I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The Four Corners power plant is about to be smaller and less dirty, a change that could significantly reduce the haze and high smog levels in the four corners region of New Mexico. Arizona Public Service, Inc., has announced it will shut down units one, two and three of the power plant, if it makes a successful purchase of a 48 percent ownership share in units four and five currently owned by Edison International. APS then plans to install emissions control equipment on units four and five. Local activists say its a good start, but that ultimately the company needs to transition away from coal entirely.
“Burning less coal at Four Corners is a great start towards protecting both people’s health and Mother Earth’s health, but this won’t make current sicknesses go away. I would feel better if we made more jobs in transitioning the other units off coal and towards a cleaner energy from renewables like wind and solar,” said Elouise Brown of Dooda Desert Rock, a local indigenous group.
“We can’t let anyone walk away from their responsibility for cleaning up the mess that coal leaves behind like toxic coal ash and polluted waters,” Brown concluded in a statement.
The ownership shift and plans are due to both California and federal laws related to coal fired power plant emissions.
Edison is having to comply with California rules that require it to phase out purchases of coal-fired power, so is looking to sell it’s ownership in the Four Corners plant.
APS is reacting to proposed EPA rules that would require it to significantly upgrade emissions controls on the three units it owns at the Four Corners plant in order to reduce nitrous oxide emissions by 80 percent. Nitrous oxide reacts with other chemicals to create ozone and airborn particulate matter, which are harmful to human health.
The 45 year old power plant is the largest single source emitter of nitrous oxide in the United States, according to the EPA. The proposed EPA rules would reduce emissions of that chemical from 45,000 tons to about 9,000 tons per year. The rules would also decrease the negative impact of the emissions on visibility in 16 national parks by 57 percent.
“The Four Corners Power Plant is the largest source of nitrogen oxides in the nation,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest Region, in October about the proposed rules. “Adding new pollution controls at this 45-year old plant will reduce these emissions by 80 percent—we will all be able to see the results and breathe cleaner, healthier air.”
APS senior vice president of fossil generation, Mark Schiavoni, said in a news release that there would be no layoffs due to the restructuring and new emissions controls. There are currently 549 people–74 percent of whom are Navajo–employed at the plant, which is located on Navajo Nation land in northwest New Mexico.
According to APS, the shut down of the three units, and the installation of emissions control upgrades on the remaining two units would reduce emissions of NOX by 36 percent, mercury by 61 percent, particulates by 43 percent, CO2 by 30 percent and SO2 by 24 percent.
APS would replace the energy lost through the closure of the three older units with 739 MW from Southern California Edison’s 48 percent share of the newer, more efficient Units 4 and 5. APS currently owns 15 percent of the two units.
“Closing the three smaller, less efficient units and keeping the cleaner, more efficient Units 4 and 5 in operation would dramatically reduce the carbon footprint in the region and enable the plant to remain compliant with state and federal environmental standards,” said Schiavoni.
The Sierra Club acknowledged the downsizing of the plant, but also said that APS was in effect increasing the amount of coal-fired power it generates from the plant by 32 percent, in contrast to Edison, which is phasing out coal-fired power.
“The three smallest units at Four Corners are proposed to close, but even if this deal is approved, there are still two large, dirty and old units that need to have pollution controls installed,” said Sierra Club regional representative Andy Bessler.
“APS is clearly acknowledging that the modern pollution controls proposed by the EPA are the right thing to do for coal plants, but the best long-term solution for the pollution Four Corners emits would be shifting from dirty coal to cleaner renewable energy for the benefit of the tribes and area residents.”
Bessler noted the “tremendous” potential for renewable energy production in the region and said the Sierra Club would continue to work with allies like Dooda Desert Rock, Dine’ CARE, the Black Mesa Water Coalition, To Nizhoni Ani and the San Juan Citizen’s Alliance to bring about a just transition away from dirty and harmful coal-fired power as soon as is reasonably possible.
