Lagoon Creek Combustion Turbine Plant

Lagoon Creek Combustion Turbine Plant is located in Haywood County in west Tennessee. TVA also operates a combustion turbine plant in Kemper County, Mississippi, and has CT units at four of its coal-fired power plants.

Efficient power production to help meet peak demand

Combustion turbines can run on natural gas or low-sulfur fuel oil and are designed to start quickly to meet the demand for electricity during peak operating periods. The units at Lagoon Creek can reach full power in just 20 minutes. The plant site was chosen because it’s close to several natural-gas pipelines and TVA transmission lines.

Combustion turbines operate on the same general principle as a jet engine. Air enters at the front of the unit and is compressed, mixed with natural gas or oil, and ignited. The hot gas then expands through turbine blades to turn the generator and produce electricity.

State-of-the-art emission controls and noise management make the Lagoon Creek units more environmentally friendly than older types. When the units run on natural gas, nitrous-oxide emissions are less than 10 percent of what they were 30 years ago. When they run on oil, emissions are less than 20 percent of former levels.

Lagoon Creek, which occupies 181 acres in the midst of Tennessee farm country, is expected to help TVA meet the rapidly growing peak demands for power that occur in summertime.