2 and 3 are removing about 20 to 25 percent of 

mercury emissions from each unit.

o LCRA is in the process of installing technology to further reduce mercury 

emissions. The process will enable LCRA to meet new U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for allowable 

limits of mercury and particulate matter. Particulate matter includes both 

solid particles and liquid droplets found in emissions.

o Once the project is complete, LCRA expects at least 80 percent of mercury 

will be removed from the flue-gas of each of the three coal-fired units at 

FPP. LCRA is on target to complete the project to meet the EPA 

compliance deadline of April 2015.

Coal Combustion Products and Storage 

Storage: FPP uses a dry process for storage, processing and disposal for all of the 

ash produced in the coal-burning process. In 2012, FPP closed the ash pond where it 

had stored a portion of the coal combustion products before the power plant

transitioned to a dry system. FPP no longer uses the ash pond for storage. 

Recycling: Most of the coal combustion products from FPP are recycled and used 

for products such as cement, ready-mix concrete, road base, wallboard and other 

construction materials. 

 FPP uses an external contractor to market coal combustion products and has sold 

more than 3.9 million tons of these products since 2001.

 Over the past 12 years, FPP has sold an average of 85 percent of the total 

products it produced. 

 During some years, the plant has been able to sell more than 100 percent of the 

products produced by pulling from previously stored resources. 

 Due to economic conditions and the effect on the construction industry, sales 

dropped to an average of 71 percent during the 24 months ending December 

2012.

 The coal combustion products recycling program at FPP received a national Coal 

Combustion Products Partnership award in 2005. 

Community Involvement: Most of the plant’s employees live in the Fayette County 

region. FPP serves the community by making its used-oil collection center open to 

the public, participating in an annual park clean-up event and providing holiday meals 

for families that might otherwise go without.