Mirant's Decision About a Washington, D.C., Power Plant Causes Concern
Posted on: Tuesday, 23 August 2005, 09:00 CDT
Aug. 23--The good news, as Atlanta-based Mirant puts it, is that the company reacted quickly last weekend.
The bad news: Now in its third year in bankruptcy, the company is taking a new hit related to its power plants surrounding Washington.
Late Sunday night, Mirant sharply cut back output from one of its four Washington -area plants, citing a new pollution study released Friday, and it may shut down the plant entirely -- and indefinitely -- by Wednesday.
The pollution study said the plant could contribute to unhealthy air at ground level in the neighborhoods surrounding it. It could do that despite the plant's compliance with environmental standards for how much pollution it puts out.
Power plants emit pollutants that help cause smog, acid rain and haze.
Mirant's Potomac River plant is a key part of the electric system that serves Washington.
The plant is one of four Mirant purchased from the Potomac Electric Power Co. in late 2000 when Mirant was still a part of Southern Co.
That acquisition is a central part of a lawsuit Mirant and its creditors filed against Southern.
The 482-megawatt plant sits on the Potomac River in Arlington, Va., and offers a view of the Washington Monument and Capitol from its roof.
Lisa Johnson, president of the limited liability unit of Mirant that operates the plant, said the company will be in discussions with a number of parties about possible fixes.
The plant "is critical to the reliability of the supply of electricity in the D.C. area," she said.
The pollution study released Friday was commissioned under an agreement between Mirant and Virginia environmental regulators, following complaints from plant neighbors.
Using computer modeling, the study said that the plant in some circumstances may dump unhealthy concentrations of pollution into the air breathed by the plant's neighbors.
The reasons include the plant's profile, location and the neighbors that have moved into the vicinity since it was built more than 50 years ago.
The plant's stacks are relatively short. Neighboring newer buildings, including a high-rise condominium, are relatively tall and in certain cases could help trap the plant's pollution close to the ground.
Mirant's chief operating officer, Curt Morgan, said the modeling used worst-case scenarios but that the company was taking it seriously.
"As soon as we received results that showed emissions from the Potomac River generating station could be significantly contributing to localized modeled exceedances of National Ambient Air Quality Standards, we acted quickly," he said.
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MIRKQ, SO, POM,
Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
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