Tag: EPA

01 May

EPA Now Considering Regulations for the Steam Electric Power Generating Industry

by Synergy Systems in Industry News
EPA Now Considering Regulations for the Steam Electric Power Generating Industry

The EPA is proposing new regulations for the steam electric power generating industry to control the amount of contaminates being released into America’s waterways, according to a Power Engineering article. The rule as it stands has not been updated since 1982 and, according to an EPA fact sheet, “does not adequately address the associated toxic metals discharged to surface waters from facilities in this industry.”

Toxins specifically addressed include arsenic, mercury, lead, boron, cadmium, selenium, chromium, nickel, thallium, vanadium, zinc, nitrogen, chlorides, bromides, iron, copper and aluminum. These elements increase the risk of cancer and may have other health consequences when humans consume them through eating fish or drinking the water.

Proposed requirements will affect the following processes/byproducts in the electric power generating industry:

  • Flue gas desulfurization
  • Fly ash
  • Bottom ash
  • Flue gas mercury control
  • Gasification of fuels

The fact sheet mentions four options the EPA is currently looking at to reduce toxins in waterways.  Also mentioned are studies showing that the new regulations will have little effect on the energy industry.  Numbers or stats related to the benefits of the plans were not given.  The EPA estimates fewer than half of coal-fired power plants will incur any cost due to the regulations. They are trying to work with existing equipment and most power plants already possess the technology needed to meet the proposed standards.

More information can be found on the EPA website.

27 Mar

Changes to Clean Air Act Coal-Fired Plant Regulations a Possibility

by Synergy Systems in Industry News

The Clean Air Act continues to be debated as the EPA comes closer to the April 13th deadline to finalize new source performances standard (NSPS) regulations. According to a Power Engineering Article from March 15, the Obama administration is considering more changes to the rule regulating greenhouse gasses.

The rule established in March of last year would require all new coal-fired power plants to emit no more than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per MW/h of electricity produced. Existing coal-fired power plants had no such restrictions.

Concerns about the probability that new plants would be able to meet that rule were raised by four Democratic senators, who sent a letter to Obama urging him to amend the standard.

According to the letter, the senators worry that having the same emission standard for both gas-fired and coal-fired will actually hinder goals to reduce emissions in the United States. Not only are they concerned that new plants won’t be built, they also state that current coal-fired plants may choose not to upgrade their plant with cleaner systems because they will not be able to meet the regulations.

The letter then states that it is possible to continue to build new coal-fired plants – with state of the art technologies – and reduce admissions. Continued advancement of technology will help the industry grow cleaner throughout the years.

The concerns of the senators are clear in their letter. If those who are currently planning to build coal-firing plants are prevented due to inability to comply with the law, the jobs that may have been created will be lost and the cost of electricity has the potential to grow. In addition, these four senators are worried that such restrictions will prevent the further creation of technologies that will reduce emissions even farther.

Synergy Systems celebrates the creation of new technologies that further reduce emissions as they also tend to save businesses money and create a more efficient plant. The aim of our Energy Patriot program is to recognize the achievements of those plants and businesses that make great strides in working towards American energy independence.

Goals such as energy independence and dramatic reductions in emissions cannot be met overnight. Fine tuning of current technologies and the freedom to invent new state-of-the-art systems is an absolute necessity to achieving those goals. Synergy is proud to be a part of a movement toward a cleaner society, with systems that are optimized to create the greatest amount of product or energy while at the same time reducing the amount of fuel and emissions used.

If you are curious about what our engineers can do to save you money through optimized systems, drop us a comment here or visit our Contact Us page and speak to our experts today.