TXU to build 11 more coal-fired plants in Texas

TXU to build 11 more coal-fired plants in Texas

Galen Scott

gscott@weatherforddemocrat.com

As temperatures continue to top 100 degrees this summer, air conditioners throughout Texas are cranked up and power companies are feeling the burn.

Plans to expand production capacity and build 11 more coal-fired plants in the state were recently submitted by Dallas-based TXU Energy. Three of the new plant sites are located in McLennan County, and Freestone, Rusk, Titus and Fannin counties were also listed as proposed locations.

Texas ranks first among the nation’s highest overall consumers of electric power and has experienced an average energy consumption increase of 2.7 percent per year since 1980, according to U. S. Department of Energy figures.

But TXU’s plans to keep pace with the growing demand for power are drawing stiff criticism from politicians and environmental groups.

Frustration for opponents of the additional coal-fired plants stems largely from legislation enacted by Gov. Rick Perry last year, which substantially shortened the permitting process for power plants.

Independent Gubernatorial Candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn criticized Perry for speeding up the process. She said Texas should consider alternatives to coal, such as clean-burning natural gas and wind energy, and new technology allowing existing plants to operate more efficiently.

Jim Marston, regional director of the Texas office of Environmental Defense, supported Strayhorn’s assessment of the new plants, noting Texas is currently the number one emitter of carbon dioxide.

“But as other states are getting serious about curbing their contribution to the global warming crisis, Texas appears willing to plow full steam ahead with yesterday’s technology and with little regard for the role we play in America’s fight against global warming,” he said.

The Department of Energy predicts carbon dioxide emissions from electric generating plants will increase nearly 40 percent by 2025, driven in part by the additional coal-fired plants.

TXU proposes to use Powder River Basin coal as a fuel source in eight of the site proposals announced in April. Though PRB’s low sulfur emissions could make it the least expensive Clean Air Act compliance method, the pulverized coal is blamed for releasing substantial amounts of carbon dioxide, the most troubling of several heat-trapping gases responsible for global warming.

The Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit group headed by a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enforcement chief, released a study last week that found Texas has six plants represented among the top 50 for carbon dioxide emission rates, more than any other state.

A combination of a state’s population growth, economic growth and increase in carbon dioxide emissions can be calculated to yield “carbon dioxide efficiency” figures. Since 1980, Texas improved its carbon dioxide efficiency by 26 percent, but electric power generators still managed to emit more than 243 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2002.

For its part, TXU says it’s answering a need to provide lower-cost, secure and stable power.

Though the company intends to double production with the additional plants, it also set aside up to $500 million for voluntary emission reductions, which it hopes to accomplish through fuel switching and retrofitting state-of-the-art emission controls at existing units.

C. John Wilder, TXU chairman and CEO, admits there is no quick fix to such problems.

“There is no easy solution to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources and to reduce power prices,” he said in a prepared statement. “To address these challenges, TXU has a three-part plan. We will invest in lower cost power supplies, innovate with new service offerings that enable customers to save money and improve air quality by reducing emissions.”