Notes from Site Visit at Progress Energy's Cape Fear Steam Electric Plant on October 20, 

2009 

EPA conducted a site visit at Progress Energy’s Cape Fear Steam Electric Plant (Cape Fear) 

located in Moncure, NC on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 to learn about the operations at the plant, 

including the operation of the oil-fired combined cycle units and coal-fired units and the 

handling of the ash generated at the plant. Table 1, located at the end of this memorandum, 

identifies the site visit participants. An overall water balance diagram for the plant is provided as 

Attachment 1. 

This memorandum describes the information collected during the site visit and the pre-site visit 

phone call, which was held on October 14, 2009. 

Plant Overview 

 Cape Fear operates two coal-fired electric generating units. The coal-fired units 

are summarized in the table below. 

Cape Fear Coal-Fired Electric Generating Units 

Unit Installation 

Date 

Gross 

Capacity 

(MW) 

Particulate 

Control NOx Control SO2 Control 

5 1956 150 

Electrostatic 

precipitator (ESP) 

(cold-side) 

Selective noncatalytic 

reduction (SNCR) 

(May 2006) 

None 

6 1958 180 ESP (cold-side) SNCR (May 

2006) None 

 Cape Fear also operates two combined-cycle electric generating units (Units 1 and 

2), each consisting of two oil-fired combustion turbines and one steam turbine. 

The exhaust gases from the combustion turbines are used to generate steam in one 

of two heat recovery steam generators (HRSG). The steam from the HRSG is 

used to turn one of the steam turbines. The table below summarizes information 

on the combined-cycle electric generating units operating at Cape Fear. 
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Cape Fear Combined Cycle Generating Units 

Unit Installation 

Date 

Winter 

Capacity (MW) 

Summer 

Capacity 

(MW) 

Type of Unit 

1 1923 15 11 HRSG 

2 1924 15 11 HRSG 

1A 1969 9 9 Combustion Turbine 

1B 1969 9 9 Combustion Turbine 

2A 1969 9 9 Combustion Turbine 

2B 1969 9 9 Combustion Turbine 

 Units 1 and 2 were initially constructed as coal-fired units in 1923 and 1924, 

respectively. The boilers for Units 1 and 2 were initially retired in 1969. Also in 

1969, Cape Fear installed the four combustion turbines and decided to repower 

the Unit 1 and 2 steam turbines to use in a combined cycle operation with the 

combustion turbines. 

 Units 3 and 4, which are both coal-fired units, were commissioned in the 1940s. 

These two units were removed from service in July 1977. 

 Cape Fear stated that Units 5 and 6 are not considered baseload units, but instead 

are considered “intermediate” units. However, Cape Fear noted that during the 

past three years, Units 5 and 6 have basically been operated as baseload units. 

 Cape Fear stated that the minimum load for Units 5 and 6 is 50 MW for each unit; 

therefore, Cape Fear will shut down the units if the requested output is less than 

50 MWs. 

 Cape Fear uses once-through cooling water to condense the steam associated with 

the coal-fired units and the HRSGs. The plant uses the Cape Fear River as the 

source of the cooling water. The cooling water is transferred to the plant’s 

discharge canal via internal Outfall 003. The discharge canal flows to the Cape 

Fear River where the plant discharges via Outfall 007. Cape Fear stated that 

Outfall 007 is not located at the point where the discharge canal enters into the 

Cape Fear River, but is located 29,568 feet (5.6 miles) upstream of the Cape Fear 

River. 

 Cape Fear also has cooling towers on site to control the temperature of the 

discharge to the Cape Fear River. If the temperature of the discharge canal 

approaches 32°C (90°F), then Cape Fear operates the cooling towers in oncethrough mode to lower the temperature of the discharge. Cape Fear stated that the 

cooling towers are typically operated during the summer months (May through 

September). 

 The Cape Fear plant has 64 employees. 
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Combined-Cycle Electric Generating Units 

 Cape Fear stated that No. 2 fuel oil is the only fuel used in the combustion 

turbines. Cape Fear does not have the capability to burn fuels other than oil in the 

combustion turbines. 

