Pennsylvania’s largest coal plant to close by July
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
The Homer City Generating Station in Pennsylvania will close by July after 54 years of providing power to Pennsylvania and New York, according to Rigzone.
The 1,888-megawatt coal power plant was built near coal reserves and included what was then a high-capacity transmission line to service areas in western New York and eastern Pennsylvania.
According to a statement made by Homer City, new emissions limits imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency to comply with federal Clean Air Act limits on nitrogen oxides set an “excessive economic and operational burden” for the plant. The new standard required the plant to install FGD scrubbers on Unit 3 in 2001 and on Units 1 and 2 in 2014. The upgrades in 2014 cost the plant owners a reported $750 million.
Learn more: Rigzone > Pennsylvania’s largest coal plant to close amid shift to gas
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What is fracking?
Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing is a process by which highly pressurized fluid is pumped thousands of feet into the ground to fracture rock formations. The goal is to release the natural gas that’s locked inside the rock.
Is it safe?
What most concerns people about fracturing is ground water contamination. The worry is that fractures underground, caused by the process, will extending upwards and into aquifers, releasing gas and chemicals into the ground water supply. There’s been no confirmed reports of such a thing happening. Though surface spills and drill site blowouts can lead to localized environmental concerns.
Will my water catch on fire?
Flammable water is caused by the release of methane gas into a drinking water supply. Methane gas occurs naturally and can be released by any kind of drilling, including water wells. In Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy $1 million for contaminating ground water with methane. It was determined that the company had not properly cemented it’s boreholes and gas migrated up the well, between rock and into aquifers.