Apr 27 - McClatchy-Tribune Business News Formerly Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Brent D. Wistrom The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

Electric utilities dominate greenhouse gas emissions in Kansas, and the planned expansion of a power plant near Holcomb would greatly expand the state's electrical production.

Sunflower Electric Power Corp. hopes to add three 700-megawatt coal-fired plants to the existing 360-megawatt Holcomb Station. It is seeking an air quality construction permit from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Though one new plant has been delayed, the other two would send power to more than 1.5 million consumers in seven states, according to Sunflower.

That expansion has sparked a sharp debate between the company and environmentalists.

Sunflower says that it would use the best available technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and that the plant's output would be well below EPA standards.

Walt Chappell, a former candidate for the Kansas House who has worked with alternative energy for years, said the plant would be the largest single source of carbon dioxide -- C02 -- in the country. The output of CO2 is not regulated.

He -- along with a network of people in the Sierra Club -- have urged people to voice opposition to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson and Secretary of Health and Environment Roderick Bremby.

Sunflower could not be reached for comment. Its Web site says it has "a well-regarded history in operating environmentally compliant power plants."

The KDHE couldn't confirm whether the Sunflower expansion would make it the biggest C02 producer.

But KDHE spokesman Joe Blubaugh did confirm the agency has received a "monumental" amount of feedback -- more than 650 comments in all. He said he did not yet know the nature of the comments.

He also said that no environmental impact statement is required in the permit process.

The Sierra Club has sued KDHE, demanding the department hold a formal hearing about the plant's potential impact. That's also emphasized in a letter from attorneys general in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

The Sierra Club also fears that the landfill where ashes and sludge left from burnt coal would be dumped could lead to groundwater pollution.

An application to expand the landfill from 115 acres to 188 acres is pending with KDHE.

Sam Sunderraj, KDHE's public manager, said the ash works like cement, preventing harmful particles from filtering down into the Ogallala Aquifer.

Groundwater will be monitored at sites on the landfill's perimeter, and Sunderraj said runoff studies show even a huge rain wouldn't flush waste out of the landfill's systems.

Chappell said Kansas needs to capitalize on its wind energy potential and reduce reliance on coal-fired plants.

"We have a choice," he said.

 

Reach Brent D. Wistrom at 316-268-6228.