The plant began commercial generation with Unit 1 in 1977 and Unit 2 in 1978.[1][2] Deely was constructed as a coal plant due to the economics and unreliability for natural gas at the time. The total cost to construct the two units was $236 million.[3] The construction of Deely included a 700 ft (210 m) smokestack.[4] The plant is named after former CPS General Manager, J. T. Deely.[5] CPS Energy commissioned in 2009 the installation of a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to Unit 2 to replace an electrostatic precipitator (ESP).[6]
Closure
In 2011, it was announced that J. T. Deely would be shut down in 2018 due to pending federal regulations. CPS Energy calculated that spending $3 billion to overhaul the plant to comply with environmental regulations outweighed the benefits.[1] CPS Energy reiterated in 2017 that the plant would still close in 2018 even with the changes in environmental policy from the Trump administration.[7] Deely ceased generation on December 31, 2018.[8]