Environmentalists Fume Over Diesel Use
By Rob Varnon, Connecticut Post, Bridgeport
Oct. 11–ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY GROUPS ACROSS CONNECTICUT — on the verge of celebrating their victory in their fight to reduce diesel emissions — were dumfounded to see a new energy program subsidizing dozens of new diesel generators.
State lawmakers approved a $10 million program to reduce diesel soot emissions for school buses this year.
But at the same time, the state Department of Public Utility Control has been reviewing applications from companies, cities and other organizations as part of a program to help cover the costs of installing emergency generators. The program’s goal is to add enough electric generation to allow people to switch their buildings off the grid during high demand days, to prevent possible blackouts.
Connecticut’s electricity transmission system is considered weak and during the hottest days, when demand is highest, experts are concerned the demand could overload the grid. Electricity customers also pay older electric power plants to keep running, even when not needed, because demand and supply levels are so close. This program might eliminate the need for those plants.
However, “It’s ridiculous and tragic,” Roger Reynolds, senior staff attorney for Connecticut Fund for the Environment, said of the diesel generator plan.
Right after the Legislature agrees to take diesel pollution out of the air, “Now, we’re putting it back in,” he said.
The DEP this week issued a draft of the general permit it must issue for the program by state law.
But New Haven-based CFE joined Clean Water Action, Environment Connecticut and others in demanding the state Department of Environmental Protection issue strong general permits to control pollution and to only use diesel engines as a last resort in an emergency.
Reynolds said diesel engines are dirtier than other types of fuels — even 50-year-old oil- or coal-fired power plants.
Running the engines on heavy demand days generally translates into the hottest days, which is when pollution is heaviest, he said. This will impact urban areas the hardest because they have the worst air quality, according to Reynolds and others.
“It’s a valid concern,” said Paul Farrell, a DEP supervising environmental analyst. But the DEP believes the new program could help improve air quality by reducing dependence on older power plants, he said.
The law that authorized the DPUC program stipulated the DEP must issue a general permit to allow the emergency generators to run during non-emergencies. This is regardless of the fuel used in the generator.
Farrell said the DPUC approved more than just diesel generators. But those it has approved will be required to have pollution controls, he said.
According to the DPUC records, it issued approvals for more than 20 grants worth in excess of $2.1 million for diesel projects in Connecticut this year. There were also a large number of natural gas-fired projects. There is no guarantee any of the projects will get built or the money will get used.
Combined with controls, Farrell said the DEP believes “this program can improve air quality.”
This is just the beginning of the process, according to Farrell and Reynolds. The DEP will have to hold hearings on the matter before making a final determination in December on what kinds of controls — including filters and limits to time of use — will be needed for the generators.
Rob Varnon, who covers business, can be reached at 330-6216.
—–
To see more of the Connecticut Post, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.connpost.com/.
Copyright (c) 2007, Connecticut Post, Bridgeport
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.