Washington (Platts)--10Nov2011/300 pm EST/2000 GMT
The US Environmental Protection Agency Thursday issued the first greenhouse gas permit in Texas to a power plant that is being modernized and expanded by the Lower Colorado River Authority to run on natural gas to replace an aging coal-fired facility. LCRA had sought the permit when it proposed to replace its 37-year-old, 440-MW plant with a 590-MW combined-cycle gas-fired plant. The new plant includes advanced environmental monitoring of GHG emissions in addition to a power generating system that will reduce production of nitrogen oxides, according to EPA. "The new LCRA plant will use improved environmental controls and install modern high efficiency equipment," said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. "LCRA is leading the way by providing Texans an efficient and reliable source of clean power." Article continues below... Request a free trial of: Electric Power Daily Electric Power Daily delivers a complete account of North American power industry news. It features federal and state policy, regulation, crucial environmental issues, generation and transmission projects, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.
The US Environmental Protection Agency Thursday issued the first greenhouse gas permit in Texas to a power plant that is being modernized and expanded by the Lower Colorado River Authority to run on natural gas to replace an aging coal-fired facility. LCRA had sought the permit when it proposed to replace its 37-year-old, 440-MW plant with a 590-MW combined-cycle gas-fired plant. The new plant includes advanced environmental monitoring of GHG emissions in addition to a power generating system that will reduce production of nitrogen oxides, according to EPA. "The new LCRA plant will use improved environmental controls and install modern high efficiency equipment," said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. "LCRA is leading the way by providing Texans an efficient and reliable source of clean power."
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Electric Power Daily delivers a complete account of North American power industry news. It features federal and state policy, regulation, crucial environmental issues, generation and transmission projects, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.
LCRA is the first company in Texas, a state that is suing EPA over its GHG rules, to complete the GHG permit process and obtained a final permit. The process took about eight months, EPA said. LCRA General Manager Becky Motal said that the replacement of its aging Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant with a new combined-cycle natural gas plant "benefits everyone." "The region will benefit from the latest environmental controls and our customers will benefit from our ability to better manage costs with a plant that will use about 35% to 40% less fuel than traditional gas-fired plants," Motal said. EPA's GHG permitting rules took effect in January for new power plants under the Clean Air Act's permit requirements for the "prevention of significant deterioration." A PSD permit now calls for an analysis of the "best available control technology" to determine how to reduce GHG emissions in addition to conventional air pollutants. New or modified facilities that are subject to a PSD BACT analysis are those that emit at least 75,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide equivalent. The electric power sector generates most of the nation's carbon dioxide. Texas is challenging EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate GHGs from industry. In the interim, the federal agency, rather than the state, is processing applications and issuing permits that face GHG requirements in Texas.--Cathy Cash, cathy_cash@platts.com
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