 Cape Fear stores the No. 2 fuel oil in a 500,000 gallon tank. Cape Fear stated that 

the tank contains a 14 day supply of oil under normal operating conditions where 

each of the four turbines runs for 4.5 hours per day. If longer run times are 

required, the oil supply days would be less. 

 Cape Fear stated that the four combustion turbines are “Frame 5” General Electric 

combustion turbines. 

 The combustion turbines are considered “fast start” electric generating units 

because they can be operational in 7 minutes and operating at full load in 10 

minutes. 

 The combustion turbines are operated only during times of peak electricity 

demand. The combustion turbines typically only run for approximately 30 

minutes at a time, which the plant refers to as “peaker runs.” 

 In 2008, each of the combustion turbines operated for a total of approximately 50 

hours during the year. 

 Although the combustion turbines are set up to operate in combination with the 

HRSGs as combined-cycle electric generating units, the combustion turbines can 

be operated in simple-cycle mode. When the combustion turbines operate in 

simple-cycle mode, the plant closes a damper to allow the exhaust gases to bypass 

the HRSG and flow directly to the stack. 

 When the unit operates in combined-cycle mode, the exhaust gas flows through 

the HRSG and transfers its heat to the water system and generates steam. Cape 

Fear stated that it takes approximately two hours to pre-heat the HRSG and get 

the unit online. Because of this long start-up time, the plant uses the HRSGs 

during only rare occasions when the units are expected to be operating for 

extended periods of time, which are during the extreme high (peak summer) 

and/or low (peak winter) temperatures. 

 The HRSG units are each capable of generating 177,000 pounds per hour of 

steam. 

 Cape Fear stated that both the A and B (e.g., 1A and 1B) combustion turbines 

must be operating for the plant to be able to operate the HRSG for the unit. 

 Cape Fear stated that there are no wastewaters generated from the combined cycle 

units other than periodic metal cleaning wastes on the combustion turbines. 

 Cape Fear stated that the combustion turbines do not generate ash or residue. 
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Coal-Fired Generating Units 

 Cape Fear receives its coal via rail. The plant burns bituminous coal in Units 5 

and 6. The sulfur content of the coal is 1.1 to 1.7 lb/MBTU. The ash content of 

the coal is approximately 10 percent. The chlorine content in coal is not a 

parameter Progress Energy Carolinas routinely measures. The standard EPRI 

PISCES database (2005), median chlorine content of bituminous coal is 894 

mg/kg dry wt. (average 952 mg/kg). 

 

 Cape Fear keeps approximately 40 days worth of coal on site. Coal pile runoff 

generated from stormwater that contacts the coal pile is collected in an area near 

the pile and transferred to the plant’s West ash pond (described later in these 

notes). 

 Cape Fear operates a SNCR system on Units 5 and 6. For the SNCR system, the 

plant injects urea directly into the boiler. The SNCRs operate frequently during 

the ozone season (May through September). The plants may operate the SNCRs 

occasionally outside of ozone season if it is needed to meet the plant’s NOx 

limits. 

 In 2006 when the SCNRs were first operated, Cape Fear used ammonia for the 

SNCR injection; however, the plant decided to switch from ammonia to urea 

because urea is safer. Cape Fear noted that they had detected ammonia in the 

West ash pond effluent after the SNCRs began operating. 

 Cape Fear stated that there is a boiler blowdown stream from the two coal-fired 

electric generating units. The boiler blowdown is transferred to the plant’s east 

ash pond. Cape Fear stated that the blowdown has high concentrations of silver. 

Ash Handling System 

 Cape Fear operates wet ash handling systems for both fly ash and bottom ash 

from Units 5 and 6. 

 Cape Fear collects fly ash from Units 5 and 6 with a cold-side ESP. Ash collected 

by the ESPs falls into one of the four hoppers for the unit. The plant has two 

hopper “trains”, one for Unit 5 and one for Unit 6. Each “train” has four hoppers. 

The economizer ash and ESP ash are collected in separate hoppers. The ash in 

each hopper, one at a time, is released into the ash sluice line which flows to the 

ash pond.

 Dry ash from the hoppers is combined into one dry fly ash header pipe. A 

hydroveyor pulls vacuum on the dry ash and mixes it with water. Cape Fear stated 

that the hydroveyor uses plant water to generate a vacuum as a result of the 

Venturi effect. The vacuum pulls fly ash from the hoppers into the flowing water. 
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 After the hydroveyor, the sluiced ash flows into an air separator. The air separator 

is a cylindrical tank that rotates the sluiced ash like a centrifuge, separating the air 

from the mixture. 

