**OV ER** **VIEW OF NA VA** **JO GENERA**

**TING ST**  **AT ION**  **STUD Y B** **Y NA**

**TIONAL RENEW** 

**ABLE ENER GY**  **LABORA TO**  **RY**
Letty Belin Counselor to the Deputy Secr etar y U. S. Departmen t of the Interior Fe bruary 8, 2012

## NGS **Options Study**

**by Na tional**  **Re newable**  **Energy Labor ato**  **ry**

http://www.nr el. gov/ngs/ • Purpose: T

o pr ovide independen t t echnical analy sis of the man y in te rr elated and comple x issues r elating to NGS that can pr ovide the basis fo r accomplishing those objectives

– **Phase I:** fo cused on EP A BART pr ocess pr oceeding while identifying a r ange of pot ential options to addr ess long - te rm futur e of NGS

– **Phase II:** Te chnic al, economic, en vir onmen ta l, social, re gula to ry and policy analyses of all fe asible long - te rm power gener ation alt ernatives

2

## PHASE I S**TUD Y OBJE**  **CTIVE S** 

• Cos ts of compliance

• Re maining useful life of NGS • Degr ee of impr ovement in visibility that wo uld re sult fr om B ART ins ta llation • Exis ting pollution co ntr ol equipmen t 

### Goal No. 1: Pr**ovide EP**

**A additional da ta**  **re la**  **ting t o 5 B** **AR T crit**  **eria Goal**  **No. 2:**  Iden tify economic and social benefits of NGS, needs met by NGS, and impacts of NGS **Goal No.**  **3:** Pr ovide information comparing NGS t o other coal - fir ed plan ts (multiple criteria) **Goal No.**  **4:** Assess risks and cos ts of NGS shut down under va rious BART scenarios **Goal No.**  **5:** Eva luate impacts of pot en tial BART emission contr ol alt ernatives **Goal No.**  **6:** Iden tify gener ation alternatives for full ev aluation in Phase II (not y et complete)

## Schedule **fo r Phase I R**  **eport**
• **Sept. thr ough December 2011**  : Dat a ga thering • **January 18, 2012** : Final NREL r eport (e xc ept Energy Gener at ion Alt ernatives chapt er) r eleased • **Fe bruary 6, 2012:**  Deadline for writte n commen ts to DOI • **Fe bruary 2012:**  DOI submits compendium of writte n commen ts on NREL r eport to EP A • **La te**  **Fe bruary**  **- Ea**  **rly Mar ch 2012:**  Energy Gener at ion Alt ernatives chapt er r eleased

## Summary of Tribal Impacts fr om B ART • Absen t complet e or partial NGS shut down, dir ect economic bene fits to Na va jo and Hopi fr om mining and NGS oper at ion will con tinue
• Eco nomic impacts on CAP w ater tribes fr om B AR T compliance depend on type of emissions contr ols. Impacts ra nge fr om z er o (Low NOx burner s) t o 29 - 32% incr ease in cos t of CAP w ater (SCR + baghouses )
• St eep incr ease in CAP w ater cost is concern in Indian w ater settlemen ts

## NREL Study Consider ed four options for B ART emissions co ntr ol t echnology:

– Alr eady ins ta lled low NOx burner s (40% emissions re duction)

– Selectiv e non - cata lytic re duction (SNCR) (50 - 60% emissions re duction)

– Selectiv e cat alytic r eduction (SCR) (78% emissions re duction)

– SCR plus baghouses & sorben t injection

## Cos ts of B ART Compliance Capit al O&M • Low No x Burners: none none • SNCR: $16.3 m $4.9 m/yr • SCR: $544 m $12.7 m/yr • SCR + baghouses $1,100 m $12.7m/yr

## Bur den of c ompliance c os ts for B ART pr obably fall mos t hea vily on those who r ely on CAP w ate r

## NREL Study Findings
• Impacts of B ART c ompliance fall mos t hea vily on R eclamation and CAP w ate r users r ather than other utility owners and their cus to mers
• Visibility: “E vidence sug ges ts that NOx emissions fr om NGS ar e a likely incr emen ta l co ntribut or t o haz e at the Gr and Can yo n” and 10 other Class 1 ar eas

## NREL Study Findings (c on t.) • Impacts of ins ta lling SCR w ould pr obably be less than closing NGS and r eplacing it with power fr om other sour ces (but uncert ain ties mean this migh t not occur)
• Fo r non - Re clamation utility owner s, SCR at NGS would incr ease pr oduction cos ts by 3 - 4% and w ould incr ease utility ra te s by r elativ ely small amoun ts

## NREL Phase 1 Study: Final Chapt er
• Final chapt er addr esses futur e cleaner energy alt ernativ es for NGS • No det ailed analysis of alt ernativ es -- ins te ad, a lis t of what appear t o be the mos t viable alt ernativ es • Expect ed by end of F ebruary • Not dir ectly r elev an t t o B ART