TVA-Allen Fossil Power Plant, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
'It looks kind of neat when lit at night.' 
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(99 votes)
Published: Jul 16, 2006 9:03 p.m.
Viewed 475 times |
The Great Depression had hit the old South particularly hard. At the time, most people were subsistance farmers, but years of overworking the soil rendered the farmland barren. After the 1929 stock market crash, there were few non-farming jobs to be had. The region’s prospects seemed bleak. As part of the New Deal, the Tennessee Valley Authority was established in the 1930s by President Franklin Roosevelt partly to establish a make-work program, by building flood-control dams on the Tennessee River. As a side benefit, the dams were also used for electric power generation, a novelty in a region where there had been no electricity before.
As the region began to prosper, the demand for electricity outstripped the supply from the hydroelectric dams. The TVA built a dozen or so coal power plants. Though built by a private entity before taken over by TVA, the Allen plant opened in 1959 after three years of construction.
The black horizontal lines are the heating elements on the back window of my rental car.
Government agencies never die, even after their mission has been completed. In an era when municipal and small regional electric companies have sold their plants to huge private entities, TVA is still operating under Congressional oversight, though TVA does not receive taxpayer funding anymore.
After nearly fifty years, the Allen plant needs a lot of work. TVA is spending millions to control emissions at all of its plants. The chutes are poorly designed in the first place, and not leak like sieves. That’s where I come in. I was in the rear of the large building in the picture above. Much to my dismay, the boilers are located there, too. More on that later.
(Note: The following two pictures are representative samples. They were not taken inside the Allen plant; they might not appreciate me releasing the pictures.)
This looks a bit like the chutes I saw. They extend upward through the ceiling, and over the floor on the next level. One conveyor belt ends there, and dumps its load into the chute, and ultimately onto another belt, which you can see here. Years of abrasion have taken their toll, and have worn holes in the metal, which are usually patched with small bits of steel. The velocity of the falling coal is so fast, it hits the belt and releases more dust. You can see that there is coal dust on every surface. Worse yet, the Allen plant now burns Powder River Basin coal, from a huge open pit mine in Wyoming, which can be highly explosive if dust is allowed to accumulate. The chute I saw was worse.
Next year, the old chutes will be gone, and the new ones might look a bit like this. By aiming the stream of coal in the direction of the second belt, abrasion and dist generation can be minimized.
Anyway, it was nearly 100 degrees (F) outside in Memphis that day, and over 150 degrees (F) where I was measuring the old chute. It turns out the boilers are on the lower levels of that building. The chutes terminated in a cramped little pit, where I crawled in coal dust. Perspiration didn’t help at those temperatures, especially when all my pores were clogged with that damn dust.
Some relief could be found by walking out on the roof of the boiler house building. Did I mention the power plant is next door to the sewage treatment plant? After a while, I didn’t mind the aroma. After eight hours at 150 degrees, I began experiencing chills, and my speech was a bit slurred. There is a huge metal tank of cooling water, presumably sucked from the nearby Mississippi River, against which I could lean, and get some relief. I could no longer feel my feet in my boots; I felt like I was walking on stumps. Best of all, they started the conveyor I was measuring immediately after I climbed off. I could have been maimed because someone thought I left the plant, so they restarted the conveyor without bothering to check.
After sixteen hours over two days, I felt like a Thanksgiving turkey. This picture was taken inside the plant, but I don’t think they’d mind.
The rest of my body beneath my clothes resembled my forearms, black as can be. Fortunately, it all washed off with only minor difficulty.
The third largest casino in the United States is only 15 minutes away from here. At $59 per night, it’s a nice place to stay, and wash off coal dust. When you leave the Allen plant and drive in any direction, it’s hard to believe the area is only about 70 years removed from subsistance farming and hardscrabble poverty.
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 | Jul 16, 2006 9:07 pm - afagr
first coment bitch |
 | Jul 16, 2006 9:07 pm -
Second comment SLUT! |
| Jul 16, 2006 9:07 pm - hga
canada sucks |
| Jul 16, 2006 9:08 pm - hga
star was suck 2...:o |
| Jul 16, 2006 9:10 pm - ggf
i saw this before its c/p |
 | Jul 16, 2006 9:13 pm -
5* from me, nice pics.. well explained. And the ending pic made me LOL. |
| Jul 16, 2006 9:15 pm -
12344534231-7625, you’re new to RE.. and you’re already on my blocked list. |
| Jul 16, 2006 9:17 pm -
Hey.. can you delete all my comments?
I was in a bad mood and I appaulogize to 12344534231-7625. |
| Jul 16, 2006 9:18 pm -
q: |
| Jul 16, 2006 9:19 pm -
delete mine too
i just posted them cause i was bored... really bored.. |
 | Jul 16, 2006 9:20 pm -
Really now? Why is that you noobass bitch?
Btw 5*’s |
 | Ju 17, 2006 12:24 am -
CANADA SUCKS HOW DARE YOU. NEVER DISREPECT CANADA AGAIN OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND I WILL FIGHT YOU |
| Jul 17, 2006 1:36 am -
^^^^I DO I DO!!!!
Someone should invent a Noob Zapper.
When noobs fuck around they get shocked threw the keyboard. |
 | Jul 17, 2006 7:24 am -
I see you decided to do the egg after all H-Dogg. Nice! You allways bring a piece of history onto RE...Too bad you have idiots shitting up your egg. 5* |
 | Jul 17, 2006 8:00 am -
5*
great
and 5 for ur pro because im in THAT good of a mood. lol. |
 | Jul 17, 2006 11:04 am -
Finally someone in TN. |
 | Jul 17, 2006 12:19 pm -
Canada does suck |
 | Jul 17, 2006 12:39 pm -
So what exactly were you doing there? Inspecting the chutes for the company? 5* anyway |
 | Jul 17, 2006 8:34 pm -
Quote: Finally someone in TN.
Actually, I was just visiting Tennessee and Mississippi. Both places were more horrid than I imagined.
Just kidding; aside from the heat, it was a nice trip.
Quote: So what exactly were you doing there? Inspecting the chutes for the company? 5* anyway
I was measuring the existing chutes, paying special attention to the location of the existing conveyor belts, and the holes in the structural steel and concrete in the floor. The new chute has to be made in small pieces, which can be transported and assembled in place, and must fit correctly the first time. The plant can only be idled for twelve hours at a time. |
 | Jul 19, 2006 11:35 pm -
good pictures and good de5cription. 5* |
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