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Future of IR power plant emissions Hes with NRG Energy
By Jim Cresson
Although Conectiv officials say
the company has spent $86.7 mil-
lion on pollution control systems
at its electric generating plants
over the years, experts studying
the state's heaviest polluter say it
would take many millions more in
expenditures for the utility to sub-
stantially reduce its smokestack
pollution..
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is currently study-
ing oil- and coal-fired power gen-
erating plants, such as Conecfiv's
Indian River and Edgemoor p!an
in Delaware, and may beheading
toward, requiring such plants to
implement maximum achievable
control technology (MACT) sys-
tems to greatly reduce , emissions
of air pollutants.
The EPA is also locked in a fed-
eral court battle on its proposal to
require power plants in the North-
east to lower their air emissions.
Arguing against the effort are the
big power plants of the Northeast,
which claim their emissions con-
trois are already fight enough and
that much of the air pollution and.
acid rain over the Northeast
comes from'Ohio:River Valley
power plants which they say need
more pollution control systems on
their stacks.
To reduce air emissions, Indian
River plant's four coal-fired boil-
ers already use Iow-NOx (nitro-
gen, oxide) burners, over-fire air
devices to c0oi flames and boil-
ers, selective noncatalytic reduc-
tion (SNCR), which involves
spraying urea into the boilers to
reduce nitrogen oxide, and elec-
trostatic precipitators to reduce
particulate matter.
Wfiat federal air quality regula -
torsmay-or oil- and+.
coal-fired power plants in this
area is the installation of scrub-
bers on each smoke stack to re-
move sulfur and the installation of
selective catalytic recovery sys-
tems to lower both nitrogen oxide
and sulfur.
Those opposed to any require-
ment of scrubbers on smoke
stacks claim that they create their
own type Of industrial pollution,
as they require a huge number of
trucks bringing limestone to the
plant where it must be crushed
and put into the scrubbers as a fil-
tering agent. Moreover, when ni-
trogen oxide and sulfur are re-
tained in the limestone, it creates a
gypsum byproduct that could be
useful as a marketable cement in-
gredient, but it would ha,e to be
trucked out again.
Many experts in the field of en-
ergy generation foresee an end to
coal-fired boilers as the best, and
most probable, solutionto lower-
ing air pollutants. However, they
say the costs of converting an ex-
isting coal-fired power plant -
such as Indian River or Edgemoor
- would be nearly prohibitive for
even the largest energy corpora-
tions.
What will the future hold for In-
dian River Power trent. ,.
Sen. Geti+gel-l, Bunting Jr.,q-
Bethany Beach, sent a formal 1
ter, May 23, to officials of N-R
Energy - the Minneapolis-based
public-held company that has
signed an agreement to purchase
the IR plant and other Conectiv
holdings for $800 million - asking
them to answer that key question.
"I want to keep that plant open,
and am hopeful NRG Energy has
plans to do that, while also mak-
ing it a cleaner operation,"
Bunting said.
"My letter said there is alot of
public interest in Indian River's
emissions, and I'm asking for a
meeting with them so they can ex-
Its www.nrgenergy, com Web site
lists a portfolio consisting of 183
facilities in operation, under con-'
struction or subject t 9 signed ac-
quisition agreements representing
about 28,721 megawatts of in-
stalled capacity.
The company notes on its Web
site that "NRG Energy's portfolio
of projects uses such diverse fuel
sources as fossil fuels (natural
gas, oil, coal and coal-seam'
methane) and green power renew-
able fuels such as wind, hydro,
biorhass and landfill gas as well as
refusderived fuels and geother-
. real 00ergy."
."We use state=of-the-art tech-
nologies to produce low-cost en-
ergy in an environmentally re-
sponsible manner," reads the Web
site. "We specialize in the devel-
opment, construction, operation,
maintehance and ownership of
power production and transmis-
sion facilities."
