History
Hutsonville Power Station was first placed in service April 15, 1940, with a single generating unit capable of producing 31 megawatts of electricity. This was followed 15 months later by a second 31-megawatt unit, which went into service Sept. 1, 1941.
Studies at that time projected growing customer demand for electricity in the late 1940s, prompting plans for a third generating unit at Hutsonville Plant. Construction on that unit began in November 1950 and, before that project was complete, work on a fourth unit at the plant was begun. Unit 3 was placed in service in January 1953. Unit 4 began commercial operation on May 25, 1954.
Units 3 and 4 remain in operation today. Units 1 and 2 were retired in December 1982. The two units generated nearly eight billion kilowatthours during their more than 40 years of service.
Operation
After delivery to the plant, coal eventually travels by conveyor to a hopper, which directs it to pulverizers—where it is ground into the consistency of talcum powder. The powdery coal is blown into the boiler furnace—where it is ignited to generate the heat needed to produce steam required to spin the turbines and generate electricity. At full capacity, the plant’s two coal-fired generators burn more than 65 tons of coal per hour to produce 1.25 million pounds of steam per hour.
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