A coal plant in South Texas will shut down and convert to a photo voltaic + battery electrical energy technology facility, with the assistance of a $1.4 billion grant from the US Division of Agriculture meant to assist clear power whereas saving rural jobs.
The grant will go to San Miguel Electrical Cooperative Inc (SMECI) headquartered in Atascosa County, Texas, south of San Antonio, and serving 340,000 prospects 47 South Texas counties.
SMECI has operated a mine mouth lignite-fired coal plant (named resulting from its proximity to the mine that provides it) since 1982. The plant is within the city of Christine, Texas, inhabitants 337.
However that coal-fired plant is likely one of the dirtiest in Texas. It’s the fourth-largest mercury polluter within the state, producing round 12 occasions as a lot mercury as is allowed by a brand new EPA rule.
It additionally has two coal ash ponds on web site which leech into the native water desk and create among the most contaminated groundwater within the nation. Right here’s a passage from a 2022 Earthjustice report which analyzed contamination from coal vegetation:
Quite a few constituents have been present in concentrations exceeding related thresholds from the outset of monitoring in 2018—in wells each up- and downgradient from CCR models. These constituents embody arsenic (as much as 7 occasions the Most Contamination Stage (MCL)), beryllium (as much as 112 occasions the MCL), boron (as much as 28 occasions its 10-day youngster well being advisory), cadmium (as much as 83 occasions the MCL), cobalt (as much as 360 occasions its default GWPS within the CCR Rule), lithium (as much as 82 occasions its default GWPS), selenium (as much as 16 occasions the MCL), and radium (as much as 6 occasions the MCL).
–Toxic Coverup, The Widespread Failure of the Energy Business to Clear Up Coal Ash Dumps, Earthjustice, 2022
Specifically, be aware that the coal plant resulted in 360x as a lot cobalt as is allowed within the groundwater safety customary – a component that folks typically affiliate with electrical automotive batteries, however can also be current in lots of fossil fueled purposes (oil refining, for one).
So, transferring away from this coal plant and to a cleaner possibility would positively be a giant win, given what an environmental stain it’s on the world.
In September, SMECI was chosen as a finalist for a brand new USDA “Empowering Rural America” grant, and this week, was formally chosen as one of many websites to obtain a part of grant, alongside 9 others. SMECI acquired the biggest chunk of the $4.37 billion complete, with different websites principally getting grants within the a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands.
In complete, the grants will help 5,000 jobs and decreased local weather air pollution by 11 million tons per yr, in accordance with the USDA. SMECI’s grant will scale back local weather air pollution by 1.8 million tons, as a lot eradicating 446,000 vehicles from the street, and help round 600 jobs.
The grant cash will probably be used to transform the plant away from coal energy and exchange it with photo voltaic and battery storage. Photo voltaic is an ample useful resource in sunny South Texas, and the plant already has grid connections to make this a neater drop-in than having to run new transmission traces.
However not solely that, the positioning’s capability will see a major improve. The present coal plant can produce as much as 410 megawatts of energy, however the upcoming photo voltaic plant will probably be able to 600 MW – practically half once more as a lot as its earlier capability.
And pairing this solar energy with grid-tied batteries will assist to make the grid extra resilient, too. Thermal energy vegetation are likely to take time to show on and off, that means it’s more durable to handle surprising peaks and troughs in electrical energy demand – plus, tools on the vegetation tends to put on when it heats up and cools down quite a bit, contributing to the excessive prices of coal energy. There have been quite a few research exhibiting that new photo voltaic vegetation are cheaper than outdated coal – and that’s even ignoring externalities.
Whereas solar energy is usually thought of intermittent – you’re on the mercy of the solar, in spite of everything – batteries can resolve that drawback. These batteries can assist to clean out peaks and troughs in technology and demand, and will be dispatched to the grid inside milliseconds, to raised match provide with demand. They may also be used for power arbitrage, by charging when provide is ample and discharging when demand is excessive.
Whereas there’s no introduced timeline but for precisely when the plant will full its transition, SMECI will develop a Neighborhood Advantages Plan over the course of the subsequent yr as a provision of the grant course of.
As soon as this transition is accomplished, Texas will probably be left with 14 coal vegetation. In 2023, Texas generated 71GWh of electrical energy by means of coal, down from a peak of 157GWh in 2011. Electrical energy technology within the state was 37.2% coal in 2000, and simply 13.1% in 2023.
And if you wish to make the transition to photo voltaic by yourself private degree, why not set up some in your roof? To be sure you discover a trusted, dependable photo voltaic installer close to you that provides aggressive pricing, take a look at EnergySage, a free service that makes it simple so that you can go photo voltaic. It has a whole bunch of pre-vetted photo voltaic installers competing for what you are promoting, guaranteeing you get high-quality options and save 20-30% in comparison with going it alone. Plus, it’s free to make use of, and also you gained’t get gross sales calls till you choose an installer and share your telephone quantity with them.
Your personalised photo voltaic quotes are simple to check on-line and also you’ll get entry to unbiased Vitality Advisors that can assist you each step of the best way. Get began right here. – advert*
FTC: We use earnings incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.
