A coal industry group advising the federal government said that efficiency measures can help address carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector in the near term, but the group warned that plant owners could be discouraged from investing in improving energy efficiency of existing plants for fear that it would trigger New Source Review regulations.
"Proven technologies can significantly increase the efficiency of domestic electric power generation and thereby reduce the emissions of CO2 and regulated air pollutants."
--National Coal Council study
"Efficiency improvements at existing plants should be expedited -- this can be achieved both technically and economically -- but regulatory barriers must be addressed, including modifying the NSR process," the National Coal Council said in releasing a draft of a wide-ranging study on technologies to reduce or capture and store CO2 emissions.
The council said that NSR should not be triggered for plant efficiency improvements that reduce CO2 emissions with no subsequent increase in sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide emissions.
TXU Wholesale Chairman Mike McCall, who is also chairman of the NCC, presented the draft study and its recommendations during a council meeting in Washington, DC, on June 7.
Introducing the study, McCall said that a "broad spectrum of technologies" is needed to tackle the issue of GHG emissions from the power industry. Government support is crucial in supporting the industry because technologies are "still in early stages of development."
The study presented a three-sided approach to reducing GHG emissions from the power sector, with efficiency measures being the key solution to reducing pollution in the near term. The study also recommended that technology for carbon capture and storage must be developed and demonstrated over the long term, and "several major CCS projects must be started as soon as possible in order to achieve commercialization within the next 15 years."
In addition to efficiency measures and CCS technologies, the study authors said that advanced coal technologies such as integrated gasification combined-cycle and ultra-supercritical combustion "must be given public policy support and permitting incentives and financial support for initial developments so they can succeed in the marketplace."
Efficiency must come first
But at least in the near term, the study authors are seeing efficiency measures as being the key to helping the industry reduce emissions.
"Currently available, commercially proven technologies can significantly increase the efficiency of domestic electric power generation and thereby reduce the emissions of CO2 and regulated air pollutants such as SO2, NOx, mercury and particulates," the study said.
The study authors said that pulverized-coal and gasification plants that have been announced or are beginning construction today are about 25% more efficient, compared with average existing power plants.
As for NSR, the study authors said the Environmental Protection Agency-enforced regulation can "impede retrofit applications at existing facilities and thus may block efficiency improvements and corresponding CO2 benefits."
The authors recommended that the Department of Energy and EPA work together on implementing the Clean Air Interstate Rule and the Clean Air Mercury Rule so that the two rules can be combined into "one clear and workable set of regulations." CAIR and CAMR should also be aligned with NSR regulations so that "as existing power plants come into compliance with these rules, they are given incentives to simultaneously make efficiency improvements in plant operations," the study authors said.
As for CCS technologies, the study authors urged the federal government to "significantly" ramp up research and development funding across the full spectrum of those technologies, including capture, compression, transportation, storage and monitoring.
"While funding for CO2 capture and storage research has accelerated in recent years, it is insufficient to advance the commercialization of the technology at an acceptable pace, particularly for large-scale stand-alone and integrated CCS demonstrations and for deployment of the technology," the authors said.
The study authors also urged DOE to work with other federal agencies to streamline "the long, costly and complicated permitting process" for building power plants with CCS capability.
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