'Green' coal plant is planned

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Washington's first new coal-fired power plant in 30 years is being planned for Cherry Point in Whatcom County.

The plant is proposed to generate 249 megawatts of power and could be up and running within 36 months, said John O'Brien of U.S. Electric Power of Point Lookout, N.Y.

The plant's size falls just below the requirement for review by the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. The facility must still meet all requirements of the federal Clean Air Act as well as state air-pollution controls.

Coal is considered the dirtiest of major fuels for power generation, emitting more carbon dioxide and gases that lead to smog than natural gas.

But coal plants vary widely in the amount of emissions they produce, depending on the quality of the coal, the technology used to burn it and the environmental standards.

O'Brien said the plant will burn only ultralow-sulfur coal and use stack scrubbers and other technology to make the coal plant at least as clean as a natural-gas-fired plant.

"We are going to employ the best technology, and we will spend the money to make sure it happens. If there is anything dirty about it, we will not build it."

The company is also examining ways to partially offset carbon-dioxide emissions - the major cause of global warming - through reforestation of land in northwestern Washington, O'Brien said.

"On CO2, we will do our best, and we will do better than anyone else, and more than any of the gas-fired folks," he said.

O'Brien says he knows the plant will be controversial despite his planned "Green Coal" public-relations campaign beginning May 1.

U.S. Electric announced last week its intention to an option on 130 acres for the plant. It has completed economic-feasibility studies and is seeking financing for the project in New York. O'Brien estimated it would take a year to get all the permits and take two years to build.

The company plans to sell all of the plant's capacity under contracts to Washington state users, O'Brien said. "We are not going to be a California energy farm."

The plant will be fired from low-sulfur coal brought by railroad from the Willow Creek coal mine north of Vancouver, B.C., which is owned and operated by Globaltex Industries of Vancouver.

U.S. Electric has agreed to buy all shares of Globaltex by June 30. O'Brien's brother, Tom O'Brien, runs Globaltex.

Whatcom County is already ground zero in the air-pollution wars sparked by the region's energy crunch.

A proposed 660-megawatt natural-gas plant in Sumas, Whatcom County, prompted international controversy over air pollution. The proposal was rejected by the site-evaluation council last month but is back before the council on a request for reconsideration.

Bellingham residents also took to the streets in protest earlier this month when Georgia Pacific fired up 40 diesel generators to cut power costs at its pulp plant. The city filed a motion for an injunction to shut down the generators under the city's nuisance law. Georgia Pacific shut them down voluntarily.

A new, 750-megawatt gas-fired power plant has also been proposed for Cherry Point by BP Amoco.