 Cape Fear then combines the sluiced fly ash with the bottom ash and pumps the 

ash mixture to the East ash pond. 

 Progress Energy stated that they have a committee that has/is investigating 

whether to install a dry fly ash handling system at Cape Fear and the other 

Progress Energy plants. The following factors affect the decision to install the dry 

fly handling system at Cape Fear: 

 Lack of available space for dry ash silos and piping; 

 Issues associated with transportation of dry fly ash to solid waste disposal 

(Cape Fear does not have a landfill); 

 Cape Fear’s ponds are not lined and therefore do not have a leachate 

collection system; and 

 Capital cost of the ash handling system. 

 Cape Fear stated that the bottom and fly ash are sluiced to the ash ponds once per 

shift. The plant has two shifts per day. 

Ash Ponds 

 Cape Fear has three inactive ash ponds on site. The inactive ash ponds started 

receiving wastes in 1956, 1960, and 1963. All three inactive ash ponds are now 

covered by thick vegetation and forest. Cape Fear stated that they did not receive 

guidance from regulatory officials on how to close these ponds and, therefore, the 

plant did not cap the ponds. The vegetation and forest just occurred naturally 

over the pond wastes. Cape Fear’s records are unclear when each of these ponds 

stop receiving wastewater, but standard practice at that time was to direct the ash 

sluice to the “new” pond upon completion. Therefore, the best supposition would 

be the 1956 pond stopped receiving ash sluice in 1960, the 1960 pond stopped 

receiving ash sluice in 1963, and the 1963 pond stopped receiving ash sluice in 

1978. 

 Cape Fear has two active ash ponds, the east and west ash ponds. 

 The west ash pond began operation in 1978 and receives stormwater, low-volume 

wastes, and coal-pile runoff. Low volume wastes from the plant are sent to a 

retention basin with an oil-water separator prior to being transferred to the west 

ash pond. 

 The east ash pond began operation in 1985 and receives fly and bottom ash. The 

east ash pond has an estimated footprint of approximately 58 acres. 

 The east ash pond has a dike that runs across the middle of the pond that 

essentially breaks the pond into two separate cells for the pond. All water enters 

in the first cell and overflows into the second cell. The plant has an alum addition 

system at the point of overflow from the first cell of the east ash pond to the 
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second cell. Cape Fear noted that the system would be used to increase the 

settling in the pond, but they haven’t started using the system yet. Progress 

Energy stated that there is a similar alum system at the Sutton plant. 

 The east ash pond outer dike was constructed with clay. The inner dike is 

constructed with dredged ash. Cape Fear dredges and restacks the ash in the east 

ash pond approximately once every week. 

 Cape Fear stated that they are considering increasing the height of the east ash 

pond embankment/dike to increase the pond’s capacity. Additionally, the plant is 

considering dredging the east ash pond and putting the ash in the west ash pond. 

 Cape Fear stated that the retention time through both active ponds (east and west) 

is approximately 5-7 days. 

 The west ash pond overflows into the discharge canal via internal Outfall 001. 

The east ash pond overflows into the discharge canal via internal Outfall 005. 

 Both the east and west ash ponds overflow continuously to the discharge canal. 

 Cape Fear stated that they do not recycle the effluent of the ash ponds for reuse in 

the plant because of plant design, low quantity of effluent, and the availability of 

other better quality water. 

 None of the ponds at Cape Fear (including the inactive ponds) were constructed 

with synthetic lining materials or leachate collection systems. 

 Cape Fear is currently conducting structural integrity studies on the west ash 

pond. Cape Fear recently hired a contractor to perform dike slope stability 

inspections. The contractor is drilling bore holes into the dike to determine the 

composition throughout the depth of the dike. 

 Cape Fear stated that both the east and west ash ponds are also inspected routinely 

by plant personnel. These inspections consist of looking for animal patches, 

excessive vegetation, and other parameters of pond integrity around the perimeter 

of the pond. Cape Fear stated that they are not performing any routine inspections 

on the interior (bottom) of the ponds. The routine inspections are typically 

performed on a monthly basis. 

