PPL Brunner Island

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 334 megawatts of generating capacity. Unit 2, which began commercial operation in 1965, has about 390 megawatts of
generating capacity. Unit 3 came on line in 1969 and has about 759 megawatts of  generating capacity.

A major environmental improvement project will soon be completed at Brunner Island, enabling it to generate electricity with almost no sulfur dioxide emissions and significantly lower mercury emissions. The scrubber for Units 1 and 2 will go into service in fall 2009, part of a three-year project and an $800 million investment in the Brunner Island plant. The Unit 3 scrubber began operating earlier in 2009.

The emissions coming from the stack contain mostly water vapor — the result of the moisture created by the wet scrubber process — and carbon dioxide. Synthetic gypsum, the byproduct of the scrubbing process, will be sold for use in manufacturing wallboard.

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.