Coal Plant Decisions To Clean or Not To CleanCoal Plant Decisions To Clean Or Not To Clean ?
Key coal plant decisions ahead
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Mar 2 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Scott Waltman American News, Aberdeen, S.D.
It's not a certainty yet, but more details are being revealed about a $2 billion coal power plant that could be built west of Selby.
Just when a final decision will come, though, is not yet known.
Without citing a specific timeline, Daryl Hill, a Basin Electric spokesman, said it will be "several months" before some of the biggest decisions about the potential plant are made.
The North Dakota-based company bought 2,360 acres about 2.75 miles west of Selby. It hopes to build a new coal-fueled power plant valued at more than $2 billion. It would employ between 120 and 150 full-time workers. Before then, though, there is a lot of work to be done.
Hill said one of the first decisions that has to be made is what type of technology the plant would use.
One option is a system called "integrated gasification combined cycle" or IGCC. The process turns coal into a gas. The gas is then combusted in a turbine that drives a generator. The hot exhaust from that turbine is then used to produce steam that drives another turbine-generator combination.
The other option burns pulverized coal at high pressure and temperatures to produce steam that turns turbines.
Hill said the technology selected will impact how much power the plant produces, the amount of coal needed, train traffic and other details.
Whichever technology is most efficient and produces the most power will be chosen, Hill said.
General Electric is working on the IGCC technology, which is newer. It has never been used with the type of coal that would be burned at the Selby plant. The pulverized coal process is more common among power producers, Hill said.
No matter the technology, the coal used would be shipped by train from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming.
Basin Electric recently filed a notification of intent with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. In short, it's a letter that lays out many plant details. But, it says, the plans to build are still tentative and the details are subject to change.
The letter says Basin Electric will need to build one new substation four miles west of the tentative new plant. A transmission line would be needed between the facilities. Another would be needed from the Selby plant to the existing Antelope Valley Station about 17 miles east of the Selby site.
A third line would not be connected to the new plant. Instead, it would cover about 40 miles and provide increased transmission capacity in the Huron/Woonsocket area.
According to the letter to the PUC, the Selby plant would get water from Lake Oahe. Thirteen miles of underground pipe would draw water used by towers that cool and condense turbine exhaust steam. The letter says the plant would not discharge any industrial water.
The so-called NextGen plant near Selby would produce between 600 and 700 megawatts of power a day, Hill said.
Commonly, Hill said, the estimation is that one megawatt can power 800 residential homes for 24 hours. So 600 megawatts would be able to power 480,000 homes for a day. Much of the electricity created would be used in South Dakota.
Basin Electric is a power supplier. In South Dakota, it sells power to East River Electric. East River Electric supplies Northern Electric, the retailer who provides much of the power in the Aberdeen area.
If the plant is built, construction would start in 2010, and NextGen would be online by 2014. The letter to the PUC says it would need commission approval before late 2009.
Before then, Basin Electric officials are watching other things that could impact whether the plant will be built. They include:
-- An ongoing environmental impact study.
-- Whether Congress will approve a tax on carbon emissions that could hinder pans for the plant.
-- Economics.
-- Transmission and regulatory concerns.
While people in the region wait for Basin Electric's final decision, Gary Steuck of Mobridge said folks are excited. Steuck is the chairman of the North Central Power Plant Task Force, the group that worked to make Walworth County the preferred site.
Two locations in the Pierre area and a different Walworth County site between Java and Selby were also being considered. But, Basin Electric officials have said, the preferred site has the highest value to the company because it's near a railroad, a water supply and transmission lines.
Even before Basin Electric announced Selby as the preferred site last month, there were indications the news could be good, Steuck said. Last year, Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway workers were strengthening track between Mobridge and Lemmon. He said railroad workers told others the upgrades were to accommodate increased coal traffic through the area.
The Burlington Northern-Santa Fe already hauls coal from Wyoming to the Big Stone power plants near Milbank.
Steuck said he's heard talk that there's plenty of room on the proposed plant site for future expansion. And, he said, with the demand for electricity increasing each year, that would make sense.
Increased demand is the reason Basin Electric is considering building the plant to start with. Hill said that homes continue to use more electricity and people use more electronics, so demand is going to increase. A megawatt of electricity used to be able to power an average of 1,000 homes for a day, he said.
In past years, the federal government has offered incentives for companies that have produced clean-burning plants. But, Hill said, he doesn't know where those incentives now stand. Finding low-cost financing is the most important financial concern, he said.
Steuck said the task force will continue to meet. He said members don't know what topics will come up, but he's certain issues will need to be addressed if the plant moves forward.
In the letter to the PUC, Basin Electric indicates as many as 1,700 construction workers could be needed to build the plant. That would strain current accommodations in Walworth County, Steuck said.
The letter says Basin Electric would likely build a temporary work camp, although it doesn't cite details. Workers could be shuttled between the work camp and the construction site, the letter says.
Steuck said Basin Electric might put up modular homes or build a motel or apartments. Once the plant is built, the company could sell or give away apartments, Steuck said.
The company hasn't asked local officials about improved roads or other major infrastructure improvements, Steuck said.
In the PUC letter, Basin Electric acknowledges that there would be an increase in the police-, firefighter- and physician-to-citizen ratios. But, it also points out, the plant would have a considerable beneficial economic impact.
Steuck said he's confident Basin Electric knows what to expect should the NextGen plant be built. The company has been through the process before.
The big question is whether it's ready to go through it again. Only time will tell.
"The process for developing a plant like this is very meticulous," Hill said, "and the analysis that goes into that, it takes time."
Permits, licenses and approvals needed if Basin Electric builds its so-called NextGen coal-fueled power plant near Selby
(Permit, issuing agency, when needed)
-- Environmental impact study, Western Area Power Authority, prior to construction
-- Threatened and endangered species review, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, prior to construction
-- Section 10 and nationwide permit, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, before construction
-- Water storage permit, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, before operation
-- Stack construction approval, Federal Aviation Administration, before construction
-- Spill prevention, control and coutermeasure plan; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; before operation
-- License for instrumentation containing radioactive materials, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, before operation
-- Energy conversion facility and transmission facility permits, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, before construction
-- Clean Water Act compliance, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before operation
-- Water appropriation for nonirrigation uses, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before construction
-- Prevention of significant deterioration air permit, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before construction
-- Acid rain air permit, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before construction
-- Operating permit, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before operation
-- Sewage disposal permit, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before construction
-- Construction stormwater discharge permit, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before construction
-- National pollution discharge elimination system operational stormwater discharge permit, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before operation
-- Solid waste disposal permit, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before construction
-- Drinking water operator certification, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before construction
-- Registration of aboveground tanks, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before operation
-- No exposure certification for exclusion from stormwater discharges associated with industrial activities, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before construction
-- Temporary water use permit for construction activities, drilling or testing purposes, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, before construction
-- State-listed endangered fish and wildlife; South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks; before construction
-- Cultural and historic resources review, South Dakota Historic Preservation Office, before construction
-- Building permit, Walworth County, before construction
Source: Basin Electric letter to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission.
Inside
Artist's drawing of the proposed plant; required permits.
Page 5A
In a nutshell
-- Basin Electric still has to decide what type of coal-burning technology would be used if the plant is built.
-- The expected cost is at least $2 billion. The plant would create between 120 and 150 full-time jobs.