Controversy grows over Duke plant
As the controversy continues over Duke Energy Carolinas’ latest coal project, so does the project's construction at the Cliffside Steam Station in western North Carolina.
The state’s Division of Air Quality held a public hearing Thursday at Chase High School in Forest City concerning the plant’s air permit. The division has granted an air-quality permit for Cliffside once already. But environmental groups successfully sued for a new consideration, contending the state failed to require sufficiently rigorous standards of the utility.
Meanwhile, Duke says the plant is about 26 percent finished. The plant straddles the border of Rutherford and Cleveland counties. On a tour of the site, Duke officials and the plant manager say the project is on target for completion in 2012.
Sam Alexander, senior project manager for the new coal unit, says Duke still expects the plant to cost $1.8 billion to build plus about $600 million in financing costs.
So far the company has completed the shell of the 550-foot smokestack that will handle both the new unit and an existing 500-megawatt unit on the site that will remain in service. Four other smaller coal-fired units will stop operating once the new unit is finished.
Duke contends the new unit will be much cleaner than those being decommissioned. It contends that overall, Cliffside will be only a minor producer of hazardous emissions such as sulfer dioxide, nitrous oxides and mercury.
Local environmental groups have challenged that contention. They filed a federal lawsuit forcing the state to consider whether Duke is required to install equipment to achieve the greatest amount of emission-controls possible. The suit could also force Duke to meet that standard.
Duke says it has met the standard already. And it says that it is not required to meet that standard anyway because of Cliffside’s status as a minor polluter.
Enviromental activists at the public hearing contended the state is knuckling under pressure from Duke to issue a new permit without finding that emissions control meet the maximum standard.
And speaking for an environmental arm of the N.C. Council of Churches, Jill Rios of Asheville contended that Duke does not even need Cliffside to meet its current customer demands. Speaking at a news conference before the hearing, she accused Duke of building the plant so it can sell energy at a profit to customers outside its regular service area.
“Others get the power; Duke gets its profits, and we get the poison,” she said.
Chris Knudsen, an air-quality expert with Duke, says the state has reviewed Duke’s emission numbers several times. He says he is confident Duke’s emission controls are state-of-the-art. And Duke has repeatedly said Cliffside is necessary to meet growing demand.
The state will decide whether to issue a new permit. But the federal court is likely to be asked to determine ultimately if the proper standards have been applied.
Duke has about 800 construction workers on the Cliffside site now. That will grow to a peak of 1,600 workers by June, the company says.
Duke Energy Carolinas is a division of Charlotte-based Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK). The company provides power to much of the western Triangle.
Author
Webmaster
-
Friday 23 January 2009 - 08:53:38
Comments: Off 
