Widows Creek Fossil Plant Celebrates 50 Years of Service
September 12, 2002
STEVENSON, Ala. — TVA’s Widows Creek Fossil Plant, which generates about nine billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year — enough to supply 650,000 homes — is celebrating 50 years of service to Stevenson, Alabama, and the Tennessee Valley.
The first six units at the 1,750-megawatt plant were built between 1952 and 1954, when the Korean Conflict was pushing up power demand and the TVA peak load had increased 12 to 15 percent a year over a period of five years. Units 7 and 8 were added in 1961 and 1965 as the demand for power in the Tennessee Valley continued to grow at more than 5 percent per year.
“We are proud to be a part of this community for the past 50 years,” said Widows Creek Plant Manager Doug Finke. “I commend our employees for doing their part to meet customers’ needs with affordable, reliable power and to ensure that our plant is environmentally responsible.”
Over the years, TVA has spent more than $160 million on emission controls at the plant, including installing some of the earliest scrubbers in the country on Units 7 and 8 to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions.
TVA is committed to even more emission reductions at Widows Creek. Selective catalytic reduction equipment is currently being installed on Units 7 and 8 to further remove emissions of nitrogen oxide during the summer ozone season. The equipment is scheduled to be in operation in 2003 and 2004.
About 450 employees work at the plant, which has a payroll of about $23 million. Widows Creek employees are very active in the local community. A local employee charity, the Helping Hands Committee, gives about $10,000 per year to help needy families. Helping Hands also provides Christmas presents to more than 70 children each year.
Widows Creek is a major sponsor of the Exceptional Olympics each year at North Jackson High School in Stevenson. Between 75 and 100 Widows Creek Fossil Plant employees participate as hug buddies, judges, and support personnel for the 200 to 300 children who participate.
Widows Creek is also one of the corporate sponsors for the DARE Program for the 500 fifth graders in the area. DARE, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is a national anti-drug, anti-violence program in school systems.
Through TVA’s Partners in Education program, Widows Creek provides approximately $4,000 per year in funds plus labor for various maintenance projects at local schools. Widows Creek is also a corporate sponsor of REAP, the Recreational Education Activities Program, which serves 20 to 25 kids in the area.
“We are especially proud of the way employees have supported the everyday success of the Stevenson area,” Finke said. “We look forward to continuing our service in this community.”
TVA is the nation’s largest public power producer, and its power system is self-financed. TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve 8.3 million consumers in seven southeastern states.
Media Contact:
Judy Elb, Chattanooga (423-751-3180) or TVA News Bureau, Knoxville (865-632-6000)
