Dallas –
Unit 4 began commercial operation in 1981
Sandow Power Plant’s Unit 4, located in Milam County, began generating power on May 15, 1981. Over the past 30 years, the unit has generated more than 122 million net megawatt-hours of electricity. Additionally, the plant and its employees have volunteered tens of thousands of hours of support to local organizations while contributing hundreds of millions of dollars in tax contributions and related support to the communities that surround the plant.
“For three decades, the Sandow 4 unit has played an integral role in helping power one of the world’s largest electric markets,” said Mike Williams, Luminant’s chief fossil officer. “We are proud of what our dedicated employees have been able to accomplish at this site and equally proud of our involvement in and support of the local community. We look forward to continuing our efforts at Sandow in the years to come.”
Here are a few highlights of the impact Sandow Power Plant and its supporting mines have made over the past 30 years:
- Job creation. The Sandow complex has provided hundreds of jobs over the years during construction and operation, including more than 400 permanent full-time positions currently.
- Much-needed power. The addition of Unit 5 has brought the complex’s combined generating capacity to 1,137 megawatts and will provide much-needed power for years to come.
- Hundreds of millions of dollars in tax contributions. In 2010 alone, Sandow complex facilities paid $14.7 million in taxes to support surrounding counties and school districts.
- Generous support for neighbors in need. Sandow employees have logged more than 31,000 volunteer hours, while Luminant annually makes significant corporate donations to worthwhile organizations, including:
- Area volunteer fire associations
- School districts in Rockdale, Lexington, Cameron, Elgin
- United Way
- Youth project shows and sales in Milam and Lee counties
- County festivals in Milam, Lee and Bastrop counties
- American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life
Current day Sandow Power Plant
Plant History
Sandow Unit 4 was the culmination of an ambitious program to diversify the company’s generation with the addition of 5,800 megawatts of new lignite-fueled capacity. In 2009, a new unit, Sandow 5, began commercial operation. Today, thanks in part to Sandow Unit 4, Luminant is the largest competitive power generation business in Texas. To learn more about the Sandow complex, see our plant fact sheet on Luminant.com.
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About Luminant
Luminant, a subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings Corp., is a competitive power generation business, including mining, wholesale marketing and trading, and development operations. Luminant has more than 15,400 megawatts of generation in Texas, including 2,300 MW fueled by nuclear power and 8,000 MW fueled by coal. The company is also the largest purchaser of wind-generated electricity in Texas and fifth largest in the United States. EFH is a Dallas-based energy holding company that has a portfolio of competitive and regulated energy subsidiaries, primarily in Texas. Visit www.luminant.com or www.energyfutureholdings.com for additional information.
Construction of Sandow’s Unit 4
Media
Meranda Cohn
(214) 875-8662
Meranda.Cohn@luminant.com