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EPA issues air standards for waste-to-energy plants
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knowledges failed miserably. Hedberg also laments the negative effect the PUC order could have on Tri-State's willingness to merge with Ute. If this is a signal of how things will be in the future, the Commission is contributing to the problem, he said. 'q~riState needs to be able to rely on an adequate rate level at Ute." If the PUC wanted to get Ute's attention with the order, it has succeeded. Ute's Delman said it is preparing a request for rehearing. The Commission predicated its decision to abolish the 8% increase on the fact Ute had announced another 14.5% rate increase effective December 2, rather than on the record in the case, he contends. The PUC seemed to be seeking to accomplish something other than rate regulation, Delman said. The record clearly shows cash flow is a serious problem, and in announcing the rate review, the PUC said rates were insufficent, he said. The review went beyond the announced scope of reviewing Ute's revenue requirement, and in the hearing, "we got into everything from A to Z," he said. Ute was criticized by the PUC for failing to present a case, but Delman argues the G&T was not "stonewalling" but was surprised at the type of case the Commission seemed to want once the hearing began. "We were acting in good faith--we didn't have a case to prove," he said, referring to the fact that when the Commission initiates a review, the burden of proof is on the staff.
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All parties will be back in the PUC hearing room January 29. In the meantime, Tri-State and Ute will continue to meet on the possible merger. As Hedberg put it, "All we can do is buy some time and hope for some positive steps. If it doesn't work out, I don't know where we'll be." --Sonya Bruce
Ill L,q
;~_ . . . . ?x
The Landfill Crisis
EPA Issues Air Standards for Waste-to-Energy Plants After more than two years of stud~; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in late November unveiled proposed air emissions standards for munidpal waste incinerators. The standards would apply to new and existing facilities, including waste-to-energy plants that burn garbage as fuel to generate electricThe standards limit emissions of toxic metals and gases, establish operating rules to ensure optim u m combustion to reduce the
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O
C
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S
amount of pollutants, require that 25% of the reusable components of trash be separated out and not burned, and prohibit the burning of lead-acid batteries to reduce lead emissions and residues. EPA was prodded into its twoyear review of municipal waste incinerators by the Natural Resources Defense Council and several states (New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Florida), which first petitioned the agency and then won a court order requiring EPA to assume responsibili~ The agency will hold a series of public hearings around the country in January and publish final rules in late 1990. Although most of the nation's garbage is still d u m p e d in landfills huge pits where the refuse slowly rots over time there are now about 450 municipal waste incinerators in the country. Some 122 of those facilities are classified as waste-to-energy plants. These plants have a total capacity of about 1,500 megawatts and produced about 10.6 billion kWh of electricity last year, according to industry estimates. Most of the facilities are located in the industrial Northeast and Midwest, where crowded landfills have forced local agencies to look for alternatives to refuse disposal. The nation's landfills are filling rapidly. A recent Newsweek article graphically described the problem in a major cover story showing a mountain of trash. "When the 21st century begins, one-third of our nation's total landfill capacity will be exhausted," predicts
The Electricity Journal
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Man: running out of landfill space. the National Solid Wastes Management Association, a D.C.based trade group. To cope with the dilemma, many local agencies are turning to burning garbage. Northern States Power, Madison (Wis.) Gas & Electric, Baltimore Gas & Electric and the Lakeland, Florida municipal utility are among utility pioneers which have built plants using garbage as a primary or secondary fuel. Potomac Electric Power Company, which serves Washington, D.C., has taken the boldest step. Its unregulated subsidiary has signed agreements with an Italian company under which it will operate recycling projects and a German company with which it will build and operate waste-to-energy plants throughout the U.S. A little-discussed aspect of the garbage crisis---one that is not addressed by EPA's proposed standards---is the production of greenhouse gases as trash decays in the ground. Buried garbage
January~February 1990
gives off methane, which is now identified as among the most potent of greenhouse gases. Despite the large volumes of popular press about the greenhouse effect, little work has been done to quantify and compare emissions of greenhouse gases from operation of different energy technologies. But a report released several months ago by the Independent Energy Producers of California reached a conclusion that may provide new impetus to builders of waste-to-energy and landfill gas recovery plants to generate electricity. The IEP study conduded that burning methane directly from a landfill may actually produce net environmental benefits as opposed to letting garbage slowly decay over time in the ground. It seems that a molecule of methane is about 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than a molecule of carbon dioxide (which is emitted from the combustion process). "Trading off
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CI-I4 crnethane) emissions for CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions from energy recovery operations can actually lead to a net reduction of the greenhouse effect," the IEP report said. The report did not endorse specific technologies, but one of its co-authors, Gregory P. Morris of Future Resources Associates in Berkele~ said the study suggests that either waste-to-energy or landfill gas recovery plants are better than burying the refuse and leaving it there, as is commonly done now. (There are about 60 landfill gas generating plants in the United States, half in California. In these plants, methane is recovered from a series of underground pipes and burned in a generator to produce electricity.) The best way to deal with garbage willdepend on community views, opportunitiesto recycle, and the particulareconomics of a site,Morris said. But he added, "Waste-to-energy and methane recovery plants are dearly preferable to burying the garbage and walking away." In the last three years, the capacity of U.S. waste-to-energy plants has almost doubled, and may double again by 1992 if facilities under construction and in the final planning stages come on line. Even so, the plants now in operation handle only about 13% of the garbage generated in our throw-away society. About 10% is recyded and the vast majority-about 76%--is still dumped into landfills. --Dan Seligman 17
H
E
N
knowledges failed miserably. Hedberg also laments the negative effect the PUC order could have on Tri-State's willingness to merge with Ute. If this is a signal of how things will be in the future, the Commission is contributing to the problem, he said. 'q~riState needs to be able to rely on an adequate rate level at Ute." If the PUC wanted to get Ute's attention with the order, it has succeeded. Ute's Delman said it is preparing a request for rehearing. The Commission predicated its decision to abolish the 8% increase on the fact Ute had announced another 14.5% rate increase effective December 2, rather than on the record in the case, he contends. The PUC seemed to be seeking to accomplish something other than rate regulation, Delman said. The record clearly shows cash flow is a serious problem, and in announcing the rate review, the PUC said rates were insufficent, he said. The review went beyond the announced scope of reviewing Ute's revenue requirement, and in the hearing, "we got into everything from A to Z," he said. Ute was criticized by the PUC for failing to present a case, but Delman argues the G&T was not "stonewalling" but was surprised at the type of case the Commission seemed to want once the hearing began. "We were acting in good faith--we didn't have a case to prove," he said, referring to the fact that when the Commission initiates a review, the burden of proof is on the staff.
