Employee dies in coal plant explosion

subscribe

Cory Rogers, 24, a technician at Progress EnergyÂ’s Sutton Plant near Wilmington, North Carolina, was killed following an explosion that occurred at the site.

The employee was performing maintenance on one of the plantÂ’s three coal-fired units. The unit was offline at the time.

The company is coordinating an investigation into the accident with local, state and federal officials and will communicate more details as they become available. There was no fire as a result of the explosion, and there is no danger to the public.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family right now,” said Charlie Gates, vice-president of Power Generation for Progress Energy Carolinas. “We also have lost a member of our Progress Energy family due to this tragic event. This is a difficult time for all of us.”

The 600-megawatt MW Sutton Plant includes three coal units built in 1954, 1955 and 1972. The explosion occurred while work was being performed on the generator for Unit 1.

In 2009, Progress Energy announced its plan to retire the Sutton PlantÂ’s three coal-fired units and build a 620-MW combined-cycle power plant at the Sutton site.

The new plant is scheduled to begin operating in 2014. Site preparations have started, but major construction has not begun.

Related News

Site C Dam

OPINION | Bridging the electricity gap between Alberta and B.C. makes perfect climate sense

VANCOUVER - By Mark Jaccard

Lost in the news and noise of the federal government's newly announced $170-per-tonne carbon tax was a single, critical sentence in Canada's updated climate plan, one that signals a strategy that could serve as the cornerstone for a future free of greenhouse gas emissions.

"The government will work with provinces and territories to connect parts of Canada that have abundant clean hydroelectricity with parts that are currently more dependent on fossil fuels for electricity generation — including by advancing strategic intertie projects."

Why do we think this one sentence is so important? And what has…

READ MORE
Chris Ambler, JE's chief executive

Electricity prices may go up by 15 per cent

READ MORE

NuScale Power

US NRC issues final safety evaluation for NuScale SMR

READ MORE

Energiepark Mainz

Renewable power surpasses fossil fuels for first time in Europe

READ MORE

london-gateway-unveils-world-first-all-electric-berth

London Gateway Unveils World’s First All-Electric Berth

READ MORE