Turning Coal To Power

Turning Coal To Power. . , The Mining Process , Coal is mined by one of two methods - underground or surface., Coal 200 feet or more below the surface usually is extracted using the underground method. Shallower deposits and those along hillsides are surfaced mined. Both processes use high-tech sophisticated equipment and highly skilled workers., The coal located beneath Central Ohio Coal Company land was surface mined, which generally is the least expensive and most productive method of removing coal from the ground. Surface mining begins with the harvest of timber. Then bulldozers clear and level the area. Bulldozers and scrapers remove topsoil, which is stored for future use or used immediately in the reclamation of areas already mined., Generation , Turning coal into electricity starts with mining the land. The coal is then cleaned and delivered to the generating plant by overland conveyor, truck, rail or river barge. Moved into the plant by conveyors, the coal is pulverized to a powder or crushed to particles and injected into boilers where it burns to heat water into steam. The steam is routed to a turbine that drives a generator, producing electricity. The power then flows through high- voltage transmission lines from the plant to distant substations where it is transformed to a lower voltage for distribution to individual homes and businesses. Electricity is a product that cannot be stored and must be generated as needed by customers. Flip on a switch, and at the speed of light, you get electricity just converted from coal., How It Works , At Muskingum River Plant, coal used to fuel the plant's five generating units is delivered to the plant and placed in storage piles until it is needed. As customers demand electricity, coal is moved into the plant from the coal yard (1) by conveyor (2). On units 1 and 2, pulverizes (3) grind the coal into a talcum powder-like consistency. On units 3 and 4, coal is crushed to pea size for the cyclones (4). The pulverized where it burns at high temperatures to turn water circulating in the boilers to steam. The steam is routed to the turbine (6) where it turns blades, much like the wind turns a windmill. The spinning turbine drives a generator (7) that produces electricity at 24,000 volts. From the generator, the electricity is sent to transformers (8) outside the plant, converted to 138,000 or 345,000 volts and transmitted efficiently by wire onto the AEP System for distribution., Blasting , Large electric or crawler-type blast-hole drills like this Marion M-3 drill through the overburden- the dirt and rock above the coal seam. The holes are loaded with explosives that are discharged to fragment the rock and cast much of the overburden to the previous cut., Exposing The Coal , Giant electric-powered shovels or drag-lines clear away the remaining overburden to expose the coal. Smaller shovels or mobile front-end loaders scoop up the coal and load it on trucks or the electric train for transport to the preparation plant for cleaning before it is shipped to generating facilities. Here the Marion 8750 Drag-line operates while a Bucyrus-Erie 295 shovel loads rock trucks in the foreground., Rail Transport , A Cat 992 loader specially equipped with a 23 yard coal bucket loads rail cars headed for the prep plant., Overland Conveyor , Aerial view of overland conveyor from Central Ohio Coal Company to Muskingum River Plant near the Ohio communities of Beverly and Waterford., Muskingum River Power Plant , A right view of the Muskingum River Plant as seen along state Route 60 across the river from the plant., America's Energy , American Electric Power has been providing electricity since 1907. AEP is a multinational energy company based in Columbus, Ohio. AEP owns and operates more than 26,000 megawatts of generating capacity, making it one of America's largest generators of electricity. The company also is a leading wholesale energy marketer and trader, ranking second in the U.S. in electricity volume. AEP provides retail electricity to more than 5.4 million customers worldwide and has more than $64 billion in assets, primarily in the U.S., with holdings in select international markets. Wholly owned subsidiaries are involved in power engineering and construction services, energy management and telecommunications.