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Herbert A. Wagner Generating Station

Coordinates: 39°10′43″N 76°31′37″W / 39.17861°N 76.52694°W / 39.17861; -76.52694
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Herbert A. Wagner Generating Station
H.A. Wagner (center, on the water) and Brandon Shores Generating Stations, with Francis Scott Key Bridge
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationAnne Arundel County, Maryland
Coordinates39°10′43″N 76°31′37″W / 39.17861°N 76.52694°W / 39.17861; -76.52694
StatusOperational
Commission dateUnit 1: February, 1956
Unit 2: January, 1959
Unit 3: August, 1966
Unit 4: August, 1972
OwnerTalen Energy June 2015 - Present
Thermal power station
Primary fuelResidual fuel oil, bituminous coal, natural gas
Turbine technologySteam turbine
Cooling sourceChesapeake Bay
Power generation
Nameplate capacity1,040 MWe
External links
WebsiteTalen Energy
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The Herbert A. Wagner Generating Station is an electric generating station located in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, just east of Glen Burnie, and is operated by the Raven Power Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Talen Energy.

Talen Energy had committed to converting the coal-fired units to alternate fuels by 2025 and completed converting H.A. Wagner's active coal-fired units to run on oil in 2024.[1] However, in 2023, Talen announced they would retire the plant, despite grid operator PJM Interconnection finding that this "would adversely affect the reliability of the system."[2] On January 27, 2025, Talen announced that it, PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”), and a broad coalition of the Maryland Public Service Commission, Maryland customers, and electric utilities, agreed on the terms by which Talen will operate its Brandon Shores and H.A. Wagner power plants until May 31, 2029, beyond their scheduled May 31, 2025 retirement dates. The agreement, colloquially called a “reliability-must-run” or “RMR” agreement, is intended to provide the power necessary to maintain grid and transmission reliability in and around the City of Baltimore until necessary transmission upgrades to provide reliable power to the area from other sources are complete. The RMR agreement is pending FERC approval.

The station shares a 483-acre (195 ha) site adjacent to the Patapsco River with the Brandon Shores Generating Station. The Brandon Shores plant dominates the site with its 700-foot (210 m) exhaust and 400-foot (120 m) flue-gas desulfurization system stacks.

Dispatch of electricity

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The electrical output of Brandon Shores Generating Station is dispatched by the PJM Interconnection regional transmission organization.

Wagner Generating Station from Cox Creek, with the 700-foot (210 m) stacks of the Brandon Shores plant at left and the active 400-foot (120 m) Brandon Shores stack just visible

History

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The Wagner Generating Station's oil-fired Unit 1 commenced operations in 1956.[3] Unit 2, consisting of a Babcock & Wilcox 1800 psig steam boiler and General Electric single reheat steam turbine, began operations as a coal-fired plant in 1959. It has since retire. Coal-fired Unit 3, which has a Babcock & Wilcox 3500 psig supercritical boiler and a Westinghouse double-reheat cross compound turbine, commenced operations in 1966 and now runs on oil.[3] The oil-fired Unit 4 began operations in 1972.[3] Units 2, 3, and 4 were also converted to use natural gas during startup operations in 1987.[4] Additional air pollution controls were added to the plants in the 1980s.

The plant is named for Herbert Appleton Wagner (1867–1947), who was president of the Consolidated Gas and Electric of Baltimore, the predecessor company of Constellation Energy, from 1915 through 1942.[5] Wagner also held a patent on a self-starting, single-phase motor and founded in 1891 the Wagner Electric Manufacturing Company in St. Louis, Missouri.[5]

2012 sale

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The plant was originally constructed by a predecessor company of Constellation Energy, which was later purchased by Exelon in 2012. On August 9, 2012, Exelon announced that it had reached an agreement, subject to regulatory approvals, for the sale of the Charles P. Crane, Brandon Shores, and Herbert A. Wagner Generating Stations to Raven Power Holdings LLC, a newly formed portfolio company of Riverstone Holdings LLC, for approximately $400 million.[6] Exelon had committed to divest the plants as condition for regulatory approval of its merger with Constellation Energy to alleviate concerns regarding potential market power in the regional wholesale electricity market. The sale was completed on November 30, 2012. When Riverstone Holdings executed a take-private transaction and became the majority owner of Talen in 2016, Brandon Shores, along with other Riverstone-owned generation assets, became part of the Talen portfolio. Following a strategic restructuring of Talen in 2023, it became a publicly traded company and was no longer privately owned by Riverstone.

Scheduled Closure

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On November 10, 2020 Talen Energy (parent company of Raven Power) announced a settlement with the Sierra Club that the plant would cease burning coal and convert to alternative energy sources by the end of 2025.[1] However, in 2023, Talen announced they would instead retire the plant, despite grid operator PJM Interconnection finding that this "would adversely affect the reliability of the system."[7]On January 27, 2025, Talen announced that it, PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”), and a broad coalition of the Maryland Public Service Commission, Maryland customers, and electric utilities, agreed on the terms by which Talen will operate its Brandon Shores and H.A. Wagner power plants until May 31, 2029, beyond their scheduled May 31, 2025 retirement dates. The agreement, colloquially called a “reliability-must-run” or “RMR” agreement, is intended to provide the power necessary to maintain grid and transmission reliability in and around the City of Baltimore until necessary transmission upgrades to provide reliable power to the area from other sources are complete. The RMR agreement is pending FERC approval.


Cooling

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All four Wagner units are cooled using water from intake structures from a basin on the Patapsco River using two circulating water pumps per unit.[8] Water from units 1, 2, and 3 is returned to the river by a discharge canal upstream of the intake basin while water from unit 4 uses a discharge canal downstream of the intake basin.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Pacella, Rachael (2020-11-11). "Owner of Brandon Shores and Wagner power plants in Pasadena will stop burning coal by end of 2025". The Baltimore Sun.
  2. ^ Patel, Sonal (2024-01-10). "PJM Urges Delayed Retirement of 840-MW Fossil Fuel Power Plant, Citing Reliability Impacts". Power Magazine.
  3. ^ a b c "Environmental Review of Proposed Air Pollution Control Project at H. A. Wagner" (pdf). Maryland Department of Natural Resources. February 23, 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  4. ^ Maryland Public Service Commission Order No. 67682, Case No. 7975, March 17, 1987.
  5. ^ a b King, Thomson (1950). Consolidated of Baltimore 1816-1950: A History of Consolidated Gas Electric Light and Power Company of Baltimore. Baltimore: Consolidated Gas Electric Light and Power Co. pp. 171, 205, 285–97.
  6. ^ "Exelon Agrees to Sell Three Maryland Coal Plants to Raven Power Holdings LLC" (Press release). Exelon. Aug 9, 2012. Retrieved Aug 13, 2012.
  7. ^ Patel, Sonal (2024-01-10). "PJM Urges Delayed Retirement of 840-MW Fossil Fuel Power Plant, Citing Reliability Impacts". Power Magazine.
  8. ^ a b "Ecological Studies at the H. A. Wagner Plant" (PDF). Lawler Matusky & Skelly Engineers. March 1980. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
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