Posts Tagged ‘ boardman ’

An Early End To PGE’s Boardman Coal Fired Power Plant?

January 14, 2010
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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

Extreme Environmental Makeover Proposed For PGE Power Plant

June 1, 2009
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One of the biggest sources of air pollution in the state, the PGE coal-fired power plant near Boardman, may soon undergo a very costly environmental makeover.  Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality wants PGE to install more than $470 million worth of pollution controls by 2018.

The goal?  Cut emissions of nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide by 80%.

The benefits?  Major reductions in haze and acid rain in the Columbia River Gorge, and major reductions in haze at a dozen wilderness areas around the state.

DEQ staff will submit the rules to Commissioners at their next meeting on June 18-19.  The Boardman clean up is the centerpiece of a proposed Oregon Regional Haze plan that’s designed to improve visibility across the state.  Commissioners could vote to adopt the plan, or ask staff to work on other options.

They’ll have to do something.  The Environmental Protection Agency is requiring states to reduce haze at what are called Class 1 Wilderness areas.  There are a dozen of them in scattered throughout Oregon, so reducing haze at these places will also clear the air in the rest of the state.  Some of the better known Class 1 Wilderness areas are located near Mt. Hood, the Three Sisters, Crater Lake and Hells Canyon.

PGE asked for so-called “decision points” which would allow them to stop spending money on fixing up the plant, if they agreed to decommission it at some later point.  DEQ staff turned down that proposal, but says if PGE decides to shut down Boardman it can always file for a rule change.

While $470 million sounds costly, DEQ estimates it will only increase electricity bills for PGE customers by 3.5%, or about $3 a month for the average household.  If the rules are approved, the first phase of pollution controls would have to be installed starting in 2011.