EPA TO ALLOW UTILITIES TO SWITCH TO GAS IN SUMMER

The Environmental Protection Agency has changed its policies to allow U.S. electric power utilities to switch to natural gas in the summer to meet requirements for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions. The Natural Gas Supply Association applauded EPA action. NGSA Vice Pres. Pat Hammick said, "Consumers can benefit when utilities and manufacturers are afforded greater opportunity to choose cost effective ways to meet environmental requirements."

Sept. 6, 1993

2 min read

The Environmental Protection Agency has changed its policies to allow U.S. electric power utilities to switch to natural gas in the summer to meet requirements for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions.

The Natural Gas Supply Association applauded EPA action.

NGSA Vice Pres. Pat Hammick said, "Consumers can benefit when utilities and manufacturers are afforded greater opportunity to choose cost effective ways to meet environmental requirements."

She noted that prior EPA policy required that emissions solutions be used continuously, not seasonally. The new policy does not affect boilers that are 100% gas fired. They will continue to be held to a higher environmental standard than boilers fired by other fuels.

"That's an issue that remains to be addressed," Hammick said.

THE BACKGROUND

The Natural Gas Council, a group of industry associations, had lobbied EPA for the change, which permits greater use of gas in the summer when supplies are abundant.

EPA noted nitrogen oxide combines with emissions of volatile organic compounds in the presence of heat and sunlight to form -round level ozone, or smog. And nitrogen oxide also is a prime ingredient in the formation of acid rain.

Under the Clean Air Act, states are required to adopt rules to control emissions from major stationary sources of nitrogen oxide. Those controls typically have involved changes in combustion equipment, such as installation of low nitrogen oxide burners.

The new EPA policy allows states to adopt rules that permit utilities to control nitrogen oxide emissions by switching to cleaner fuels during the summer ozone season.

But it requires that the nitrogen oxide emissions reductions be equal to or greater than the emissions reductions that would have occurred had there been no switch to natural gas.

EPA said, "In mann, cases, this fuel switching will be a much more cost effective way of controlling nitrogen oxide emissions than traditional 'add on' controls.

"Besides providing more cost effective options for reducing smog, the policy offers substantial pollution prevention and global warming benefits."

EPA said it is unknown how many utilities will switch to natural gas in the summer, but if a large 600,000 kw coal fired utility boiler switched to natural gas for 7 months of the year, it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by I million tons/year, sulfur dioxide emissions 20,006 tons/year, and emissions of particulate matter 40 tons/year.