The Indiana Kentucky Electric power plant was built on the Ohio River because coal-fired electricity production requires water for transportation and cooling. The plant uses approximately 16,400 gallons of Ohio River water each second for cooling, and barges on the river deliver coal, with each barge holding up to 2,000 tons. Electricity is produced when burning coal heats water in a boiler to create steam, which drives a turbine-powered electric generator. The plant’s smokestacks are 985 feet high and rise 600 feet above the state park; the three original stacks were replaced in the late 1970s by two tall tapered stacks, and a newer straight stack with a white band near the top handles emissions from all six generator units with an advanced pollution control system. The stacks were built higher than the bluffs in part to improve the dispersal of emissions. The plant was constructed in the early 1950s for national security purposes to support a uranium enrichment facility near Portsmouth, Ohio, where uranium was used for nuclear reactors and atomic weapons. After the Cold War ended the need for uranium, the plant shifted to supplying electricity for the region, and today it generates enough power for a city of one million people. It burns 8.5 tons of coal per minute, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, after grinding the coal to the fineness of baby powder before injecting it into the furnace.