16
E
W
S
I
N
All parties will be back in the PUC hearing room January 29. In the meantime, Tri-State and Ute will continue to meet on the possible merger. As Hedberg put it, "All we can do is buy some time and hope for some positive steps. If it doesn't work out, I don't know where we'll be." --Sonya Bruce
Ill L,q
;~_ . . . . ?x
The Landfill Crisis
EPA Issues Air Standards for Waste-to-Energy Plants After more than two years of stud~; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in late November unveiled proposed air emissions standards for munidpal waste incinerators. The standards would apply to new and existing facilities, including waste-to-energy plants that burn garbage as fuel to generate electricThe standards limit emissions of toxic metals and gases, establish operating rules to ensure optim u m combustion to reduce the
F
O
C
U
S
amount of pollutants, require that 25% of the reusable components of trash be separated out and not burned, and prohibit the burning of lead-acid batteries to reduce lead emissions and residues. EPA was prodded into its twoyear review of municipal waste incinerators by the Natural Resources Defense Council and several states (New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Florida), which first petitioned the agency and then won a court order requiring EPA to assume responsibili~ The agency will hold a series of public hearings around the country in January and publish final rules in late 1990. Although most of the nation's garbage is still d u m p e d in landfills huge pits where the refuse slowly rots over time there are now about 450 municipal waste incinerators in the country. Some 122 of those facilities are classified as waste-to-energy plants. These plants have a total capacity of about 1,500 megawatts and produced about 10.6 billion kWh of electricity last year, according to industry estimates. Most of the facilities are located in the industrial Northeast and Midwest, where crowded landfills have forced local agencies to look for alternatives to refuse disposal. The nation's landfills are filling rapidly. A recent Newsweek article graphically described the problem in a major cover story showing a mountain of trash. "When the 21st century begins, one-third of our nation's total landfill capacity will be exhausted," predicts
The Electricity Journal
T
H
E
N
E
W
S
I
N
•
:!J
,-,"
, - ~ ~ 1
%/¢lOW.l'.../; "
F
~
~
,
....
:~/'." , " / l ,
"
..../"!"
J'
.
.'"
".-z"
.S' S <'< ' II
.,: "
..
•
:,..
J,i
'7
"
i.
./:., ;:. v
'
" ' ~
I"
,..,,..
, "
,'
L,
Man: running out of landfill space. the National Solid Wastes Management Association, a D.C.based trade group. To cope with the dilemma, many local agencies are turning to burning garbage. Northern States Power, Madison (Wis.) Gas & Electric, Baltimore Gas & Electric and the Lakeland, Florida municipal utility are among utility pioneers which have built plants using garbage as a primary or secondary fuel. Potomac Electric Power Company, which serves Washington, D.C., has taken the boldest step. Its unregulated subsidiary has signed agreements with an Italian company under which it will operate recycling projects and a German company with which it will build and operate waste-to-energy plants throughout the U.S. A little-discussed aspect of the garbage crisis---one that is not addressed by EPA's proposed standards---is the production of greenhouse gases as trash decays in the ground. Buried garbage
January~February 1990
gives off methane, which is now identified as among the most potent of greenhouse gases. Despite the large volumes of popular press about the greenhouse effect, little work has been done to quantify and compare emissions of greenhouse gases from operation of different energy technologies. But a report released several months ago by the Independent Energy Producers of California reached a conclusion that may provide new impetus to builders of waste-to-energy and landfill gas recovery plants to generate electricity. The IEP study conduded that burning methane directly from a landfill may actually produce net environmental benefits as opposed to letting garbage slowly decay over time in the ground. It seems that a molecule of methane is about 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than a molecule of carbon dioxide (which is emitted from the combustion process). "Trading off
O
C
U
S
CI-I4 crnethane) emissions for CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions from energy recovery operations can actually lead to a net reduction of the greenhouse effect," the IEP report said. The report did not endorse specific technologies, but one of its co-authors, Gregory P. Morris of Future Resources Associates in Berkele~ said the study suggests that either waste-to-energy or landfill gas recovery plants are better than burying the refuse and leaving it there, as is commonly done now. (There are about 60 landfill gas generating plants in the United States, half in California. In these plants, methane is recovered from a series of underground pipes and burned in a generator to produce electricity.) The best way to deal with garbage willdepend on community views, opportunitiesto recycle, and the particulareconomics of a site,Morris said. But he added, "Waste-to-energy and methane recovery plants are dearly preferable to burying the garbage and walking away." In the last three years, the capacity of U.S. waste-to-energy plants has almost doubled, and may double again by 1992 if facilities under construction and in the final planning stages come on line. Even so, the plants now in operation handle only about 13% of the garbage generated in our throw-away society. About 10% is recyded and the vast majority-about 76%--is still dumped into landfills. --Dan Seligman 17