Clean Air Plan for Coal-fired San Juan Generating Station Proposed

Pollution Reductions Promise to Open the Door for Cleaner Energy in New Mexico

San Juan County, NM—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released a clean air plan that will reduce haze and smog forming pollution by more than 80% from the San Juan Generating Station, the second largest coal-fired power plant in New Mexico.

“The EPA’s clean air plan promises enormous benefits, but at the same time it exposes the true cost of burning coal at the San Juan Generating Station,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “We hope the EPA’s plan, in forcing air pollution reductions, helps to spur a move away from coal and instead toward developing New Mexico’s abundant wind and solar.” 

The EPA’s plan was spurred by the Clean Air Act, which requires the oldest and dirtiest sources of air pollution to curb their emissions to reduce haze in National Parks and wilderness areas. Modeling prepared by Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) shows the San Juan Generating Station contributes to 80% of all visibility degradation in Mesa Verde National Park, 70% in the San Pedro Parks Wilderness, and 45% in Bandelier National Monument. Called “Best Available Retrofit Technology,” the EPA’s plan would reduce visibility impairment by more than 40%.

Under the EPA’s plan, PNM would be required to meet stringent emission rates for haze forming nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. The San Juan Generating Station would have to meet a nitrogen oxide emission rate of 0.05 lb/mmbtu, stronger than previously proposed by the State of New Mexico, through the use of selective catalytic reduction, an up-to-date pollution control technology.

In doing so, the EPA’s plan would significantly improve public health in the Four Corners region because the same pollutants that form haze are the same that form smog and particulates. It is estimated that every year the plant causes 33 premature deaths, 50 heart attacks, 600 asthma attacks, 21 cases of chronic bronchitis, and 31 asthma-related emergency room visits every year at a cost of more than $250 million (see Clean Air Task Force).

All told, data from the EPA suggests that for every dollar invested in cleaning up the San Juan Generating Station, the region could reap $5 in benefits due to the health and environmental benefits (see Report from Colorado). The benefits of clean air far outweigh the costs,” said Mike Eisenfeld, New Mexico Energy Coordinator for the San Juan Citizens Alliance.  “The EPA’s plan rightly puts public health and the environment first because this is where we stand to gain most economically as a State and as a region. The plan also underscores the need for the EPA to follow through with cleaning up the neighboring coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant, which is also taking a tremendous toll on clean air.”

The latest clean air plan comes on the heels of another EPA proposal to tighten air pollution limits at the Four Corners Power Plant, which is located less than 10 miles away from the San Juan Generating Station in San Juan County, New Mexico. At 2,040 megawatts, the Four Corners Power Plant is the largest source of NOx pollution in the United States. In October, the EPA proposed to significantly reduce NOx and other pollutants from the power plant to reduce haze and better protect public health, although groups have called for more progress.

Operated and primarily owned by Public Service Company of New Mexico, or PNM, the San Juan Generation Station is an 1,800 megawatt power plant that every year releases thousands of tons of toxic air pollution from its smokestacks. Located 15 miles west of Farmington, the plant consists of four boilers and releases more than 18,000 tons of smog forming nitrogen oxide gases, 51 pounds of mercury, and more than 13,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide—as much as is released by more than 2.3 million passenger vehicles.

While the EPA’s plan is a milestone, groups are calling on PNM to instead look to fully retiring the San Juan Generating Station and offset the electricity it generates with renewable energy. New Mexico already has a 20% renewable energy standard and reports show that a combination of rooftop solar and wind energy could meet New Mexico’s power needs by more than seventy-fold (see Energy Self-Reliant States). Already, utilities in Colorado and other states are beginning to retire coal-fired power plants, opting against investing millions in the face of mounting environmental liability. 

“There’s no such thing as clean coal,” said Nichols. “Instead of investing ratepayer dollars into upgrading the San Juan Generating Station, PNM would better serve New Mexico and the health and welfare of the Four Corners region by investing in clean, renewable energy.”


 

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