About Us
Mirant is committed to improving air quality in the City of Alexandria, which is why we advocated for a stack merge at the Potomac River Generating Station. With the support of the City of Alexandria and the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board, we are now moving forward with the project.
Current Status
On July 2nd the Alexandria City Council approved an environmental agreement with Mirant, and on July 30th, the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board granted the Potomac River Generating Station a new state operating permit allowing for the stack merge.
With the support of the City of Alexandria and the State Air Board, Mirant has begun construction of the $30 million stack merge project, which, when completed, will substantially improve air quality throughout the region. Locally, it will greatly reduce ground level pollutants in Alexandria.
Construction of the stack merge is expected to be complete by first quarter 2009.
Read the press release about the Potomac River Station’s Virginia Air Board State Operating Permit»
Read the press release about the Mirant-Alexandria Environmental Agreement»
Project Overview
What is a stack merge?
The Potomac River Generating Station has a total of five stacks. By combining the flow of emissions from two of the five units into one stack and the other three units into another stack, the emissions from the plant will be projected higher into the air and away from the immediate vicinity. This will significantly improve air quality — and is an addition to environmental technologies that reduce the plant's overall emissions.
Read our full color pamphlet for more information about the stack merge»
Why a stack merge?
Mirant began this two-part environmental improvement project — the trona-stack merge initiative — in 2006 with the installation of a trona system. Trona substantially reduces sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the plant. The stack merge projects the few remaining emissions higher into the air, thus eliminating potential "downwash" of ground-level emissions. Once complete, the trona-stack merge project will significantly benefit air quality in the City of Alexandria, and the region.
Will the stack merge construction cause a lot of additional noise, dust or other disruptions?
While there may be additional activity on the Potomac River Generating Station site during business hours, we intend to keep noise, dust and other irregularities to a minimum.
Join our e-mail list to be notified of project updates and potential disruptions»
When will the stack merge be complete?
Mirant expects to complete the stack merge by first quarter 2009.