$350 million committed for upgrades
Reliant Energy announced plans to install state-of-the-art
emission control systems at two Pennsylvania power plants. Reliant
Energy estimates it could spend up to $625 million through 2011
on sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and mercury controls
at the company’s power plants.
The plans call for the installation of a wet flue
gas desulfurization system, or scrubber, at the company’s
Cheswick Generating Station in Springdale, Pennsylvania, and for
funding Reliant’s portion of the scrubber installation at
the Keystone Generating Station near Indiana, Pennsylvania.
Reliant estimates that its cost for the Cheswick
scrubber and its portion of the Keystone project will be approximately
$350 million. The scrubbers at both facilities are expected to begin
commercial operation in 2009.
Installation of scrubbers at these units will
remove approximately 98 percent of SO2 from the stations’
flue gases, reducing Reliant Energy’s SO2 emissions by approximately
68,000 tons per year. The systems will also be designed to maximize
the removal of mercury.
In addition to the installation of scrubbers at
the Cheswick and Keystone plants, the strategy includes upgrades
to the existing flue gas desulfurization systems at Reliant’s
Elrama and Niles plants. These upgrades will be completed this year
and are expected to increase SO2 removal efficiency. |
