Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com

Published - Friday, April 18, 2008

Letter: Dairyland's scrubber would leave big carbon footprint

Problem Solving 101 says with an emotional issue, make two lists, the pros and the cons. Dairyland Power Cooperative’s proposed dry scrubber installation at the G-3 Genoa plant is an emotional issue.

PROS:

1. The scrubber will increase sulfur emissions capture from the current 80% to over 90% (DPC letter, March 18, 2008 titled “Dear Friend”), only a 10% gain in reducing sulfur emissions to help DPC meet Clean Air Interstate Rule regulations.

2. No other pros.

CONS:

1. The scrubber will reduce the current 85% recycling of coal ash to a negligible amount (DPC letter, March 18).

2. With recycling options reduced, the scrubber will create 6 to 8 times more waste due to massive amounts of limestone used in the scrubber process.

3. Limestone will be trucked to the Genoa plant at a rate of 60-100 twenty-two ton truckloads/week from distances of over 200 miles for the next 30 years. A massive carbon footprint!

4. Trucking waste to landfill: approximately 250,000 - 500,000 cubic yards/year or over 30-60 semi loads per day, for the next 30 years! Massive carbon footprint!

5. To landfill the waste, DPC needs 600 acres, the majority is productive farmland. (We are not making any more farmland).

6. Landfills displace landowners and disrupt communities.

7. Potential devastating negative environmental impact to our soil, groundwater, lakes and streams. Do we really want to dump this nightmare on future generations?

8. Highway safety and maintenance concerns due to excessive semi traffic.

9. Wasteful use of resources: a) Truck fuel. b) Over $100 million in utility costs to customers. (DPC indicates the scrubber alone is an $80 million investment, plus purchasing land, landfill development, trucking costs, management costs etc.) Costs of upgrades to Genoa and Alma plants have escalated to over $350 million, a $100 million increase in just six months.

10. Impending liabilities to DPC related to future EPA regulations regarding carbon emission penalties.

It’s clear DPC’s solution to meet CAIR standards is no solution at all; it locks us into dirty coal technology for another 30 years. This plant is already 40 years old! 96% of DPC's power is from coal burning, a mere 4% from renewables. $350 million builds many solar panels, wind turbines, or investments in gasification technology.

Dairyland Power ….. FIND A BETTER WAY!

Carl Volden,

Genoa

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