A Cleaner Power
Environmental Stewardship
The proposed 830-MW advanced supercritical pulverized clean coal plant (SCPC) will use the latest and most advanced technology to improve operating efficiency and control emissions. The decision to use this technology is based on these factors:
- Advanced SCPC technology is proven
- More than 400 SCPC plants are operating successfully worldwide, including at least 25 with the advanced SCPC technology Consumers Energy plans to use
- Most new large coal plants planned or currently under construction in the United States use SCPC technology
SCPC systems operate at higher temperatures and greater steam pressures than conventional systems. They operate at higher efficiencies which require less coal per megawatt-hour, leading to lower emissions per megawatt (including carbon dioxide and mercury), and lower fuel costs per megawatt. As designed, our environmental control equipment will remove:
- Up to 97 percent reduction in sulfur dioxides (SO2)
- Up to 97 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx)
- 90 percent reduction in mercury
It will be 10 to 15 percent more efficient than older coal-fired power plants resulting in lower carbon dioxide emissions. In short, SCPC provides the best overall balance in performance, reliability, lower emissions and cost for the company’s customers.
Consumers Energy is working hard to meet future environmental regulations while also bringing competitively priced electricity to customers to help drive Michigan’s economic recovery.
- Studies show Michigan’s air is the cleanest it has been in the modern era
- Consumers Energy will invest more than $1.6 billion between now and 2017 at its existing coal-fired plants to further control emissions
- Consumers Energy has reduced sulfur dioxide emissions by about 80 percent and nitrogen oxides emissions by nearly 60 percent at its coal-fired power plants from previous levels
- The company will continue its voluntary greenhouse gas management program to cost effectively reduce emissions
- In 2006, the Karn/Weadock Generating Complex received a Clean Corporate Citizen certification from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
The new clean coal plant will include the latest and best available emissions control technology. With the addition of the new facility and the assumption Consumers Energy will retire older, less efficient coal plants, the Company’s sulfur dioxide emissions are projected to be reduced by about 91 percent from today’s levels by 2018, nitrogen oxides reduced by 83 percent from today’s levels by 2018, and mercury reduced by 81 percent from today’s levels by 2018.
Coal System Emissions - NOx, SO2, and Mercury
In addition, Consumers Energy is designing its proposed facility to accommodate carbon dioxide capture and storage technology, if and when it becomes available. The company also is working with scientists from Western Michigan University to evaluate the Karn/Weadock Generating Complex’s geology for its potential to store carbon dioxide. Preliminary studies suggest geology at the site is well-suited for such storage.
The Balanced Energy Initiative portfolio will also result in up to a 10 percent to 15 percent reduction in the coal fleet’s carbon emissions without taking into account potential reductions associated with carbon capture and sequestration (“CCS”). The potential installation of CCS on the new plant in the 2022-2025 timeframe is estimated to further reduce fleet carbon emissions by an additional 24 percent.
