User:Ellisba/sandbox

= Copy/Paste of Paradise Fossil Plant =

History
Paradise is located near the site of the former town of Paradise, Kentucky on the Green River. Units 1 and 2, each with a capacity of 741 megawatts, began operation in 1963. Unit 3, with a capacity of 1,150 MW began operations in 1970. Paradise contains three natural draft cooling towers, and is the only TVA coal plant with cooling towers.

The plant was razed by the TVA in 1967 over concerns that ash and other plant emissions would damage residents' health. A barge unloading facility was constructed in 1985 so that coal could be delivered via barge, as well as by train and truck.

The plants two original coal-fired generating units were shut down in favor of two natural gas plants that were brought online for commercial production April 7, 2017.

A final environmental assessment prepared by the Tennessee Valley Authority concluded that the adverse environmental impacts of these fossil plants outweighed the need for them in this community; therefore it was necessary to close them.

In August 2018, TVA began studying the possibility of closing the remaining unit at Paradise. On February 14, 2019, the TVA board of directors voted 5-2 to shut down Paradise Unit 3 by December 2020, as well as Bull Run near Oak Ridge, Tennessee in 2023. This decision came following intense lobbying by the Trump Administration and Kentucky governor Matt Bevin to keep the plant open. President and Chief Executive, Bill Johnson, of the TVA says that the closing of Paradise 1 and 2 will save consumers approximately $320 million.

The retirement of Paradise Fossil Plants 1 and 2 has reduced the coal consumption by nearly half in Muhlenberg County, Tennessee. According to TVA data displayed online, the Authority is making huge strides in cleaning up the emissions coming from their fossil fuel combustion facilities. Graphs and data from the TVA suggest that emissions in Sulfur Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxides and Carbon Dioxide have all dropped dramatically since the mid 1970's.

In 1971, singer/songwriter John Prine, whose father was from Paradise, released a recording of his song about the town, which said "Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away." Peabody Coal Co. was one of two coal firms that strip mined the area around the town and plant.