Boardman Showdown In Portland

PGE's coal fired Boardman Power Plant. Photo from Ted Timmons

Hearings before the Public Utility Commission are usually pretty dull events. But Wednesday’s hearing in Portland promises to be very, very different.

That’s because environmental groups are rallying the troops, urging them to show up in huge numbers.

Their message to the PUC? Shut down the Boardman coal-fired power plant by 2014.

The hearing could be a climatic moment in the campaign to close Oregon’s only coal-fired power plant. Boardman’s reputation as a source of dirty power is well deserved. It’s the biggest single source of carbon emissions in the state, a major contributor to the haze you see in the Columbia River Gorge and elsewhere, and spews 15,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide and over 200 pounds of mercury annually.

So What Do We Do About It?

There are three options before the PUC. Here’s a brief look at all of them.

Closing Boardman by 2014: This is the option favored by environmental groups. Under this scenario, PGE (which owns most of Boardman and operates the plant) would have to spend about $40 million in 2011 to reduce emissions of mercury and nitrogen oxide. But Boardman would have to be completely shut down three years later, and PGE would have to find other sources of electricity.

Arguments in favor: Best results for the environment by taking the state’s only coal-fired power plant off line. Robin Everett of the Oregon Sierra Club says Boardman has been allowed to operate for too long. “It’s the biggest polluter in the state. It’s time for them to clean it up. And the best way to do that is to shut it down.”

Arguments against: Steve Corson of PGE says a 2014 closure doesn’t give the utility enough time to find other sources of power. One possibility is replacing Boardman with a natural gas fired plant. But Corson says the utility also wants to explore other ideas such as converting Boardman into a plant that runs on biomass. A few more years, says Corson, also lowers the costs of shutting down the plant and finding those other sources.

Allowing Boardman to operate until 2040: If PGE were continue operating the plant for another 30-years, it would have to install more than $520 million in new pollution controls.

Arguments in favor: No one is enthusiastic about this option. It’s PGE’s second choice and environmental groups are appalled by the idea.

Arguments against: There’s a lot of uncertainty in a 30-year plan. New carbon controls under consideration by the EPA – or if Congress acts on climate change legislation – both could significantly raise the costs of operating Boardman. PGE customers could be on the hook for higher electricity bills to pay for pollution controls way beyond the $520 million already in the works.

Closing Boardman by 2020: PGE’s favorite option. The utility would still have to reduce emissions of mercury, nitrogen oxide and sulfur. But it would avoid paying the $520 million costs of new controls needed to keep the plant running until 2040. This option, also requires approval by Oregon DEQ. The agency recently rejected PGE’s 2020 plan, but says it’s studying other options.

Arguments in favor: Corson says this gives PGE enough time to explore a variety of replacement sources of power, keeps down the costs of shutting the plant and finding those new sources, and avoids an unknown future of new carbon controls.

Arguments against: The Sierra Club says PGE is working off flawed information. It says the utility overestimates the future costs of natural gas, and underestimates the savings from investments in efficiency. They say it’s wrong to keep putting money into coal generated electricity.

Details On The Hearing:

The hearing starts at 6:30pm in the auditorium of the Portland Building, 1120 SW 5th Ave. But environmental groups are holding briefing on the issues for the public starting at 5:30pm, and a press conference at 6:00pm. They’re also hoping people will show up early to sign up to testify.