Questions put to NRG Energy
about their intentions for the Indi-
an Riv.er plant when they take
over>its operation later thig
went unanswered for the-last:thrge
weeks. NRG Energy public
spokeswoman Meredith Moore
said June 8 that: "The Conectiv
deal is not closed yet, and we
haven't any substantial plans for
changes at the facility."
A review of NRG Energy's
power plants in the United States
shows that 75 percent of their en-
ergy generation plants use a fuel
other than coal. Of the company's
nine plants in California, six use
natural gas as a fuel, two use bio-
mass and one uses bituminous
coal. Of the company's eight
plants in Connecticut, six-use jet
fuel and two use oil or gas. The
plailLtheir.Jnteatiog forJ.ti.dJga. +_ tbt:e¢ bIRg3_Enersy plaats JalJ.-
River." nois use natural gas. Of the two
NRG Energy is a worldwide plants in Louisiana, one uses coal
power utility company with facili- and gas; the other uses natural
ties in 15 countries inEurope, gas.
Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Of NRG's two plants in Massa-
Dennis Fomey photo
Conectiv's Indian- River power plant, considered the worst
polluter in Delaware, should be under new ownership by the
end of this year.
chusetts, one uses a combination
of fuel sources including coal, oil
and jet fuel; the other, which is
idle, used coal. NRG's two Maine
plants use refuse-derived fuel. Its
plant in Michigan uses wood fuel.
Its two.existing New Jersey plants
use natural gas.
Of its six New York plants, two
use natural gas or oil, one uses oil,
gas and kerosene, one uses hydro
and two use bituminous coal.
NRG's two Oklahoma plants use
natural gas. Its existing two Penn-
sylvania plants use natural gas,
oil, diesel and methane fuels.
NRG has agreed to purchase
Conectiv's coal-fired Indian River
plant, its oil-fired Vienna (Md.)
plant, its coal- and oil-fired BL
England plant and its coal-, gas-
and oil-fired Deepwater plant in
New Jersey, its coal-, oil- and gas-
fired Conemaugh plant and coal-
and oil-fired Keystone II plant in
federal regulators are trying to
tighten controls on those opera-
tions.
David Fees, Toxic Release In-
vent0ry program-coordinator for
the Delaware Department of Nat-
ural Resources and Environmen-
tal Control, said he is hopeful
NRG Energy is able to initiate
ways to clean up emissions at In-
dian River. ......
Bruce Burcat of the Delaware
Public Service Commission
(PSC), which regulates all utilities
in the state, said this week the
commission has already requested
an opinion from the Pennsylva-
nia-Jersey-Maryland (PJM) pow-
er grid-as to whether the NRG
purchase of Conectiv's Indian
River plant and other operations
Within the grid would affect the
reliability of power generation
and transmission, as well as mar-
ket power concerns
Pennsylvania. .+ .... "We expect a reply from PJM
If the deal is concluded, NRG within a month," said Burcat. "We
Energy will have substantially will also ask NRG Energy to ap-
raised its percentage of coal- and pear before us and answer some
oil-fired power plants among its questions we have about their in-
U.S. portfolio, all at a time when tentions."
Michael Short photo
i
Cape Henlopen State Park showcases new entrance
Cape Henlopen State Park has unveiled its new entrance sign, one Of the erownifig touches
on an almost totally revamped entranceway. The entrance roads have been re-aligned in or-
der to better move traffic throughout the park and the new pavement replaced pavement
that dated back to the Second World War in some instances. Shown with the new park sign
are (l-r) Construction Project Manager Joe Kline; Cape Henlolen State Park Manager Paul
Faircloth, Delaware Parks Chief of Design and Developmdnt Britt Murray, Rep. John
Schroeder, who helped provide funds for the changes, and Delaware Parks Director of Plan-
ning, Preservation and Development Mark Chura.
Cape Henlopen State Park
New Traffic Pattern
This illustration shows the new traffic pattern at the en-
trance to Cape Henlopen State Park. The new pattern is de-
signed to reduce traffic backups and make it easier for traffic
to flow through the park's entrance. The roads have been
repaved, the toll booth has been moved further inland and
there are plans to bury the overhead utility lines in that area.