p.1 

OAR Box 1778 

Prepped by Ollie Stewart 

Document Number: 

197)11-1-29 

Docket Number: 

A-90-06 

Printed 10/28/2008 9:51:01 AM Sheet 197 of 276 
, r~i 

fAfA 

CZ'J 

Coal & "jjiiiucia 

Technology 

incomommg Ilaetric RM D Vol- 9i No. 23 • Juna 13,19 

Bahamas plant ktllad 

A 1.600-Mw coal-fired power project in 

the Bahamai planned by an industry 

consoninm is effectively dead. 

The plant, proposed fcr Grand Bahama 

Island, would hava produced some electricity tor use on the island .and would have 

shipped Merest to Florida Power and Light. 

Toe project depended oo whether thc 

Florida utility would agree to boy (be 

power. 

But die utility last week issued a brief 

Batemem saying it had no interest in 

participating. Florida Power and Light said 

it disagreed with tha consortium, headed by 

Middle South Utilities, over costs and die 

price of operational risks. The group also 

included Bechtel, Asea and Babcock A 

Wtlcox. 

The utility is meeting new demand with 

purchased power and two of its own pUna. 

Al», it has proposed a 4C0iMw coal 

gasification, combined<ycle plant under 

the federal clean coal program (CAST 

5/30). 

First mathancl pump unvallad 

Vice President George Bush unveiled 

the first retail methanol pump in Los 

Angeles last week, highlighting the joint 

effort by the Califooua Energy Commission 

and ARCO io bring methanol Aal to die 

sta_e. - - ..>.-

ARCO la 

inCaliftmfci 

retail 

Caiitontia _i-f fMprip haie 13 to place by 

the end of tfcf^JPmpumps wtU 

dispense M45. a methanol fuel which is 

15% methanol and 15% unleaded gasoline. 

ARCO will purchase M45 through die 

commission and will deliver it diracdy to 

ARCO statioot. TlM commission now buys 

M-85 from Hoechst Celanese Chemical of 

.Dallas for 86*/pi, a commission spokesperson said. 

Bechtel renewing push for clean coal jobs 

After years of building iu reputation on nuclear power, Bechtel is / 

beck to the basics of coaL 

The last of its nuclear power plant construction jobs completed, the 

privately held engineering and construction company is counting on ca 

carry it through until nuclear power makes a comeback — another 25-3-

years. by Bechtel estimates, By then, the current U J . fleet of nuck« pc 

plants will need to be replaced, and cheaper, modulsr technologies will' 

available to meet the demand, company officials say. 

Meanwhile. Bechtel is taking advantage of die mushrooming iraere. 

clean coal technologies — and the potential for bOlioos of dollan in gov 

ment and private spending under the federal Clean Coal Technology pre 

Bechtel is involved in at least six of die 54 proposals submitted last moe 

developers eager to share S536 million in DOE funding under the sacoa 

round of the program. DOE has estimated the total value of the S* pn ^ 

$5.3 billion. ' •*• 

(CoatfjuieirfMjMfeJ) J 

Politics cloud Wisconsin life extension case 

! Wisconsin Electric Power Co/s plan io refurbish iu Port Washingtoi 

plant has kindled a hot political debate diat could detennine whether mil. 

can keep repairing old plana to avoid meeting new, stricter emissions 

standards. 

US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff ex pea to brief tc 

agency officials this week oo the case, which started as a simple request i 

the utility for permission from the Wisconsin Public Service Commissior. 

repair die 1935-vintaga plane 

The request caught die eye of EPA's regional office as a possible up/ 

diat would require the plant to meet federal new source performance nam 

(NSPS) for SO, emissions (CASTS/2). EPA for some time has been waic; 

utility life extension programs, which the agency tea some utilities using 

ploy to skin clean air laws. Plants diet came on line before 1971 don't fall 

under NSPS. so many utilities are starting life extension programs io keep 

plants running instead of building new plants that would require eipensjt*-

acnibbers. 

Analysis in the regional office asked for help from the agency's envir 

mental control division in North Carolina, which planned to make a rccom 

mendation by May 9. But as mora information came in from the uuiity. tht 

case became less cut-and-dried and more politicaL Analysis at EP A headq: 

| Inside 

! • Northeast, MJdwwfguvs propose new acid rain law ..page 

;

' • TVA evaluates fluidized-bed results,. —_~.pac t 

j • Northern States proposes mineral recovery project page 

npred*tt%m *</ e*y mmnt it 
-TUN 27 '88 13:41 EPfi 

Acidrain updata 

The Senate Commerce Committee last 

week challenged a recent study on acidification of coastal waters that attributed the 

problem to coal-fired power *ms in the 

Ohio VaJJey. 

Panel members questioned scienosu from 

the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). 

which wrote the study, about whether NO, 

compounds responsible for choking aquatic 

life in the Chesapeake Bay were from local or 

distant sources. EDF scientists said most NO, 

compounds were from local sources, especially motor vehicles, and also from pesticides 

and odier sources not linked to coaL 

Sea. Ted Covens, R Alaska, said nates 

surrounding the bay should take action to stop 

their own contributions to its demise before 

asking the federal government to take action 

against states hundreds of miles away. One 

panelist, Syracuse University Civil Engineering Professor Charles Driscoll, called die EDF 

report a "back-of-the envelope" measurement 

of NO, compounds. 

