tagged w/ Coal-Fired Power Station
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Utility companies are racing to find alternative fuels to generate electricity, and one possible new source is also one of the oldest: burning wood.
The James River Power Station in Springfield, Mo., has been working with torrefied wood, which looks like dark sawdust. Torrefaction, also known as biochar, is a process of roasting wood chips in a large furnace, but not to the point of becoming charcoal.
Some consider burning torrefied wood a cleaner energy alternative to burning coal — which scientists say is responsible for more than one-third of the world's carbon dioxide emissions.
Coal and wood both give off carbon dioxide when burned, but the trees originally got their carbon from the atmosphere as they grew, so burning wood doesn't put new carbon dioxide into the air.
Torrefaction has been gaining momentum in Europe, and now American companies are experimenting with the process.Utility companies are racing to find alternative fuels to generate electricity, and... more
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The Ministry of Environment and Forests had rejected environmental clearance for the proposed 1,000 MW power plant for Chamalapura in August 1998, according to the records now available. However, it had issued environmental clearance for a smaller power plant of 500 MW capacity at the same venue.
But the environmental clearance was issued based on the information provided by the project proponents, and it is clear from the records that the Ministry had not conducted an independent environmental impact assessment (EIA) during that period.
Moreover, the clearance was issued to Mysore Power Generation Private Ltd subject to terms and conditions. This information was provided by the Ministry to Syed Tanveeruddin of the Karanji and Siddarthanagar Tax Payers’ Association. Mr. Tanveeruddin had urged the Ministry not to accord clearance to the Chamalapura power project, which is now being promoted under a different entity by the State Government.
The Ministry furnished details of the previous environmental clearance issued by it in response to his petition.
The previous clearance may not be applicable to the present project in view of the difference and scope of the project (the proposed new project is of 1,350 MW capacity). So the moot question is: when the Ministry had rejected environmental clearance for a 1,000 MW power plant, how can the State Government and the Power Company of Karnataka Ltd (PCKL) push the new project of 1,350 MW capacity?
The Ministry had come out with certain conditions which had to be complied with by the project proponents and one of the norms was that the land acquisition should be only to the extent required for a power plant of 500 MW plant and not more. The current project of 1,350 MW capacity requires more than 2,000 acres of land and is set to displace nearly 20,000 farmers in the vicinity of the project affected area.
In the light of the above information, activists opposed to the project now wonder if the authorities were trying to push the power plant at Chamalapura on the basis of the previous environmental clearance which, however, was issued only to power plant of a smaller capacity.
Equally pertinent is the Ministry’s note that it asserted its right to revoke the clearance in case any of the terms and conditions stipulated by it was not implemented and underlined the fact that if there was any deviation or alteration in the project proposed from those submitted, then a fresh reference should be made to assess the project.
The correspondence between Mr. Tanveeruddin and the Ministry indicates that the latter has confused his request against issuing environmental clearance for the new proposal, with the earlier proposal for which a conditional clearance had already been issued.
But it merits repetition that the clearance was for a smaller plant of a different capacity based on which the project proponents cannot push for the proposed 1,350 MW power plant.
The Karnataka Government had justified the choice of Chamalapura on the grounds that the area was a “barren land” but a visit to the project site proves otherwise.
An environmentally sensitive zone, Chamalapura is also a major catchment for Kabini which is hardly a few kilometres in the downstream and risks being polluted by flyash. Located hardly 25 km from the tourist destination of Mysore, the region is also close to Bandipur and Nagarahole national parks which are prestigious tiger and elephant reserves.
By R. Krishna Kumar
http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/05/stories/2008040554060400.htmThe Ministry of Environment and Forests had rejected environmental clearance for the... more
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Four protesters have been arrested after breaching a perimeter fence surrounding Kingsnorth power station.
Police said the activists were stopped before they reached the inner fence. Four people were also arrested trying to launch a boat on the River Medway. Officers in riot gear and about 15 police vans are stationed in front of the power station on the Hoo peninsula. About 100 activists opposing the firm's plans to build new coal-fired units in Kent have marched to the plant gates. They have said they want to shut it down as part of a day of action against climate change.Four protesters have been arrested after breaching a perimeter fence surrounding... more
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Wood from Canada and Scandinavia will be imported to be burnt in Britain’s largest power station as part of a plan to generate 10 per cent of its electricity from biomass.
Drax, the huge coal-fired power station near Selby in North Yorkshire that generates 7 per cent of all the UK’s electricity, has signed a deal with Alstom, the French engineering group, to build a £50 million “co-firing facility”, enabling it to burn biomass as well as coal in its boilers.
Wood from Canada and Scandinavia will be imported to be burnt in Britain’s... more
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Purdey
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added this
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3 years ago
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For god's sake. Can we please shut down the m-----f--king coal power plants.
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They say they want to give more to alternate energy and then open their biggest coal fired plant to date and enter into nuclear agreements with France. The saying you can't have your cake and eat it too is very appropos here. So which is it? They say they want to give more to alternate energy and then open their biggest coal... more
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From the newswire: November 15, 2007 - This morning fifteen Greenpeace activists were arrested during an occupation of the Munmorah coal-fired power station in NSW. 15 crew occupied and took peaceful direct action to shut down the plant as a protest against John Howard and Kevin Rudd's ineffective climate change policies
Greenpeace demands that both major parties commit to deep cuts to Australia's greenhouse gas pollution in the next decade, which means switching from coal fired power to cleaner and smarter energy use.
The activists shut down the coal-feed conveyor belt and painted the message Coal Kills on the roof of the station and deployed a banner saying Climate change starts here. Two other activists hung from the roof displaying climate change messages.
The Munmorah coal-fired power station is the oldest in NSW and one of the most inefficient in the country. Energy campaigner John Hepburn, who was one of the climb team, said that we couldn't just sit back and watch while scientists measure how quickly humans are killing the planet. "We need to cut carbon emissions right now. It's not complicated..." From the newswire: November 15, 2007 - This morning fifteen Greenpeace activists were... more
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