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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Environment - Hearing in Edwardsville today on proposed Duke Energy power plant

Updating this ILB entry from Nov, 20th, headed "Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Gives Duke Energy Indiana Approval to Build Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Plant", Bryan Corbin of the Evansville Courier & Press reports today:

A public hearing on an air-pollution permit for the proposed new Duke Energy power plant in Edwardsport, Ind., is scheduled for today in Knox County.

The Indiana [Department of Environmental Management] will conduct the hearing on the draft operating permit today at North Knox High School Auditorium, 10890 North Indiana 159, Bicknell, Ind.

The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time - EST; (4:30 p.m. Central time) with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management staff explaining the draft permit. At 6:30 p.m. Eastern, [IDEM staff] will open the hearing to formal public comments on the permit. The hearing is scheduled to last until 10 p.m Eastern

Last month, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission unanimously approved Duke Energy's plan for the 630-megawatt baseload plant at Edwardsport.

Intended to replace an aging traditional coal-fired plant that generates about 130 megawatts, the new plant would convert high-sulfur Indiana coal into synthetic natural gas and then burn the gas to produce electricity.

According to the state, the proposed plant would result in a net reduction of more than 262 tons per year of ozone-causing nitrogen oxide pollution and a net reduction of nearly 10,000 tons per year of sulfur dioxide pollution. But it would emit an estimated 4.3 million tons per year of carbon dioxide, believed to be the primary man-made cause of global warming.

The story includes a link to the 378-page Duke Energy draft air-pollution permit.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 20, 2007 07:43 AM
Posted to Environment