Ohio Edison Agrees To Repower Coal Plant with Biomass, Reducing Carbon Emissions

Ohio Edison Company has agreed, as part of a consent decree, to retrofit one of its coal-fired power plants to use primarily biomass. The agreement was reached in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio and announced by the US Justice Department and the US Environmental Protection Agency last month. The agreement originates from a lawsuit filed in 1999 against Ohio Edison for violations of the Clean Air Act. The original lawsuit was resolved with a consent decree in 2005, which mandated that the company reduce the emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx). In order to accomplish this goal, the 2005 consent decree left Ohio Edison with only three options: close the plant, install a scrubber or repower with natural gas. The new, modified consent decree, however, opts for what the parties believe will be a more cost-efficient and environmentally sound fourth option.

Beginning in 2012, the R.E. Burger plant Units 4 and 5 near Shadyside, Ohio will repower with mostly biomass fuels. These units will run on at least 80% biomass; 100% biomass if all goes according to plan. Ohio Edison may co-fire the plant with not more than 20% low sulfur coal. By switching to biomass, the new plant will reduce emissions of SO2 from current levels by 14,000 tons annually, reduce emissions of NOx from current levels by 1,300 tons annually and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from current levels by more than 1.3 million tons annually. After the retrofit, the company will be in compliance with the Clear Air Act’s New Source Review provisions.

Officials also hope that this new facility will be largely “carbon neutral.” Even though carbon dioxide emissions are greatly reduced from present levels, when the biomass is burned it will still emit about 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. However, officials hope that these emissions will be largely offset by the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the biomass as it is grown. Biomass fuels include wood from tree trimmings and dedicated sustainable nurseries, agricultural crops, grasses and vegetation waste. Examples include the fast growing cottonwood tree or left-over corn stalks.

The new retrofit is also less costly that the other options. For example, a spokesperson for Ohio Edison’s parent company, FirstEnergy Corp., stated that installing scrubbers would cost the company $330 million, while the cost of converting to biomass was significantly cheaper at an estimated $200 million.

The modified consent decree is subject to a 30-day comment period, which will end September 16, and is awaiting approval by the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.