Gibson Generating Station
The power plant is often still referred to by locals as PSI, in reference to its original owner, Public Service Indiana, even when it was owned by Cinergy. The plant's two new 620 ft (190 m) smokestacks are seen in the back, behind its four original 550 ft (170 m) stacks. Units 1-4 and five of the six stacks are shown.
Location of Gibson Generating Station
Country	United States
Location	Montgomery Township, Gibson County, near Owensville, Indiana
Coordinates	38°22′19″N 87°46′02″W / 38.37194°N 87.76722°W / 38.37194; -87.76722Coordinates: 38°22′19″N 87°46′02″W / 38.37194°N 87.76722°W / 38.37194; -87.76722
Status	Active
Commission date	1971-82 under Public Service Indiana
Decommission date	none
Owner(s)	Duke Energy Indiana (2006–present) Cinergy (1995–2006) Public Service Indiana (1971–1995)
Power station information
Primary fuel	Pulverized coal
Generation units	5 General Electric 630 MW turbines

The Gibson Generating Station is a coal-burning power plant located at the northern end of northern Montgomery Township, Gibson County, Indiana, United States. It is close to the Wabash River, just opposite Mount Carmel, Illinois. With a 2009 aggregate capacity among its five units of 3,145 megawatts, it is the largest power plant run by Duke Energy,^[1] the third-largest coal power plant in the world, and the tenth-largest electrical plant in the United States,^[2] and with the closure of Nanticoke Generating Station in 2014, will become the largest coal power plant in North America by generated power. Also on the grounds of the facility is a 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) large man-made lake called Gibson Lake which is used as a cooling pond for the plant. Neighboring the plant is a Duke-owned, publicly accessible access point to the Wabash River near a small island that acts as a wildlife preserve. This is the nearest boat-ramp to Mount Carmel on the Indiana side of the river. Located immediately south of Gibson Lake, the plant's cooling pond, is the Cane Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, the newest unit of the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area. Opened in August 2006, this 26-acre (11 ha) area serves as a nesting ground for the Least Tern, a rare bird. Cane Ridge NWR is reportedly the easternmost nesting ground for the bird in the U.S. The Gibson Generating Station is connected to the power grid via five 345 KV and one 138 KV transmission lines to 79 Indiana counties including the Indianapolis area and a sixth 345 KV line running from GGS to Evansville and Henderson, owned by Vectren and Kenergy.^[3]

History [edit]

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Gibson Generating Station was originally built as a two-unit coal-fired power plant in 1972 by Public Service Indiana (PSI). The 70's saw the addition of Units 3, 4, and 5 in 1982, but only two more stacks. In the 90's, number 4 was separated from number 3's stack and each was given its own stack.

Cinergy took over PSI in 1995. During this time, all five units were fitted with new Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) units, mounted on the back of each unit. During this construction, one of the largest cranes in the world was erected at GGS. Despite this the station only had 4 stacks for 5 units. Units 1 & 2 still shared a single-flued smokestack and Unit 3 was still using the old 3 & 4 smokestack (The two darker smokestacks in the above photograph).

Duke Energy took over Cinergy in May, 2006.

Recent additions [edit]

Work was just recently completed on the plant's two new 620 ft (190 m) smokestacks. The wider two-flue stack is for Units 1 & 2 with a flue for each unit, replacing the older, share-flued smokestack, while the narrower stack is for Unit 3, completely replacing the old 3 & 4 smokestack. All four newer smokestacks (1 & 2, 3, 4, & the older Unit 5) all usually put out a full plume while the older two are now stripped out derelicts pretty much left to nesting cliff birds such as the Peregrin Falcon or the Bald Eagle which are usual residents around the Main Plant Complex.

A series of SCR units have been installed to decrease its NOx emissions, these improvements were completed in 2008 with unit 5 being the last. Several projects are being planned to increase the capacity of the station to as much as 3,750MW.

Unit Information [edit]

Earthquake Effects [edit]

At 4:37:00am CDT (9:37:00 UTC) on April 18, 2008, a 5.2 Richter Scale Earthquake rocked the area. The epicenter was located 7 miles (11 km) northwest of the station in nearby Wabash County, Illinois. Some minor damage was recorded but the only visible effect was that Unit 4 deactivated itself because of its vibration detectors.^[5]

Environmental concerns [edit]

• The lake was closed for fishing in 2006 due to high selenium levels.^[6]
• Unit 4 accidentally released a blue haze that floated for a time over Mount Carmel, as emissions of sulfuric acid descended on the town, aggravating respiratory illnesses and prompting an investigation by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
• There have been undocumented concerns voiced as recently as September 2007 that the plant's ash disposal pits have been leaking boron into the water tables of the area.^[7]

See also [edit]

• List of Generating Stations in Indiana

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Duke Energy - Gibson Generating Station