Coal news and updates

Federal regulators are proposing to clear haze pollution in federal lands by requiring more emissions controls at Texas coal-fired power plants, including a half-billion-dollar upgrade at Fairfield’s Big Brown power plan.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced that it would disapprove key parts of the state’s plan for combating haze pollution and would issue its own federal implementation plan. The EPA’s “regional haze proposed rule” aims to protect federal lands — such as Big Bend National Park in Texas and the Wichita Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma — where visibility is said to be impaired by pollution from Texas coal plants.

The federal plan targets 14 plants, including Big Brown and the NRG coal plant in Limestone County, for cleanup in the next five years, with a total price tag of more than $2 billion. The EPA will issue a final ruling next year following a 60-day comment period.

In a statement, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality stood by its haze plan and said the federal plan would be costly and result in a “negligible increase in visibility” at federal lands.

“These costs would invariably be passed on to consumers, either directly or indirectly, and could have consequential impacts on the state’s power grid,” the TCEQ stated.

The EPA report concludes that the sulfur dioxide scrubber retrofits at the Big Brown units would be cost-effective and would make a measurable difference in clean air in national lands.

But Tom “Smitty” Smith of the environmental group Texas Public Citizen said the report is a sign that it’s time to retire Big Brown and other coal-fired power plants built in the 1970s and ‘80s.

“I think Big Brown and several other units are probably on life support as the result of this decision,” he said. “With all the updates that will be required, the short version is that it’s too costly to continue to operate these plants.”

Big Brown, built in the early 1970s, is owned by Luminant, a division of the bankrupt Energy Future Holdings. EFH’s troubles have been blamed on low natural gas prices that have made its coal-fired power less competitive.

Luminant officials Monday declined comment on the EPA proposed rule on regional haze, saying its officials are still reviewing and analyzing the report.

Big Brown and its associated lignite mine are the dominant employers in Fairfield and surrounding Freestone County, and local officials are concerned about the effects of the EPA’s actions.

Brent Ballard, president of the Fairfield Industrial Development Corp., said he hasn’t heard any indications that the plant will close, but the EPA rules could “create some cost-feasibility situations.”

“Any time you live or work in a small community, anything that can potentially impact jobs and the local economy is always a concern,” he said.

The Fairfield plant recently has begun mixing cleaner-burning Wyoming coal with its locally mined lignite fuel to meet federal emissions standards. Ballard said the new rules could require shifting to even more Wyoming coal, which would cut into the local mining business.

But Smith with Texas Public Citizen said he doubts Big Brown has the technical capacity to shift to more Wyoming coal, which burns hotter than lignite. He said the retrofit money would be better spent on renewable energy such as wind and geothermal.

 

 

Source: http://www.wacotrib.com/