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Special briquettes made of grains, wood chips would be used at plant
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Thursday, Apr 02, 2009
Akron's FirstEnergy Corp. intends to repower one of its coal-burning plants with briquettes of wood chips, cornstalks, switch grass and grains.
The plan to rely on renewable energy at the R.E. Burger Power Plant in Belmont County was unveiled Wednesday.
The aging plant in Shadyside on the Ohio River near Wheeling will become the country's largest biomass-burning facility.
The plant, which had faced potential closure to avoid costly improvements to be able to continue to use coal, will burn 800,000 tons of the briquettes annually to minimize the impacts of carbon dioxide, a key global warming gas.
The conversion, expected to be completed in 2012, will cost about $200 million.
The plant will still produce 312 megawatts of power — enough for 190,000 houses.
''Retrofitting the Burger plant for biomass will expand our diverse generation portfolio even further and continue our support of state and federal efforts to increase reliance on renewable energy sources,'' said Anthony J. Alexander, FirstEnergy's president and chief executive officer.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said the project will jump-start the biomass renewable energy industry in Ohio.
Alan Schriber, head of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, agrees. He added the move saves 95 jobs.
Biomass is the name given to renewable energy sources: wood, farm products, manure, landfills and food waste.
Nationally, there are 102 biomass plants that generate electricity in 21 states, according to the Biomass Power Association, a national trade group. Biomass accounts for 1.2 percent of America's electricity.
''It's an important development . . . and an encouraging development,'' said Fred Hitzhusen, an emeritus environmental economist at Ohio State University and a major promoter of biomass for 37 years. ''It's evidence that the old kid on the block is again the new kid on the block. This will help put biomass back on the radar screen in Ohio.''
Ohio ranks among the top five states for biomass sources and is well positioned to be a biomass leader, he said.
Environmentalists' views
FirstEnergy's move is drawing mixed reviews from Ohio environmentalists.
''We are glad that FirstEnergy is looking to incorporate biomass energy into their energy portfolio,'' said Amy Gomberg of Environment Ohio. ''But we want to make sure that credit is given where credit is due. Unfortunately, FirstEnergy lobbied their way into special treatment to receive extra credit for the renewable energy that they produce.''
Under Ohio's advanced energy portfolio standard approved last year, 25 percent of Ohio's energy must come from advanced and renewable energy by 2025. FirstEnergy earns renewable energy credits for producing clean energy.
There is legislation in Columbus that would give FirstEnergy extra renewable credits.
Gomberg said she fears that the extra credits would give the utility an unfair advantage.
Similar concerns about the credit were voiced by Janine Migden-Ostrander, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel who represents Ohio's 4.5 million residential electric customers. ''It is unfortunate . . . because it gives FirstEnergy an advantage over others developing renewable energy,'' she said.
Those credits, along with additional tax credits and the economics of the project, ''combined to make it a benefit for the company to proceed on this project,'' said FirstEnergy spokeswoman Ellen Raines.
The utility is convinced that the changes at Burger might be the solution to many of America's old, small coal-burning power plants, she said.
Retrofitting such plants with scrubbers to comply with federal clean-air mandates is very costly, and switching the plants to biomass might prove to be a better solution, especially as concerns grow over carbon dioxide, she said.
FirstEnergy faced a $330 million bill to clean up the Burger plant to comply with the terms of a 2005 consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department.
The utility agreed to spend $1.1 billion to install scrubbers at its W.E. Sammis Power Plant at Stratton in Jefferson County. It also committed to cleaning up, repowering or closing Burger and two other plants.
There are no limits on carbon dioxide now, but FirstEnergy is convinced that Congress will likely impose first-ever restrictions on carbon dioxide, Raines said.
Decision due
By court order, FirstEnergy had until April 1 to decide the fate of the Burger plant. The options were to shut down, install scrubbers to remove pollutants or refuel with natural gas or biomass.
FirstEnergy is beginning to engineer the change at the Burger plant, and construction will likely begin in 2010, Raines said.
The Burger plant faces a Dec. 31, 2012, deadline to be repowered, said Charles Laskey, FirstEnergy vice president of fossil operations. It can continue to burn coal through 2012.
The Burger plant, built in 1944, annually burns about 800,000 tons of coal.
FirstEnergy has no interest in growing the fuels but will rely on suppliers, she said.
The utility has an agreement with one firm, Renewafuel LLC, to provide the biofuel to the Burger plant.
The firm, founded in 2005, is a subsidiary of Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources, a firm with a history of Great Lakes shipping and iron ore mining. It owns 70 percent of Renewafuel.
The firm will provide FirstEnergy with briquettes — that are roughly 11/4 inches by 11/4 inches by 2 inches — at a cost comparable to coal, said company president James Mennell.
Fast-growing trees
His company, with operations in Michigan and Minnesota, will rely in part on specially designed fast-growing trees like poplars and cottonwoods, he said.
Such trees might grow 12 feet in one year. After harvesting, the trees grow again from the roots and can spring up to 14 feet in the second year. That will continue for six years before the trees have to be replanted.
Laskey said the briquets produce nearly as much energy as the utility gets from coal.
Mennell said his company would likely contract with growers in eastern Ohio and surrounding states to grow select biofuels to reduce shipping costs.
FirstEnergy's long-range plan is that the trees or grass for the plant will be grown and absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide as they will release when burned, so that the Burger plant will not increase carbon dioxide levels, Laskey said. That is a key element of the plan, he said.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
Akron's FirstEnergy Corp. intends to repower one of its coal-burning plants with briquettes of wood chips, cornstalks, switch grass and grains.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 07:47 AM, 04/02/2009
Sounds like a good decision even if some groups are finding fault.
Akron, OH
Posted 02:49 PM, 04/02/2009
What about Akron Recycle Energy burning garbage? Did it work? NO
rmk, akron
Posted 05:13 PM, 04/03/2009
Everyone is planning on burning Biomass. Does this mean the precious few trees we have will now disappear. I am also not sure how Biomass is a green fuel. The argument used to call Biomass a green fuel can be used to call coal a green fuel. Just wait, the rush to so-called green fuels, wind and solar power plus CO2 sequestering will leave Americans with large power blackouts in five years. Only coal or nuclear can support the power demands of today's society.