Meanwhile, members of a Canadian 

parliamentary group on acid rain indicated 

during a visit to Washington last week that 

they have backed off from the country's 

insistence on an acid rain accord with the U.S. 

But the catch is that they will droo 

demands for an acid rain treaty onl;. ;f 

Congress passes an acid rain law. The group 

met witii several U_S. lawmakers and their 

staffs, representatives of die utility industry, 

environmentalists and journalists in a weeklong push fcr action on die acid rain issue. 

The group called die proposal on acid min 

from Govs. Richard) Celeste of Ohio and 

Mario Cuomo of New York (stt story, this 

page) a "great step forward," although they 

called the program's timetable too long. Tha 

Canadians didn't meat •jpfjfiiilsi.i Waagsit, 

Senate Majority I_6___MJMtil#y!d or House 

Energy ± Commerce GIMIBS S Chairman 

John DingelL all of wio__H_iijreriticbed for 

blocking an acid rain laws 

"The larger picture is missing in die minds 

and brains in Washington.'' one member told 

reporters Wednesday. The damage to Canada 

from acid rain is about Sl btiliovyr. they 

said. 

The group said that, judging from their 

discussion* -•.-** h Congress, they weren't 

overly opti;»u-£ about a law being passed 

this year. Bat they said they believed presidential cand&'-tes George Bush and Michael 

Dufcafcis arc .r Tportive of an acid rain law. 

ters in Washington were notified and they, in mm, will brief the agency 

administrator and his assistants. 

One analyst said it appears the refurbishment goes beyond the 

definition of routine repairs, while the utility and the contractor doing th< 

work maintain that the plant shouldn't be subject to NSPS because iu 

emissions won't increase as a result of the repairs. Wisconsin Eicctnc ha. 

avoided calling the work a life extension program, describing it instead a. 

routine maintenance needed for safety and to bring the plant back up to incapacity it was built to produce. 

Wisconsin Electric representatives meanwhile have been lobbying to. 

EPA officials in Washington since the beginning of the case, but were 

referred to analysu in the Office of Air and Radiation, sources said. 

Election politics sets bctor 

A source working with die contactor doing die repairs said he 

believed the issue has become so political that EPA would delay making a 

decision until after die presidential election in November, and that the 

<Jw.i_.juti wl»e-l_w iu force die plant to moot NSPS would depend on who ie 

elected. 

Wisconsin Electric has said It wouldn't wait for EPA's decision to 

start die work. The utility reportedly is making contingency plans, such as 

saving room for scrubbers or considering switching to low-sulfur fuel, just 

in case EPA decides to impose the stricter standards. A utility spokesperson said die company wants a decision as soon as possible. 

Lower-level EPA officials who have been involved in die case say 

that it theoretically could be stalled at the top for political reasons, but said 

they haven't been pressured to hold it tip. And an administrative assistant 

flatly denied diat EPA would let politics delay the outcome of die ease. 

Further, the decision may hinge on Wisconsin Electric's plan to replace 

the rear steam drum, which is specific to in repair program, and therefore 

die outcome might not apply to other utilities in similar situations. 

But. one analyst said, the case is hot politically because it's the first 

time EPA has gotten involved for a specific plant, and the issue is guaranteed to keep coming up until the agency clarifies its mles governing plant 

modification and reconsuuction costs. The rules could be revised, but the 

overall provisions are written as law and EPA couldn't change them so 

crack down on utilities without being challenged in court. 

Ultimately, Uie best way to reduce emissions would be through an 

acid rain law, one analyst maintained. 

Acid rain proposaf may break deadlock 

A proposed acid rain law unveiled last week by the governor-, of New 

York and Ohio got skeptical reviews all around, but the draft couJJ pa*e 

the way for an eventual compromise. 

The proposal, drafted by Democratic Govs. Richard Cclc.ic or Ohio 

and Mario Cuomo of New York, is designed to satisfy concerns oi NM.I 

the coal-buming Midwest and die Nonheast. the region thai '. hec n horJc.t 

hit by acid rain. 

It calls for 10 million tons/yr of SO, reductions by 2005 anJ a ' 0-

year, S2.5 billion Clean Coal Technology (CCT) program gcuvJ i.-«..r.. 

retrofitting existing coal-buming^lants. And it breaks nc» yrounj m 

calling for the oil industry to help foot the bill. 

The SO, reductions would take place in three five-year r-h-K*. Die 

first call* for a 3.5 million tons/yr reduction by 1993. Phase i*» c_!l> i.-r 

an additional 4.5 million tons/yr reduction by 1998. and thc irii/.i plus: 

calls for another 2 million tons/yr to be reduced by 2003 

The proposal also calls for reductions in NO, emissions .mm both 

mobile and stationary sources. The draft calls for NO, emission* to rv 

tt* Tulmmfo—Jmm It. /MS