Globally, the only commercial power plant currently operating on carbon capture is the Boundary Dam coal-fired generating station in southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. The Petra Nova project in Texas was shelved in May 2020 (Energywire, July 11). The 1,800-megawatt project will be operational later this decade, according to CPV, a Maryland-based power generation development company. It joins a handful of power plants around the world that want to be equipped with carbon capture that captures carbon dioxide emissions before they are released into the atmosphere. “A project of this size and complexity will require several years of construction and commissioning,” Vineyard said in an email. CPV did not specify a specific year for the completion of the plant. “Once completed, the proposed plant will generate higher taxes and higher utility bills, while contributing to the pollution and loss of jobs and populations that accompanied natural gas development in Appalachia,” Sean O`Leary, senior researcher at ORVI, said in an email. Shortly after the Wisconsin Public Service Commission approved the project in February 2020, Clean Wisconsin and the Sierra Club filed a legal challenge to the project, saying regulators had not fully considered potential impacts on air and water quality, as well as concerns that the facility could weigh down a water supply aquifer. Other persistent legal and regulatory hurdles could complicate these plans.
Justice Frost has yet to rule on a conflict of interest lawsuit brought by the same plaintiffs against former commissioner Mike Huebsch, who voted for the Nemadji Trail plant permit shortly before he resigned to assume the role of CEO of Dairyland. Huebsch, who was not hired by the utility, also faces allegations of regulatory bias in a separate case currently before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Minnesota Power, another Nemadji Trail project partner, may also limit its participation. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is currently evaluating the utility`s long-term plans for the transition of coal-fired power plants to renewables and other sources. Although Minnesota Power says Nemadji Trail is needed to fill gaps in energy availability, critics, including the state`s attorney general, have called on the PUC to withdraw the utility`s $140 million investment in the project. The future of a large liquefied natural gas plant proposed for northeastern Pennsylvania was in doubt Monday after its developer settled a legal challenge by environmental activists. Dairyland had previously announced plans to close a 345MW coal-fired power plant as part of the project. A Wisconsin judge has found that state regulators acted appropriately when they granted a building permit for the Nemadji Trail Energy Center, a proposed $700 million combined-cycle power plant that has drawn opposition from environmental groups, despite claims from developers that the plant will help accelerate the transition to clean energy. A group of Laurel citizens and environmental groups have petitioned a district court to authorize the city`s zoning authority for NorthWestern Energy`s proposed gas-fired plant near Laurel. A subsidiary of New Fortress Energy Inc.
has agreed to halt its proposed LNG plant in Wyalusing — at least for now — as part of a settlement with a coalition of environmental groups that have filed a lawsuit to revoke the company`s air emissions permit. The 625 MW plant, which will be located in an industrial area in Superior, Wisconsin, will be jointly developed by electric utilities in Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. According to public information, the use of natural gas by the Nemadji Trail will allow utilities to increase their renewable energy sources and phase out coal-fired power plants. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) spoke positively about a carbon capture project related to a large natural gas plant in West Virginia. Francis Chung/E&E News (Manchin); George Frey/Getty Images (Chimney) Competitive Power Ventures Inc. announced Friday plans to build a multibillion-dollar natural gas-fired plant in West Virginia using carbon capture technology, saying the project would not be possible without the new climate and energy law. Judge Jacob Frost of Dane County, Wisconsin, rejected those arguments and ruled on July 17. The procedure for authorising the factory was legal, as it was for the Commission alone to “assess the evidence and assess the credibility of the witnesses”. KMCL has extensive experience representing utilities on various environmental issues related to legacy gas-fired power plants (MGPs).
Since then, KMCL attorneys have been involved in dozens of MGP sites on behalf of various utility clients, dealing with state and federal regulatory requirements, community relations, cost recovery, and toxic tort litigation. During this time, we have developed creative legal and economic tools covering a wide range of litigation, transactions and regulatory issues. Several companies plan to add carbon capture to natural gas plants, according to a database from the Clean Air Task Force, an environmental group.
