TXU's Proposed Plants Will Use Dirty Coal

Cleaner and cheaper power sources are available

Posted: 05-Sep-2006; Updated: 27-Dec-2006

TXU's Proposed Plants Will Use Dirty Coal

TXU wants to add another polluting coal-fired power unit at its Big Brown power plant site about 100 miles south of Dallas.

TXU's spin machine is selling its 11 proposed plants as the fastest, cleanest and most affordable way to meet Texas' power needs. All these claims are false. Coal gasification is cleaner. Renewable energy is cleaner and faster. Conservation and better efficiency are faster, cheaper and cleaner.

TXU is not considering clean technology

There is something called "clean coal," but it's not what TXU is planning for these 11 plants. Several of the nation's largest power companies are adopting coal gasification technology (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, or IGCC) that not only burns cleaner but allows the capture of the carbon dioxide that is produced. TXU has refused to consider coal gasification technology.

Nationwide, there are currently applications to build 25 new power plants using coal-gasification technology. The nation's largest power company, is planning new IGCC plants. Xcel, the nation's fourth-largest power generator, announced in mid-August that it will not only build a new IGCC plant in Colorado but also be the first to equip a plant to capture much of the carbon dioxide to be permanently sequestered underground. This plant will use the same Western coal that most of TXU's plants would use.

An efficient alternative to the traditional pulverized coal-fired power plant, an IGCC power plant can achieve low emission rates of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, particulate mater and mercury (see "The Dangers of Burning Coal for Energy"). For new electricity generation, IGCC power plants are a much more environmentally sound option than outdated pulverized coal plants and should be seriously considered as part of an overall air pollution control strategy for proposed new power plants.

CEO Wilder shuns clean coal even while his peers embrace it

Investing in clean coal technologies like coal gasification would alleviate many of the environmental and health concerns of coal-fired power plants. But TXU CEO John Wilder has stated that coal gasification technology is unproven. He called it "a gleam in someone's eye."

That "someone" might be the CEO of American Electric Power (AEP), the nation's largest electric utility. AEP has filed for permits for two gasification plants. Its web site states:

IGCC is a clean coal technology that combines two technologies – coal gasification and combined cycle – to offer the potential to achieve the environmental benefits of gas-fired generation with the thermal performance of a combined-cycle plant, yet with the low fuel cost associated with coal. The technology offers potential for future retrofit of carbon-capture systems at a lower capital cost and with lower efficiency losses when compared with conventional pulverized coal technologies.
— from the AEP web site

Or perhaps that someone is the CEO of Tampa Electric, a company that has been operating a gasification plant since 1995. The company's web site states:

The outcome is power production requiring 15 percent less fuel, achieving 10-12 percent more efficiency than normal generating stations. And, by reusing exhaust heat, additional electricity is produced. This combined-cycle process is the most cost-efficient method today of producing commercial electricity. It is also the most environmentally friendly with respect to air emissions.
— from the Tampa Electric web site

Or maybe that someone is Xcel Energy CEO Richard C. Kelly. He just announced that Xcel would build a gasification plant using the very same coal that John Wilder has said is unusable in gasification plants.

We believe the development and commercial operation of clean-coal technology is needed... We want to lead the effort to demonstrate that this technology works... — Richard C. Kelly, CEO Xcel Energy

Wilder's claims about cleaner alternatives simply don't add up. The truth is that the technology is available. But TXU doesn't want to use other companies' technology. To maximize the company's profits, TXU wants to only use the cheap, dirty coal technology it has been using for years.

Texans and the rest of the world shouldn't have to suffer the health and environmental consequences of TXU's "head in the sand" position on technology. TXU should use the best available technology to clean up its dirty plants. And coal gasification is available and affordable today.

Renewable energy is an under-tapped resource

Texas' Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requires power companies to gradually increase their use of non-polluting, renewable energy sources like wind and solar. In 2005, legislators increased Texas' RPS to require that power companies generate about 5 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2015. The previous RPS was about 2.8 percent by 2009.

We have already surpassed that target three years ahead of the deadline. Wind power is a huge opportunity in Texas. In fact, Texas recently passed California to become the nation's top producer of wind-generated electric power. And there's plenty more wind out there to capture.

Recently the Western Governors' Texas Association, of which Governor Perry is a member, strongly endorsed greater use of clean, renewable energy sources — like wind — over coal. The announcement was especially notable because it was made by Governor Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming, the nation's leading coal-producer.

Efficiency and conservation can help meet energy needs

We don't need as much energy as TXU says we do. When most people find themselves "needing" more of something they can't afford, they ask themselves whether they can find ways to use less of it. That's not the case with Texas and electricity. Rather than fast-tracking dirty power plants, our leaders should do more to encourage existing technology that uses less power.

While Texas' per capita energy use has soared, California's has remained relatively stable over the past two decades. The City of Austin's publicly owned utility has encouraged green building and provided free home energy audits and rebates for energy-efficient appliances and air conditioners. The result? Austin Energy has avoided the construction of an additional power plant.