Brayton Point Power Station In Full Compliance With Environmental Protection Requirements
Brayton Point Power Station is in full compliance
with all federal and state air regulations, including some of the toughest emission
standards in the country.
Since taking ownership of the 1599-megawatt power
station on January 1, 2005, Dominion has committed to spending more than $230
million over the next two years on state-of-the-art environmental controls.
"Brayton Point is the largest coal- and
oil-powered generating station in New England and we’re installing the
best environmental control technology available — and we’re doing
it while supplying vital electric power to Massachusetts and the New England
region," said Gary Courts, managing director of Dominion’s New England
assets.
"The electricity generated at Brayton Point
is essential to the energy stability of our region. Just this week, New England
set its all-time record for electricity needs. This is the second all-time peak
usage day in just over one week. Keeping this energy reliability in mind, we’re
proud of our ability to operate this station safely and efficiently, and of
our commitment to operate in an environmentally responsible manner."
Brayton Point is currently supplying enough electric
energy to power more than 1 million New England homes and businesses, and is
one of the most efficient coal plants in the nation.
Massachusetts has the most stringent air quality
regulations in the country for coal- and oil-fired generating units and those
regulations will be getting even stricter over the next few years. Brayton Point
has been able to comply with those laws by switching to cleaner burning fuels,
Courts said.
By next fall, the station will have completed
the construction of two selective catalytic reduction systems that will remove
more than 90 percent of the nitrogen oxide emissions from two units. Nitrogen
oxide is a component of smog.
In addition, the station also has plans to construct
comprehensive emissions controls to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. Called
scrubbers, the equipment will reduce more than 90 percent of the SO2 emissions
from the units on which it is installed.
The emission control equipment being installed
will work together to ultimately remove more than 95 percent of the mercury
emissions from the units. The station currently is developing the timeline for
construction of the remaining control equipment.
With respect to greenhouse gasses such as carbon
dioxide emissions, Brayton Point already is in compliance with the Massachusetts
regulation that will go into effect in 2006.
The company also plays an active role as a stakeholder
in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and is working cooperatively to come
up with feasible ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the Northeast
Region.
