Ohh, boo-fucking-hoo. If you don't want to operate a coal plant, because the expenses of running one are so astronomical, then, hey - shut it down!
Chicago Tribune | Local pressure put on mercury output
Doug McFarlan, a spokesman for Midwest Generation, said the company opposes the state rule because the public health benefits would not be significantly greater than those under federal standards, which the company's plants already follow.He also argued that emissions-reduction technology hasn't been proven capable of reducing mercury by 90 percent in three years, and the costs of installing the equipment--about $2 million to $3 million per unit--would strike a severe blow to the company's business.
“It crunches capital expenses into such a short time frame that it puts the competitiveness of these plants into jeopardy,” McFarlan said, while federal standards allow the costs to be spread over several years.
Backed by exhaust stacks protruding from a power plant in the distance, environmental advocates and city and state officials gathered at a Waukegan park Monday to support a proposal that would force Illinois coal-fired power plants to severely limit mercury emissions.Citing the health risks mercury poses for nursing women, young children and women of childbearing age, Gov. Rod Blagojevich in January called for new standards that would require utilities to cut mercury emissions from their Illinois plants by 90 percent by July 2009.
“This is one of these issues where it's clear-cut that we can take steps now to decrease the effect on our children,” said Dr. Eric Whitaker, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. “The reality is that we're going to pay for it now or we're going to pay for it later in terms of human costs.”
Waukegan Generating Station, a three-unit coal-fired plant owned by Midwest Generation, served as the backdrop for Monday's news conference. The plant, which sits on the edge of Lake Michigan in the northeast corner of Waukegan, has operated in the city since 1923. It is rated to put out electricity for up to 800,000 households and employs 190 people.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the plant emitted about 255 pounds of mercury into the air in 2003, the last year for which statistics are available. That year, according to the EPA, the plant ranked seventh among coal-fired plants in the state for mercury emissions.
And of course, public investment and private profit, courtesy of the Mayor of Waukegan
Waukegan Mayor Richard Hyde said he supports the governor's plan but said utilities would probably need help covering the costs of installing new equipment.“Somewhere along the line, someone is going to have to make grants available and somebody should help them,” Hyde said.
So the local government wants the taxpayers to fund the scrubbers, and the energy company still whines about the cost. Gee you'd think the energy industry is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy if you listened to all their whining.
Here's my solution - all executives for all coal power plants, and other polluting industries have to live within a mile of the plant, with their families, and attend local schools as well.
Coal-fired power plants account for much of the mercury released into the atmosphere. The chemical finds its way into oceans, lakes and rivers through precipitation and poses a danger to humans through consumption of contaminated fish. Studies have shown that mercury can cause learning disabilities in children and neurological problems in adults.Illinois ranks fifth in the nation in mercury emissions. State environmental protection officials estimate that about two-thirds of mercury that falls in the state comes from sources within state borders.
Supporters of the state rule argue that activated carbon injection systems, the equipment that plants would install to filter out airborne mercury, would be capable of reducing mercury emissions by 90 percent in three years.
That is more than mandated by the Bush administration's mercury rule, which now requires Illinois to reduce mercury emissions by 47 percent by 2010 and 78 percent by 2018, said Ron Burke, the associate director of the Illinois EPA.
Tags: Chicago, /Energy, /environment
