A bulldozer at TVA’s Bull Run Fossil Plant (Credit: TVA)
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) plans to repurpose its retired Bull Run coal-fired plant with synchronous condensers for grid stability.
As more electricity comes from intermittent renewable energy, maintaining grid stability becomes more challenging as coal plants retire. Synchronous condensers help balance grid inertia by replacing decommissioned power generation equipment, increasing power reliability and redundancy.
TVA is working with Eaton, who will provide the electrical and mechanical solutions needed to convert one machine comprised of two generators into two 605 mega-volt amperes reactive (MVAR) synchronous condensers.
Eaton has worked on similar synchronous condenser design and conversion projects. For example, Eaton worked with FirstEnergy on a conversion project at the utility’s Eastlake, Ohio plant back in 2014.
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When asked if Eaton is seeing increased utility demand for synchronous condenser conversion projects at legacy infrastructure, a company spokesperson told Power Engineering: “There are other synchronous condenser projects in the works – these projects support grid inertia, grid stability and voltage regulation. As more renewables are added to the electricity mix, synchronous condenser projects can provide vital grid support.”
TVA officially closed the Clinton, Tennessee Bull Run plant in late-2023. At the time, the federal utility began evaluating the future use of the site, including the potential options for grid stability, like battery storage or synchronous condensers.
Bull Run was the only single-generator coal-fired power plant in the TVA system before its retirement. When the generator went into operation in 1967, it was the largest in the world in the volume of steam produced. The plant was originally designed to produce up to 950MW with a recent summer net capability to generate up to 765MW, and the unit’s cross-compound turbogenerators from General Electric could produce a yearly total of 6 billion KWh.
After the sharp increase of power demand due to military needs in the 1950s, subsequent non-military demand required additional generation resources near Knoxville, Tennessee. In March 1961, President John F. Kennedy agreed with TVA Chairman Herbert Vogel’s decision to build Bull Run.
Originally published by Kevin Clarke on Factor This Power Engineering.
