Posted on 08/19/2003 4:32:29 AM PDT by snopercod
ALBANY - Environmentalists are concerned that last Thursday's blackout will result in a rapid growth of new power plants that could push air quality issues to the back burner.
Industry sources say the outage hasn't changed their message at all - that increased generation is needed and that new plants will be cleaner than existing ones.
Early in his administration, President Bush called for an increased use of cleaner-burning coal as a way to offset dependence on foreign energy sources.
"Coal is getting cleaner before it ever enters the power plants," according to The Coalition for Affordable and Reliable Energy (CARE), a pro-coal trade group. "Many steps are taken to provide a cleaner, more efficient combustion process with less potential for atmospheric pollution prior to burning it. These steps include chemical evaluation of coal deposits during the exploration stage, improved coal preparation and cleaning and computerized coal analysis and blending."
The group says nitrogen and sulfur emissions from coal-burning power plants went down 58 percent and 76 percent, respectively, from 1970 to 2000.
John Sheehan, communications director for The Adirondack Council, said Thursday's blackout could spell trouble for environmental gains that have already been made.
"It raises concerns for the fact that we don't have a cap on the total amount of sulfur and nitrogen coming out of the nation's power plants, regardless of how many there are. That's the big deficiency right now," he said.
Sheehan said that cleaner-burning plants alone aren't the answer and that a nationwide emissions cap is needed before new generators are built.
"The current Clean Air Act can't keep us from being more heavily polluted as new plants come online, and we expect there will be a lot of pressure for new capacity," he said. "Really what we need is to cap pollution and tell everybody, essentially, that this is all that can hit the ground anywhere in the country. The only way to do that is to clean up the older, dirtier plants before bringing new capacity online. The only way we're going to get there is with a national cap that requires it."
He said that nitrogen and sulfur emissions, which cause acid rain, far exceed acceptable levels and that upstate New York's Adirondack region will suffer a total ecological collapse if pollution isn't reduced drastically in the near future.
Several proposals, from Bush's Clear Skies initiative to a bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.), all include some type of nationwide emissions cap.
"Certainly we want to see something happen before the end of December," Sheehan said. "Because next year you've got the distraction of a presidential campaign beginning. That's a concern for us."
The Energy Association of New York represents numerous generating and/or transmission companies including Con Edison, Mirant and Entergy.
"The debate for us really hasn't changed as a consequence of Thursday's events," spokesman Patrick J. Curran said. "Number one, it seems there's a lot of premature reaction going on here because we don't yet actually know what happened. The bottom line is we need to have the generation to meet demand, we need to have it in certain locations and we need the transmission to deliver power."
Curran said energy conservation and efficiency along with renewable sources are important. "But the bulk of it is going to have to come from larger, more base-load type generation," he said. "We can do that well, and we can do that cleaner. Ultimately, there's no escaping that simple reality."
Independent Power Producers of New York represents most of New York state's generating companies.
"Finally, maybe we'll get some attention on longstanding issues and problems that haven't been addressed," said President and Chief Executive Officer Gavin Donohue. "Last week wasn't a generation problem. In the long term, we have some generation issues that need to be addressed. Obviously, the new technologies are much cleaner, more efficient than power plants of 20 years ago."
The New York System Operator oversees New York state's electric grid, which was among the hardest hit during last week's blackout. In a recent report called Power III, dealing with the state's energy needs, it said, "The future outlook for adequate, efficient and environmentally friendly generation is bleak. After the current construction bubble of 2,500 to 3,000 megawatts is completed, there is little evidence that serious consideration is being given to additional new generation in New York state."
The watermelon jihadists have stopped an underground transmission cable under Lake Erie, which might have prevented this particular blackout.
They also tried to stop the underground power cable between Connecticut and New York from going into service, but an emergency order from the Governor trumped them on that.
It's long past time, folks...
The power cable runs from New Haven, under Long Island Sound, to Shoreham, Long Island. Power can flow in either direction. But it has not been turned on because a section of the cable is not buried at the proper depth in New Haven Harbor.Connecticut's attorney general and Department of Environmental Protection have fought against turning the cable, citing environmental concerns.
Where does the junior senator from NY stand on this?
Their ultimate answer can only be "get rid of most of the people, themselves excepted!".
My wife heard the same thing. We were planning a vacation at the Jersey shore the week of Sept. 15-19. What is the possibility that this will wash back up on the shore around this time?
The same thing happened in Detroit and Lansing, MI. They are saying that millions of gallons of untreated and partially treated sewage were dumped into the Detroit River. People actually had sewage backed up in their basements.
How can a little smoke compare to this kind of environmental disaster? Yet I haven't heard a thing from enviromentalists about the sewage dump.
My take is that the environmentalists don't really give a crap about the environment. They just want "big business" to be crippled so the poor undeveloped countries can catch up.
"It raises concerns for the fact that we don't have a cap on the total amount of sulfur and nitrogen coming out of the nation's power plants, regardless of how many there are. That's the big deficiency right now," he said, as he sat in the hot, darkened office.
No we don't.
Unfortunately not in cement shoes inspecting the cable.
Should be no problem. I was out fishing in NY Harbor Friday and you would never know it happened. Plus there will be two moon tides(full and new count) by then and that will give the whole area a good 'flushing' ;-) It is the Western Long Island beaches that have the greatest risk with the prevailing currents, even with the troublesome wind pattern we have been having.
mb - Clams are the big problem. Most of Raritan Bay is closed to clamming right now, but will start to be opened, section by section starting I think next week.
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