Challenged Coal Gasification Power Plant in Washington

Challenged Coal Gasification Power Plant in Washington

2007 September -   Public power agency Energy 
Northwest is moving forward with plans to construct a 680-megawatt coal 
gasification power plant at the Port of Kalama in southwestern Washington 
state. 
The consortium of publicly owned utilities has asked the state’s Energy 
Facility Site Evaluation Council to hold adjudicatory hearings in late 
October, followed by a recommendation on the project by the end of 
December and a decision by the governor in early 2008. 
Unlike conventional coal plants that burn coal, Energy Northwest says the 
new power plant would produce "a clean-burning, hydrogen-rich synthesis 
gas from petroleum coke, coal or other solid feedstocks. The technology 
allows for the reduction or removal of carbon dioxide and pollutants often 
associated with power plant emissions." 
But three environmental and clean energy groups say emissions from the new 
plant would equal the emissions of some 100,000 additional cars on 
Washington roads. 
The groups have filed to intervene in the permitting process and are 
urging members of the public to insist that state regulators reject Energy 
Northwest's permit application. 
The organizations - the Washington Environmental Council, the Sierra 
Club's Cascade chapter, and NW Energy Coalition - all represented by 
attorneys from the nonprofit law firm Earthjustice, say utility's plan for 
the new facility shows it would emit as much as six million tons of the 
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide a year. 
"This is a 19th century solution to a 21st-century problem," said 
Earthjustice attorney Steve Mashuda. "People in the Northwest want bold 
action to turn the tide on global warming, not more polluting fossil-fuel 
technology." 
This year, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire issued climate 
protection goals and the state enacted a new law entitled “Mitigating the 
impacts of climate change” that took effect July 22. The law sets strict 
limits on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted by new 
Washington power plants. 
To meet these standards, the groups say, Energy Northwest would have to 
capture and permanently store, or sequester, a third to a half of the 
plant's carbon emissions. 
Energy Northwest officials say the new power plant, called the Pacific 
Mountain Energy Center, "will be a valuable tool in advancing nationwide 
efforts to develop permanent in-ground carbon storage." 
The utility is part of the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership, a 
effort funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop and promote 
permanent, large-scale carbon dioxide sequestration. 
But the groups say Energy Northwest is already attempting to get out of 
sequestering carbon dioxide emissions. 
The new state law gives power plant developers five years from date of 
operation to begin sequestering carbon dioxide, but it requires submission 
of an acceptable, technically feasible and good-faith sequestration plan 
as part of the permit application process. 
The groups maintain that Energy Northwest has submitted "only a rationale 
for not doing a sequestration plan and a vague promise to submit such a 
plan should sequestration become viable sometime in the future." 
The state attorney general's office called the plan "deficient" and 
"vague," and the state Department of Ecology urged the site evaluation 
committee to reject Energy Northwest's application. 
"The proponent's flimsy analysis doesn't explain how the plant could 
operate without pumping a lot more global warming pollution into our air," 
said Washington Environmental Council climate campaign director Becky 
Kelley. "Washington passed a Clean Energy Initiative last fall, and we 
should start promoting renewable sources now instead of firing up a new 
coal plant." 
Energy Northwest Project Manager Ted Beatty said the new facility will 
have a beneficial impact on wind power development. "The region’s power 
supply is already challenged to absorb the amount of intermittent wind 
power already in place, he said. "Adding additional full-time power from a 
facility like Pacific Mountain Energy Center will allow the integration of 
more wind, solar and other intermittent power." 

---


More Aging Earth Headlines >> 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - Aging Earth Home

AGING EARTH HOME

---

© 2009; Aging Earth .com
Powered by WorldsLargestNetwork.com