Power plant to emphasize technology

By KEN McLEMORE, Hope Star Editor
Published: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:08 PM CDT
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That AEP Southwestern Electric Power Co. is confident in its coal-fired generation technology to the point that it is willing to put up the bulk of the $1.3 billion cost to build a facility utilizing the technology should be self-evident, a company spokesman says of questions raised by the Arkansas Public Service Commission about the proposed John W. Turk Jr. Power Plant.

“We are in the process of formulating our responses; and, it is very prudent of the commission to ask those questions, with everything going on with respect to the global warming issue,” Brian Bond, SWEPCO vice president of external affairs, said in a recent interview. “The short of it is that coal is going to have to remain, clean coal technology, and more efficient technology, is going to have to remain part of the fuel mix moving forward.”

The PSC raised 18 questions to the company in a March 2 letter and order which require SWEPCO to address long-range projections regarding the electrical utility industry and the future of coal-fired power generation in light of likely Congressional mandates, and a recent decision by TXU, a Texas-based utility, to cancel coal-fired projects.

Bond said depletion of natural gas resources makes use of coal-fired technology such as the “super-ultracritical generation” concept to be used at the Fulton-area plant environmentally sensible.

“The key is going to be to make sure you're building efficient coal plants like we're planning here with this ‘super-ultracritical,' and it's got a good future down the road once carbon control mandates come out of Congress, it's going to be around for a long time,” he said.

Bond said SWEPCO's parent company, American Electric Power, already has plans to build pilot project technology in Oklahoma for the removal of certain flu gases from existing coal-fired technology plants.

“We have always been an industry leader in technology improvement,” he said. “This facility is going to try two separate technologies to remove CO2; so, it's a long way from being full-scale, and testimony given in Congress recently acknowledges that, but AEP is making that investment to try to improve the technology.”

Bond said issues raised by intervenors in the general need permitting process before the PSC are being resolved.

“On the water, I've felt like we made a lot of progress in the last meeting with data that was provided to the intervenors,” he said. “They were able to see that the actual withdrawals will have in the Little River will not have an adverse impact on them. We have provided them with a lot of data; and, in addition we are going to contract with the water district to be able to pull water and ask for releases if we get into a drought condition from the conservation pool in Lake Millwood.

“My impression is that they seem satisfied with that, and for the most part, that issue is easily resolvable,” he said.

Rail service to the proposed site is also being tweaked.

“We have got to be able to preserve the Kiamichi (Railroad) as a viable route, as well as coming possibly from the Union-Pacific (Railroad) up to the north to the plant site,” Bond said. “Both of those are still under consideration. Depending on the negotiations with the rail companies; it's a big issue because that impacts the fuel costs for delivery, and so, in order to make sure the ratepayers are protected and we get the lowest cost fuel delivered, we have to keep both of those in consideration.”

He said noise and “coal dust fines” from transport of fuel coal are also be addressed.

“Those will go into our supplement to the environmental impact study, which will probably go in within the next couple of weeks,” Bond said.

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