Power Engineering - Independent Study Confirms TXU's Plan is Good for DFW Air Quality

11 August 2006 -- Preliminary results from an independent air modeling analysis requested by state and local officials and released by the Texas Environmental Research Consortium (TERC) finds that TXU's environmental commitments will actually result in a slight improvement in DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas) air quality.

"TERC's scientific analysis confirms that TXU's plan to fully offset key emissions from its new units while also reducing key emissions from existing units by another 20 percent is the right approach," said Mike McCall, CEO of TXU Wholesale. "Our plan not only provides reliable power to keep pace with the growing Texas economy, it also helps improve air quality. We call on other power generators to adopt our strategy to help improve air quality even more."

TXU believes the actual air quality improvement will be even better than this model predicts, because the impact of TXU's additional 20 percent reduction, recently described in a public commitment letter to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), was not fully reflected in the modeling. The modeling further understated the additional reductions in nitrogen oxide emissions that will occur when older, inefficient gas-fired power plants are retired or shut down to make way for new plants.

The analysis notes, "Ozone decreases from TXU's offset strategy were greatest in Northeast Texas, and also benefited Central Texas, DFW, Austin and San Antonio." The analysis also notes that DFW air quality improved under all four situations analyzed.

To underscore the positive impacts of TXU's plan, the analysis notes that Central Texas sees only a small increase. This is because other companies' proposed power plants have not committed to emission offsets and reductions to the same extent as TXU.

"TXU's offsets were less successful in Central Texas because the offsets (Tradinghouse and Lake Creek EGUs) were smaller and non-TXU plants were not involved in the offset strategy," the analysis stated.

The effect of TXU's proposed 100 percent offsets and additional 20 percent key emission reductions proved critical for the actual improvement of air quality. Without TXU's voluntary reductions, air quality would not have improved.

The analysis is available on-line at the Houston Advanced Research Consortium Web site at: http://files.harc.edu/Projects/AirQuality/Projects/H060/H60_EGU_offsets_11aug06.ppt.

State and local elected officials requested the study. It examined the impact on air quality of the 17 coal-fired power units proposed by several companies. In the DFW Metroplex, the study found reductions in ozone levels.

"This study clearly confirms that the comprehensive plan put forward by TXU to meet the state's growing power needs and reduce the potential for California-like blackouts is good for Texans and good for air quality," said McCall.

Over the next decade, Texas is expected to add six million new residents -- more than the entire population of Tennessee -- and the state's economy is rapidly expanding. Experts at the Electric Reliability Council warn that without new power generation the state's power reserves could drop below reliable levels by 2008.

TXU's plan -- to invest more than $10 billion to build 11 new coal-fired plants -- adds much needed power, lowers wholesale power costs by $1.7 billion annually, creates thousands of jobs and, according to the TERC study, improves air quality.

In addition, the company plans to spend up to $2.5 billion of its investment to retrofit and adjust the fuel mix at existing plants to reduce emissions, and to use the best available environmental control technology at the new plants. TXU has formally asked state regulators to make its emissions reduction commitments binding and legally enforceable. As a result, TXU will be the cleanest large-scale coal generation fleet operator in the nation.

TXU Corp., a Dallas-based energy company, manages a portfolio of competitive and regulated energy businesses primarily in Texas.

Add RSS Feed