Paradise Fossil Plant

Paradise Fossil Plant is located in western Kentucky on the Green River near the village of Paradise. The plant has three units, completed between 1963 and 1970, and three large natural-draft cooling towers to provide cooling water. In 1985 a barge-unloading facility was added so that coal could be delivered by barge as well as by train and truck.

Balancing efficient power production with environmental protection

Electricity is produced at Paradise’s three coal-fired units by the process of heating water in a boiler to produce steam. Under extremely high pressure, the steam flows into a turbine that spins a generator to make electricity.

Paradise generates 14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year –enough to supply more than 930,000 homes. The plant has three coal-fired generating units and three large natural-draft cooling towers to provide cooling water.

In October 2011, units 1 and 2 surpassed a continuous-run record that had stood for 23 years. The previous record was 129 days, 13 hours and 11 minutes set in 1988.

Through 2011, TVA has spent about $5.4 billion on emissions controls at its fossil-fuel plants to help TVA produce power as cleanly as possible, consistent with efficiency. View more information about emissions at Paradise and the steps TVA is taking to control them.

In support of recent environmental agreements and its vision of being one of the nation’s leading providers of low-cost and cleaner energy by 2020, TVA will upgrade the scrubbers on units 1 and 2 at Paradise no later than Dec. 31, 2012.

Toxics Release Inventory

TVA is required to report annually to the Environmental Protection Agency on the amounts of chemicals released by its fossil-fuel plants. Check here for the latest data on Paradise.

Emissions Data

TVA monitors other emissions at its fossil plants, including SO2, NOx, CO2, and mercury. Check here for the latest data on Paradise.