More Views On PGE’s Early Shut Down Of Boardman
This weekend, Environment Oregon released its take on PGE’s proposal to close the coal-fired power plant near Boardman. The group has been active in the campaign to close Boardman by 2014. PGE’s most current plan is to shut it down by 2020.
The EO statement calls the announcement, “A major milestone on Oregon’s path to a 100 percent clean, renewable energy future.” And it’s generally more optimistic in tone that what we’ve heard from the Oregon Sierra Club.
But the statement includes a new angle to the debate over 2014 or 2020.
It says the timing of the closure may have to be moved up sooner because of pending EPA regulations for ozone and sulfur dioxide emissions as well as greenhouse gases. “PGE and the PUC will need to assess how these new regulations will affect the Boardman coal plant,” says Environment Oregon.
For now, Brock Howell with EO says the group is seeking the earliest possible closure of Boardman. They’re still aiming for 2014, unless as Howell puts it, “PGE provides strong justification for why capacity or out-of-market purchases could not be made in time for a 2014 date.”
Meanwhile, over at Blue Oregon, Jeff Bissonnette of the Citizen’s Utility Board offers a comprehensive look at some of the issues surrounding Boardman. It’s worth the time to read the whole posting, but here’s one nugget.
He says this could be “game-changing” for the electrical industry. The Boardman plant is not just some worn out coal plant that’s easy for PGE to toss aside. It’s a major source of reliable power for the utility. Bissonnette quotes analysts who tell him this decision could send “shock waves” through the industry.
Both Bissonnette and Environment Oregon remind us what a big deal this is. Boardman is the state’s biggest single producer of greenhouse gas. Shutting it down is a big step to reaching our goals of reducing carbon emissions in the state.
It’s great they’re closing this, but buildng two LNG plants in its place is not a real sollution. Fossil fuels are are 19th century technology. Time to move past burning things to creat energy.