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Stumbleenergy:
Coal-fired plant may be out of steam before it’s up
Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.
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- Planned coal plant gives up its water source (5-6-2008)
- VIDEO: Are EPA coal emission standards strict enough? (2-10-2008)
- We all need power, but in Mesquite, priority is clean air (2-07-2008)
- Coal plant debate intensifies (1-23-2008)
A controversial coal-fired power plant was supposed to be under construction near Mesquite by now.
Sithe Global Power planned to have the Toquop Energy Project generating relatively cheap electricity by 2013 so it could sell the power wholesale to Nevada and other Southwest states.
But the site remains empty, and many Mesquite officials, who haven’t heard from Sithe in months, figure the coal plant is not going to happen, Mayor Susan Holecheck says. Coal plant opponents such as the Sierra Club have sent out news releases predicting the plant’s demise.
If they’re right, Southern Nevadans might be able to breathe a little easier. The plants’ smokestacks would have released microscopic particles that studies have found can cause heart attacks, strokes and respiratory diseases hundreds and even thousands of miles away.
Opponents have many people to thank for keeping the coal plant on ice.
The Bureau of Land Management seems to be sitting on the plant’s environmental impact statement. Its release was expected months ago. The public-comment period, another prerequisite for BLM approval, can’t begin until that environmental assessment is released.
The developer has yet to explain where it will get the water it needs for Toquop.
Although Sithe Chief Operating Officer Thomas DeLeo maintains his company is not canceling the project, some experts say it will have to beat the odds to get built.
Plans for dozens of coal-fired power plants across the country, including two in Nevada, have been scuttled in recent years by permitting issues and costs.
“The proposed coal plants across the country are dropping like flies,” notes Utah Physicians for Healthy Environment President Brian Moench, whose group opposes coal plant development.
Energy experts and coal opponents say plants just don’t pencil out in today’s regulatory environment.
The cost of coal-fueled electricity is expected rise dramatically over the next few decades as mitigation requirements increase, air pollution standards get tougher and Congress mulls taxing greenhouse gas emissions.
“The cost of carbon is a significant one,” says Dan Bakal, director of electricity power programs for CERES, a nonprofit group that examines the economics of sustainability. “It’s still uncertain how much it might be or what the perimeters of climate policy are going to look like, but any developer should be assuming there will be a large cost of carbon over the life of the plant. That does have an impact on development.”
That makes other cleaner and less-controversial technologies economically competitive.
Speculation is that Toquop might be built, but fueled by natural gas rather than coal. Its first BLM environmental review was for a natural gas power plant. But in 2007, when the price of natural gas was fluctuating wildly, the company decided to go with coal instead.
What at the time seemed like an economically conservative move has since turned out to be a financial quagmire.
“The credit markets are still fairly cautious, and there is, for coal plants specifically, a higher level of concern and scrutiny than there has been,” Bakal says.
Meanwhile, natural gas prices have stabilized as extraction techniques became cheaper and new supplies opened up.
But switching to natural gas doesn’t resolve the question of who would buy electricity from Toquop.
The booming growth that was expected to create a market in the Southwest for Toquop’s electricity has gone bust. The recession and government-initiated energy conservation campaigns have resulted in decreased demand for electricity.
And in Nevada, NV Energy has been quietly assembling new or upgraded power plants that would be connected by a planned cross-state transmission line. The company expects to make the state energy independent soon.
Arizona and Utah have seen their growth, and therefore their energy needs, slow down.
California looks like Toquop’s best shot, but only if the plant uses natural gas. The Golden State has taken a stand against buying any more coal energy.
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The irony of Nevada is that it has one of the world's largest hydroelectric dams and yet does not get its power from this natural resource.
This power is shipped to California along with a 10% transmission loss of this energy.
It would be more efficient to use this power in Las Vegas and build power plant in California where they use the power.
Having to build coal or natural gas power plants in Nevada is really just shifting the pollution from California's energy needs onto Nevada.
Solar and wind are not 24/7 reliable systems and they are expensive.
We have to build duplicate reliable systems to kick in whey they do not pump energy into the system.
But they are suppressing the building of reliable systems like coal and natural gas and nuclear.
So in about 20 years we will have an energy crunch with hurt the economy.
It is very similar to what they did to the oil market. Supress---supress and supress and then act all surprise when there is an oil energy crunch.
Coal fired power plants have long outlived their usefulness. Were it not for jimmycarter signing the death warrant for breeder reactors back in the 1970's we would have already left coal fired power plants behind in the last century where they belong.
We need to rely on nat gas and nuclear power plants using "breeder reactors" which eliminates the nuclear waste problem. No need for yucca or on site storage of nuke waste.
Thanks for the update Stephanie. This is good news.
Fossil and nuclear fuel are forms of non-renewable energy. They are a dead end and their legacy is environmental suicide. It takes a huge ego to conclude that it's OK to burden future generations with climate change and toxic waste for thousands of years, all so we can charge our ever-increasing, massive quantities of i-Stuff.
Human beings are not "entitled" to unlimited resources or energy. If we're smart, we'll recognize the limits of our planet and learn to live comfortably within them. So far, we're not doing a very good job.
Nevada should not build any coal-burning power plants. Why export even more of our dollars to other states or large corporations? Our future lies in the development of our very own valuable renewable resources, including reliable base-load energy from geothermal. We will eventually become an exporter of clean power to California, fixing this broken economy and eliminating our precarious reliance on the gaming industry.
Never forget: The economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment.
