An Early End To PGE’s Boardman Coal Fired Power Plant?
A very big story from the Oregonian. PGE says it’s thinking about shutting down the state’s only coal fired power plant in Boardman.
See: PGE moves to close Boardman coal-fired power plant early
This has been a long sought goal by Oregon environmental groups, including Environment Oregon and the state chapter of the Sierra Club. But it’s still not clear if they’ll see this announcement as a full victory.
According to the O, PGE wants to continue running Boardman for another 10 years. By doing so, it hopes to avoid paying for millions of dollars in new pollution controls. The Boardman plant is one of the biggest contributers to regional haze, and PGE was looking at a $500 million bill to reduce haze emissions 80% by 2018. The plant is also under orders to drastically reduce mercury emissions.
Just recently, a report from Environment Oregon found that Boardman is also the biggest single source of carbon emissions in Oregon.
See: Santa Talks ‘Dirty’ About The Boardman Power Plant
