Sierra Club: PGE Still Needs To Shut Down Boardman By 2014

PGE's coal-fired power plant near Boardman, OR. Photo from Brian Pasko.

In the campaign to shut down the coal-fired power plant at Boardman, the Oregon Sierra Club isn’t ready to declare victory.

Doing so might have been understandable.

PGE’s decision to close Boardman by 2020, two decades ahead of schedule, is major news. It’s an acknowledgment that its cheaper to shut down the plant early, rather than pay a half billion dollars for new emissions controls.

It means 20 fewer years for the state’s only coal-fired power plant, our biggest single source of greenhouse gases, and a major source of haze, mercury and acid rain in the Gorge.

Instead, the Sierra Club is moving forward with its campaign to shut down Boardman by 2014. Here’s why.

Six Years Makes A Difference

The Sierra Club’s argument goes like this. In November of last year, PGE released a document looking at several possible future scenarios for operating the Boardman plant. According to that analysis, the least expensive option was closing the plant in 2014 and replacing it with a natural gas fired plant.

If that’s the case, Sierra Club asks, why let Boardman continue polluting for another six years and remain a threaten public health?

According to information compiled by Environment Oregon, the Boardman plant produced nearly 5 million tons of carbon emissions during 2007. That’s roughly the same as the amount of carbon pollution emitted by 843,000 cars. Over six years that’s almost 30 million tons. Under PGE’s proposal, Boardman would also be allowed to continue releasing pollutants that cause haze.

“PGE is changing the rules at the eleventh hour so it can continue polluting unchecked.” says Sierra Club Regional Representative Cesia Kearns.  ”We are prepared to clearly show through PGE’s own analysis that 2014 is the best time to phase out Boardman. Residents of Oregon are affected by the health impacts of burning coal at Boardman each and every day.”

“Not Enough Time”

PGE spokesman Steve Corson says the utility needs the extra six years to figure out how to replace the electricity that Boardman generates. Doing that by 2014 he says, “is not enough time.”  PGE still needs to decide how to replace the power, then go through design and construction. Corson says replacing Boardman with a natural gas plant is one of the options. But the company is also looking at converting the plant into one that’s fueled by biomass instead of coal.

Corson says PGE already has plans to build other natural gas plants and increase its supply of renewable energy sources. He says, “Logistically, it’s very difficult to do everything we need to do.”

PGE is also trying to recover the initial investment in Boardman. Keep it running for an extra six years and that becomes easier. Otherwise, Corson says, PGE may need to ask for rate increases to recover the costs in less time.

In a news conference, an energy consultant hired by Sierra Club disputes that. David Schlissel says retiring Boardman in 2014 doesn’t pose a risk to customers, nor should they notice a change in the quality of service.

What’s Ahead?

Until yesterday’s announcement, the Public Utility Commission was ready to take comments on PGE’s plan for the future, better known as the Integrated Resource Plan. But the public input part of next week’s meeting has been cancelled. And it isn’t clear what will happen to a full public meeting that was scheduled for February 1.

Meanwhile, the Sierra Club presses ahead with its “Move Beyond Coal” campaign.

When we last reported on the Beyond Coal campaign, regional coordinator Robin Everett made an interesting comment. “At some point along the way,” she said, “carbon regulations, or people’s demands, or global warming itself is going to cause that plant to have to be shut down.”

Turns out she was right. Now the big question is, when?

Tags: boardman power plant, oregon sierra club, pge, Portland General Electric