Goodbye Toquop! And good riddance!
We have stopped the coal plants. We have stopped the nuclear plants. We have stopped the drilling for oil offshore. What again was it we are trying to accomplish? It seems turning out the lights in Las Vegas is a planned goal of someone.
Socrates,
Your misinformation is typical for people like you..Idiots...
Solar panels on the roof (with an energy storage system)are more reliable than coal, nuclear or natural gas. Little maintenance or disruption. The others involve supply line disruptions, maintenance shutdowns, and breakdowns.
Ok....I call your bluff ....Mred.
I dare you to run your house off the solar panels.
Ok....go ahead and do it.
1st that system would cost about $100k or plus to put in.
2nd, what the heck are you going to do on days like today? Not watch TV or take a shower???
In truth there is no reason not to build coal plants. With all of our knowledge in sceince and construction the plants could be built to such standards that all waste could be used in other areas or filtered to a point that it would be deamed harmless. If a nuclear plant is built the waste could and should be sent out into space at some distant sun or planet.
I like those solar plants, you know have to be in the union to work there and they not nit picky. I hope they build more, thank you senior Reid !
There's only one reason it was agreed to, at all: the non-gaming jobs it would have created.
They would probably pass a motion to manufacture poisons for use against the U.S., if the plant created local jobs! They don't CARE what sort of impact it might have on anyone downwind!
Check for yourself...
Mesquite has it's own water supply- and it's so plentiful, they not only have no drought restrictions, as far as I'm aware, but the city built a water feature into their new dog park!
Mesquite residents do not buy their electricity from NV Energy- they get it from Overton Power.
They don't even have a major cable, telephone, or internet company provider! They are more closely connected to St. George, Utah, than to Las Vegas.
It's their own little fiefdom, up there. The police are mostly corrupt, and the people care more about the population reaching critical mass, (the point where you have to wait at a red light, for more than 30 seconds) and what the gossip is in their local rag, than about anything else. Mayor Holecheck, if she likes her job, cannot do anything, positive or negative, without the consent of the 'old families'.
So, bring your sinful Las Vegas money to Mesquite- but don't poke around behind the curtain...and don't ask them to be green, in any way. Just TRY to find a place to recycle anything other than cardboard, up there. (To be fair- the El Rancho Market does give a $.05 discount, if you bring your own bags.)
How much do YOU think they have invested in our collective best interests?
History is replete with examples of those who failed to accept new ideas. Many went to their graves believing the earth was flat, the sun revolved around us, or that anthropomorphic climate change was impossible. So be it.
I will, however, defend the good people of Mesquite. I've never seen a better community of caring people, including the mayor. Many of their citizens truly care, not only about their local situation, but about others and the planet as a whole. Yup, there's plenty of good folks up there in Mesquite!
Socrates:
I didn't say that "Mayor Susan" didn't CARE- I said that she has her hands tied, politically. The more she can do, to get favourable public opinion behind her, the more she can actually accomplish.
These are folks who still live, and uphold above all, the Code of the West. Do you cheat lie and swindle? Well, that's all right, as long as you're not out in public after dark. Decent, God-fearin' folk have no need to leave home past about 6 p.m.
There are some good people up there, and in the areas around it. Should you ever experience trouble, like your house burning down, or a child who is gravely ill- I agree, where it comes to people rallying 'round, you couldn't be in a better place than Mesquite.
I'm only saying that they are desperate for non-gaming jobs up there- to the point that they'd "Damn the Las Vegans, full speed ahead!".
I also stand firmly behind my statement about the Mesquite Police Department.
I think there is some confusion about the solar alternative - how well it does work, and how much better it can be. Mayor Holecheck is a very approachable person, and I believe through the process of Toquop and prospects for solar energy development, she is very well educated on energy policy for Mesquite - what makes the most sense, creates the most jobs, and keeps her mostly retired population healthy.
First there is confusion in the thread about the cost and effectiveness of solar. 24 hour power generation from solar is of course one of the first problems that the industry has to overcome, which is why they have created batteries and molten salt energy storage to store extra energy built up during the day and use it overnight. There is also the fact that during the day is where most of Southern Nevada residents use their power, especially AC, so the vast majority of our consumption (which happens in summertime during the day) can be mitigated through solar rooftops and energy efficient products.
This is where the cost argument comes into play, and why I question SgtRock's sources, because of the amazing overshoot of solar's cost. $100,000 is completely bogus, call any solar developer and they will tell you that is at least a $70k over-estimate. To deal with the still substantial upfront costs, many states have created no-interest revolving loan funds to handle the installation costs. In Nevada, we should be pushing our state legislature to do the same. This way, a monthly loan can be paid off at a lower price than the prior energy bill, and save consumers money.
Mayor Holecheck, the people of Mesquite, and people who have experience in renewable energy know what is possible. We should not nay say renewables by promoting huge, centralized, polluting and water consuming nuclear or coal plants, when we have such amazing capacity for proven cost effective technologies that substantially cut down on pollution and in so doing harms to people's health.
I think the point is that we've got an entire town--from Republican Mayor Holecheck on down to your average joe that--where most people don't want a coal plant in their back yard. And who can blame them. Real carbon capture is a generation away, at best.
We're not telling the energy developer to get out of dodge. We're just telling them that they need to be good corporate citizens if they want to stay. And that just means building something that is cleaner and consumes less water.
Don't get us wrong--we want the jobs and we want an energy project. But we live in a state that God has blessed with amazing renewable energy resources. Don't forsake them--take advantage of them!