Final coal barge arrives at Plant Watson

For almost 47 years, tugboats have pushed barges loaded with coal from the Port of Mobile through the Gulf of Mexico to Biloxi Bay and into the canal leading to Plant Watson in Gulfport. On Feb. 19, that came to an end when the final coal barge arrived at the plant’s dock.

Mississippi Power announced in August 2014 that Plant Watson would begin using natural gas exclusively by April 16, 2015, in order to comply with new federal environmental guidelines, making this coal shipment the last that will be used to generate power at the plant

“This is a milestone for Plant Watson and for Mississippi Power since Watson was the company’s first generating facility to use coal to generate electricity,” said Allen Reaves, vice president of Generation and senior production officer. “Repowering Plant Watson to natural gas has been part of Mississippi Power’s resource planning for some time to ensure we meet or exceed the environmental standards set by state and federal governments.”

By switching to all natural gas at Watson, the company will meet the requirements of EPA’s Mercury Air Toxics Standards and will bring a significant reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions as well as decreased nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emissions.

“While the conversion to natural gas avoids the expense of adding additional environmental controls to meet new EPA requirements, it does increase the company’s dependence on natural gas as a fuel source as all five units on-site will now be gas-fired,” Reaves said. “This underscores the importance of the Kemper County energy facility, which will use Mississippi lignite to produce power and help us maintain a diverse fuel mix and more stable prices for our customers.”