 Cape Fear has six groundwater monitoring wells around the perimeter of the ash 

ponds. Cape Fear analyzes the groundwater for metals semi-annually from all six 

wells. The groundwater monitoring report from March 2007, December 2007, 

April 2008, December 2008, and June 2009 are included as Attachment 2 of this 

memorandum. 
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Metal Cleaning Wastes 

 Cape Fear performs metal cleaning operations on the combustion turbine units 

when the system performance starts to degrade. Cape Fear stated that the last two 

metal cleaning operations were performed in 2003 and 2008. 

 Cape Fear stated that metal cleaning consists of washing the compressor blades 

with water and a non-corrosive detergent (Zok-27). The detergent is mixed and 

pumped into the inlet of the compressor. After the detergent is given sufficient 

time to contact the compressor blades, the wastewater is pumped to drums for 

storage. Approximately 150 gallons of wastewater are generated each time the 

plant performs a metal cleaning operation on all four combustion turbines. 

 A waste disposal company, Shamrock Environmental, tests the metal cleaning 

wastewater for heavy metals. Cape Fear stated that the metal cleaning wastewater 

has always been classified by Shamrock as non-hazardous. Shamrock then ships 

the wastewater off site for treatment. 

 Cape Fear has a control room which monitors the temperature and other 

operational parameters of the combustion turbines. If the oil lube temperature for 

the combustion turbines reaches 170°C, then the system will automatically shut 

down. To prevent the unit from shutting down, the combustion turbine operator 

can mitigate the temperature by spraying water on the exterior of the turbines’ 

radiators to aid in the cooling. This water does not come into direct contact with 

radiator cooling water. The spray water is then collected by sumps, processed 

through an oil/water separator, and transferred to the east ash pond. Unlike the 

spray water, the radiator cooling water is in a closed system. 

 Air preheater washes are performed once a year on the coal-fired units. The wash 

water is collected and transferred to the east ash pond. Approximately 4,000,000 

gallons of wastewater are generated from each air preheater wash. This process 

typically takes 30 hours to complete. 

 Cape Fear cleans both the waterside and fireside of the boiler tubes for the coalfired units. For the fire-side cleanings, Cape Fear uses high pressure water to 

remove residue from the tubes. Cape Fear stated that the fire-side cleanings occur 

approximately every 18 months. Approximately 700,000 gallons of wastewater 

are generated from each fire-side boiler cleaning. This process typically takes 5 

hours to complete. 

 For the water-side cleanings, Cape Fear uses an EDTA solution to clean the boiler 

tubes. Cape Fear stated that this cleaning occurs approximately every 10 to 12 

years. The wastewater from the cleaning is evaporated in the boiler. 

Approximately 122,796 gallons of wastewater are generated from each water-side 

boiler cleaning. The wastewater is collected in frac tanks and then evaporated in 

the boiler. 
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Table 1. Site Visit Attendees 

Name Organization (Representing) Telephone E-mail Leigh Barr Cape Fear (919) 774-5208 leigh.barr@pgnmail.coLeon Johnson Cape Fear (919) 812-8218 leon.johnson@pgnmailHershell McCarty Cape Fear (919) 744-5200 hershell.mccarty@pgnmDave Phipps Cape Fear (919) 774-5260 david.phipps2@pgnmaDanny Wimberly Cape Fear (919) 774-5238 danny.wimberly@pgnmRobin Bryson Progress Energy (919) 546-3962 robin.bryson@pgnmailFred Holt Progress Energy (919) 546-5286 fred.holt@pgnmail.com Donna Hill UWAG (205) 257-5234 dbhill@southernco.com Jezebele AliceaVirella EPA/Office of Water (202) 566-1755 alicea.jezebele@epa.goJosh Hall EPA/Office of Water (202) 566-1003 hall.josh@epa.gov Kurt Blohm ERG (Contractor to EPA) (703) 633-1675 kurtis.blohm@erg.com TJ Finseth ERG (Contractor to EPA) (703) 633-1698 thomas.finseth@erg.co

 Note: Although Leigh Barr and Hershell McCarty were at Cape Fear Plant at the time of the site visit, they are no