Ohio Edison Will Reduce Carbon Emissions at R.E. Burger Plant

Ohio Edison Company will revamp one of their coal-fired power facilities so that it can run completely on biomass products. The agreement was reached in federal court and released this week by the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

The agreement calls for Ohio Edison to modify their R.E. Burger unit numbers 4 and 5 to be powered completely by biomass fuel by 2012. A previous standing agreement made in 2005 held Ohio Edison to requirements that they reduce their sulfur and nitrogen emissions at various different locations of their coal-fired plants. The new agreement will continue to see those emissions reduced as well as carbon emissions reduced as well. 

The 2005 agreement allowed Ohio Edison three main options to reduce their emissions at the Burger facilities. The company had the option to close the plant, install a cleaning device, or re-adapt the plant to be powered by natural gas. Under the 2009 agreement Ohio Edison will be able to power the plant using biomass fuels such as wood chippings, farm crops, and or plant waste. Additionally the company may still use up to 20% sulfur coal as a supplementary fuel. 

Ohio Edison will reduce their carbon emissions by 1.3 million tonnes a year by switching to biofuel to power Burger 4 & 5. The company will also be in compliance with the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review provisions by switching to biomass as a main source of fuel for the plants. Ohio Edison has several plants that have been required to switch to alternative, cleaner fuels since the 2005 agreement, including one of the company’s larger plants, W. H. Sammis.

“This is a great result for the health and the environment of the nation,” said the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, John Cruden. “We are pleased that Ohio Edison has chosen to significantly reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutants from the Burger plant and hope that Ohio Edison will become the standard-bearer for other companies considering conversion to renewable biomass fuels under the auspices of the EPA and state environmental agencies”, he added. 

Thanks to renewableenergyworld.com for the above quote, for more information on this story please visit their website.