Millsboro, DE: 1957,1980 446mw Indian River Power Plant

(Satellite)

"Unit 1: 81.6 MW (1957), Unit 2: 81.6 MW (1959), Unit 3: 176.8 MW (1970), Unit 4: 445.5 MW (1980)   Units 1-2 were shut down in 2013, and unit 3 in 2014."Ash disposal has been a problem. Delmarva Power had planned to buy power from a 630mw Unit 5, but in 2007 the state order the utility to buy the power from an offshore wind project instead. At least no assets were stranding in this case.  [gem]

Timothy Coster, Feb 2022

Rick Barbye posted two photos. [These are coal pulverizers.]

Rick Barbye: Indian River, DE

Joseph Malinosky: Do these have balls or wheels to crush the coal?

Rick Barbye: Joseph Malinosky Steel balls about the size of a basketball.

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Casey Moorman, Sep 2020, cropped

I noticed in the satellite image that this plant has a different cooling technique. I wonder how it works.

Digitally Zoomed

CapeGazette, Mar 3, 2023
The plant was scheduled to be closed in 2022. Additional transmission lines to allow the closure are not expected until Dec 2026. Windfarms are still going through the environmental impact statement dance.

DelawareOnline
This is Delaware's only remaining coal-fired power plant. "The enhancements required include rebuilding or upgrading four transmission lines and three substations in the Delmarva area." The average customer electric bill is expected to go up by $6.45 per month to pay for the new transmission capacity and to keep an unprofitable plant running. "The Indian River Power Plant uses the Bailey Mine in Pennsylvania as its source for coal."

When the plant was built, an industrial spur was built to join with the Pennsy with a wye. The Pennsy route is now owned by the Maryland and Delaware Railroad (MDDE).

mdde

Actually, this map shows that the power plant is connected to DCR (Delmarva Central).

mdde_sites

In fact, it is the Indian River Sub of  the DCR. 

CarloadExpress

Taking a closer look at the USGS map, I missed that the ownership of the route changes at the wye. Although the label of Conrail instead of DCR is a mistake. Norfolk Southern retaining ownership of the industrial spur explains why I saw somewhere that NS has haulage rights on the DCR.

DCR "was created in 2016 to take over Norfolk Southern lines on the Delmarva Peninsula. The DCR expanded by taking over part of the Bay Coast Railroad in 2018 and the Delaware Coast Line Railroad in 2019." [RailroadFan]

USGS

Rick Barbye posted two photos.

Rick Barbye: Indian River, DE.

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Gary Diefendorff commented on Rick's post
Well this isn’t the right use of parts from a B&W Type E pulverizer but this is what happens to the roof of a station wagon when a B&W pulverizer ball is fired from a home made mortar.

0:21 video
[Why did it stop. It needed to rotate further.]