The Paradise Fossil Plant is near Drakesboro, Ky.LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Tennessee Valley Authority coal-fired power plant in western Kentucky that is undergoing expensive pollution control upgrades has been named a top polluter by an environmental watchdog group.
The report Thursday from the Environmental Integrity Project said the TVA Paradise Fossil Plant near Drakesboro emitted 1,505 pounds of arsenic, 1,907 pounds of lead and 1,409 pounds of chromium in 2011. The plant was third on the group’s metal emissions list that used the most recent data available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The 2,200-megawatt plant is the largest in Kentucky by wattage output.
TVA spent $500 million to upgrade the scrubbers on the plant’s generating units 1 and 2, a project that was completed in 2012. The EPA figures used in the survey do not include the plant’s emissions since the upgrades were finished.
TVA officials invited reporters to the Paradise plant in May 2011 to show some of the upgrade work being performed.