PPL Brunner Island
|
At a Glance
|
- Wago Road, York Haven, PA 17370
- 1,490-megawatt generating capacity
- Coal-fired
- 100 percent PPL ownership
|
Brunner Island is a three-unit, coal-fired plant located on the west bank of the Susquehanna River in East Manchester Township, York County, Pa., about 15 miles downstream from Harrisburg, Pa.
The plant has about 240 full-time employees (figure adjusted for seasonal workload) and is owned by a subsidiary of PPL Generation.
Unit 1 began commercial operation in 1961; it has about 325 megawatts of generating capacity. Unit 2, which began commercial operation in 1965, has about 384 megawatts of generating capacity. Unit 3 came on line in 1969 and has about 781 megawatts of generating capacity.
A major environmental improvement project, completed in fall 2009, enables Brunner Island to generate electricity with almost no sulfur dioxide emissions and significantly lower mercury emissions. Scrubbers, environmental controls that significantly reduce sulfur dioxide emissions, were installed on all three units of the power plant and began operating in 2009.
In April 2010, operators at the Brunner Island power plant began using innovative new cooling towers to help the plant protect aquatic life by reducing the temperature of water discharges to the Susquehanna River.
The $100 million investment in the cooling towers is one of the more visible projects among several that improved the plant’s overall environmental performance. In addition to the cooling towers and the scrubbers, the plant recently completed the installation of new treatment facilities for wastewater from the scrubbers; and new electrostatic precipitators at Units 2 and 3 to reduce particulate emissions.
Combined, these projects represent an investment of more than $860 million on new pollution controls at the plant, which generates enough electricity each year to power about 1 million typical homes.
On March 10, 2003, Brunner Island achieved "Star" certification in the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program. The plant was recertified in June 2006.
The program recognizes companies that go beyond compliance to protect worker health and safety. The VPP Star certification is the highest safety recognition given within the program.
Brunner Island is a popular fishing spot.
To learn more, visit PPL Brunner Island's Web page.