With all due respect to Mother Nature, canoers and kayakers are gushing over the world-class rapids generated by Mirant's Dickerson power plant.
For those preferring to stay on dry land, Dickerson helps ensure a steady supply of electricity in the economically and politically powerful Washington, D.C. area. The plant's county neighbors include such renowned institutions as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institutes of Health, and the National Naval Medical Center.
The 900-by-30-foot canal is fed by water released from the plant after it cools steam condensers. In 1991, concrete boulders were added, transforming the area into a whitewater nirvana that rapidly became a year-round training destination for Olympic canoeing and kayaking hopefuls. The venue was selected for the 2002 U.S. National Championships of Whitewater Canoeing and Kayaking.
Environmental Technologies
Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Controls
- Water injection for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) control on combustion turbines
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Controls
- Flue gas desulfurization (scrubbers) to reduce SO2 being installed; to be operable by 2010
Mercury Controls
- Mercury reduced through the use of scrubbers
Other Controls
- Waste water treatment system
- All plant drains, storm drains, coal pile run-off water and cooling towers sediments are collected and treated
- Baghouse designed to remove 99.8 percent of flyash
- Electrostatic precipitators designed to remove 99.5 percent of flyash
- Stacked monitoring equipment for opacity (smoke), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2)
Community Outreach
Habitat for Humanity
Dickerson employees helped build a townhome in Burtonsville, Md., for Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County. Mirant also gave $10,000 to the organization.
Watershed Clean Up
Dickerson employees support the Potomac Watershed Clean Up, held annually on the first Saturday in April. Dickerson is one of more than 100 cleanup sites along the Potomac Watershed, and plant staff worked side by side with community members to remove an average of 30 large trash bags of litter, including items such as old tires and refrigerators.
Other Outreach Activities
- Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
- Clean Air Partners
- Living Classrooms of National Capitol Region
- Oyster Recovery Project
- Put-Cancer-On-Ice/ American Cancer Society
- USHYEE / Mirant Academic Grant Program
Charitable Donations
- Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin-Potomac River Sojourn
- Piedmont Environmental Education Foundation
- John Poole Middle School
- Montgomery County Chamber Valor Awards
- Poolesville High School
- Upper Montgomery County Fire Department
- Western Upper Montgomery County Help
- LINKages for Learning
- 4-H Clubs of Montgomery County