Dickerson Generating Plant

Dickerson Generating Plant

Power Points

  • Location: Washington, D.C. area in Montgomery County, Maryland, on the Potomac
  • Capacity: 853 megawatts; capable of operating base load, intermediate, and peak levels
  • Equivalent number of homes served: 853,000
  • Fuel: Coal, gas, oil
  • Customers: output is sold into the PJM energy market
  • Began service: 1959; acquired in 2000
  • Number of employees: 133
  • Contact: Jay Bellingham, plant manager,
    301 601 6521


Awards/Recognition

Dickerson and other Mirant Mid-Atlantic sites are Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) certified and have received national recognition for their contributions to wildlife habitat conservation. Efforts include providing artificial nesting structures and planting native trees, shrubs, and aquatic plants.

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 Outreach

  • Emissions-reducing scrubbers to be installed beginning in 2007
  • Baghouse designed to remove 99.8% of flyash
  • Electrostatic precipitators designed to remove 99.5% of flyash
  • Stacked monitoring equipment for opacity (smoke), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2)
  • Water injection for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) control on H1CT & H2CT
  • Waste water treatment system
  • Sewage treatment plant designed for 30,000 gallons per day
  • All plant discharge points monitored for contaminants
  • All coal pile run-off water collected for treatment

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.

Charitable Donations

  • The Annapolis Center
  • Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin-Potomac
    River Sojourn
  • John Poole Middle School
  • Montgomery County Chamber Valor Awards
  • Poolesville High School
  • Upper Montgomery County Fire Department
  • Western Upper Montgomery County Help

The Benefits of Competition in Maryland

Maryland Public Service Commission»