Killen Station was a 618 megawatt (MW) dual-fuel power generating facility located east of Wrightsville, Ohio in Adams County, Ohio. The power plant had two units: one coal-fired and one oil-fired. At the time of its closure, it was operated by AES Ohio Generation, a subsidiary of the AES Corporation. The plant began operations in 1982 and ceased generation on May 31, 2018.

Killen Station
Killen Station in 2017 viewed from U.S. Route 52
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationMonroe Township, Adams County, near Wrightsville, Ohio
Coordinates38°41′30″N 83°28′47″W / 38.69167°N 83.47972°W / 38.69167; -83.47972
StatusDecommissioned
Commission dateUnit 2: April, 1982
Oil Unit GT2: June, 1982
Decommission dateMay 31, 2018
Owner(s)AES Ohio Generation (67%)
Dynegy (33%)
Operator(s)AES Generation Ohio
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Oil
Cooling sourceOhio River
Power generation
Nameplate capacity618 MW
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons

History edit

Construction of Killen Station began in 1974 and commenced commercial generation in 1982 at a cost of $588 million.[1][2] The plant was named after Robert B. Killen, a former chairman of Dayton Power & Light (DP&L).[3] A second coal unit was planned, but was cancelled in 1980 after estimates for electric use in the next decade were revised showing demand stagnating.[4] Killen's coal unit was retrofitted with a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system between 2003 and 2004 by Black & Veatch. The SCR was installed to comply with the Clean Air Act's 1990 amendments and Ohio's NOx State Implementation Plan (SIP).[5] Flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) equipment, designed by the Chiyoda Corporation, was installed at Killen in 2007 to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions.[6] In August 2014, Duke Energy sold its stake in the coal unit to Dynegy.[7] Operations at Killen were transferred from DP&L to AES Ohio Generation in October 2017.[8]

Closure edit

DP&L announced plans in March 2017 to close Killen Station along with its sister plant J.M. Stuart Station due to economic and environmental challenges in an agreement with the Sierra Club and several unnamed parties.[9] The commercial generation of Killen ceased on May 31, 2018.[10] In December 2019, DP&L sold the site to Kingfisher Development for remediation and redevelopment.[11]

Incidents edit

A worker was killed in August 1984 after getting pinned in a coal chute.[12]

A worker died in June 1994 from hyperthermia after attempting to rescue workers stranded in the plant's 900 feet (270 m) smokestack.[13][14]

On December 9, 2020, contractors were working to prepare the site for demolition. At around 8:30 A.M. the primary building collapsed injuring several and trapping others. Three workers were rescued from the collapse. Three days later, one worker was found dead[15][16][17] and on January 8, 2021, thirty days after the collapse, the final worker's body was recovered.[18]

Archaeological site edit

 
Adena burial mound is located on the plant's site. Shown here where the clump of trees are behind the isolated tree in front.

The lands owned by DP&L for Killen Station contain two archaeological sites that date back to the Adena and Fort Ancient cultures. To prevent the sites from being disturbed during construction of the power plant, the Ohio Historical Society applied to the Department of the Interior to include Wamsley Village and an Adena burial mound on the National Register of Historic Places.[19] Both listings were added to the National Register in 1974.[20][21] Archeology was conducted at Wamsley Village and the mound. The archeologists discovered a number of artifacts and burials.[22] These sites remain preserved today.[19]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Gouch, John (December 19, 1980). "Zimmer, Killen Operation Delays Blamed On Federal Regulations". The Daily Advocate. p. 1. Retrieved April 13, 2018 – via https://newspaperarchive.com/. {{cite web}}: External link in |via= (help)
  2. ^ Schutte, John (April 1, 1982). "DP&L's new Killen Station means likely boost in rates". The Daily Gazette. p. 1. Retrieved April 13, 2018 – via https://newspaperarchive.com/. {{cite web}}: External link in |via= (help)
  3. ^ "Former DP&L President Dead at 88". Dayton Daily News. May 9, 2002. p. 4E. Retrieved January 14, 2018 – via https://www.newsbank.com/. {{cite news}}: External link in |via= (help)
  4. ^ "2 Ohio utilities delay power plant building, cite lower demand". The Plain Dealer. September 20, 1980. p. 18A. Retrieved January 14, 2018 – via https://www.newsbank.com/. {{cite news}}: External link in |via= (help)
  5. ^ "Black & Veatch completing SCR project for Dayton Power & Light". Power Engineering. January 31, 2003. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (June 7, 2007). "Scrubber project completed at Killen Station". The Ledger Independent. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  7. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (August 22, 2014). "Duke Energy selling interest in Stuart and Killen Stations". The Ledger Independent. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  8. ^ Gnau, Thomas (September 22, 2017). "300 DPL employees to be transfered [sic] to AES Ohio Generation". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  9. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (March 20, 2017). "DP&L determined to close J.M. Stuart and Killen power plants". The Ledger Independent. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  10. ^ "DPL Inc. Announces the Retirement of the J.M. Stuart and Killen Station Power Plants". Business Wire. May 31, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  11. ^ Gnau, Thomas (December 16, 2019). "DPL prepares to sell two Adams County power plants". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  12. ^ "Man Killed in Power Plant Accident". Lexington Herald-Leader. August 19, 1984. p. C19. Retrieved January 14, 2018 – via https://www.newsbank.com/. {{cite news}}: External link in |via= (help)
  13. ^ Bonfield, Tim (June 17, 1994). "Hot, yes, but whew, is it ever moldy!". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. A8. Retrieved April 12, 2018 – via https://www.newspapers.com. {{cite news}}: External link in |via= (help)
  14. ^ Hannah v. Dayton Power & Light Co., 97 St.3d 783 (OH 1998).
  15. ^ Dykes, Todd (December 10, 2020). "As efforts continue to find 2 missing workers, past incident involving demolition company back in focus". WLWT. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  16. ^ Democrat, News (December 9, 2020). "Killen Plant collapses with workers inside". News Democrat. Retrieved December 9, 2020. {{cite news}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
  17. ^ Knight, Cameron. "Killen Generating Station: One of three workers trapped in Adams County building collapse found". The Enquirer. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  18. ^ "Body of missing man located 30 days after Adams County power plant collapse". WLWT. December 14, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Whitlatch, E. Earl; Aldrich, John A. (August 1980). Energy Facility Siting Procedures Criteria And Public Participation In The Ohio River Basin Energy Study Region (Report). EPA. pp. 60–61. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  20. ^ "Wamsley Village Site". National Park Service. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  21. ^ "Dayton Power and Light Company Mound". National Park Service. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  22. ^ Purtill, Matthew (2012). A Persistent Place: A Landscape Approach to the Prehistoric Archaeology of the Greenlee Tract in Southern Ohio. Lulu.com. p. 9. ISBN 978-1105873232.

External links edit